Boy, it's good to be back.
After another progressive fall season and an eventful spring season, your favorite Kohawks are back on track and ready to take home the gold this upcoming fall.
As a recap, last season we made it to the IIAC Tournament Quarterfinals where we lost in PKs against Wartburg College, five Kohawks were recognized by the Iowa Conference (Alli Stubbs: first team, Kelsey Fauser and Jordan Holmes: second team, MJ Winterer: honorable mention, and coach, Scott Myers: Iowa Conference Coaching Staff of the Year), and our team earned the NSCAA team academic award. Yes, we had quite the year in 2016 and I could not be more proud of the upward progress this program is continuing to make.
However, the excitement did not stop in the fall. Early in the first semester, three (now) seniors and I were called in by our coaches to have a meeting, and for any other athletes out there, you know that a meeting out of the blue is never a good sign.
After attending my coaches' talk, the four of us learned that Coach Scott would not be coming back to Coe and had accepted a job as the assistant coach at Illinois State. Can I even be mad!? How cool is it that our coach was chosen to work for a D1 program? If that isn't a testimony to Coach's ability, then I'm not sure what else is.
Of course I was happy for Coach and excited for his future, but I was equally sad. This was the guy who I had been emailing since late junior/early senior year of high school about Coe. This was the guy who would talk my ear off over a long distance phone call from Iowa to California about how awesome Coe and the Midwest are, This was the guy who, when I visited campus, made me feel like I could truly fit into the school and program I am a part of now.
Even more than all of the typical attributes of a great coach, Scott was an astounding person and head figure for me in life. As a Type One Diabetic, I experienced a lot of "scares" and unordinary game day and practice routines, but Coach was always SO accommodating, encouraging, and positive, no matter how much I wasn't all of those things. There were many times I missed home, was stressed with school, or conflicted in leadership and Coach came to my rescue with solid advice. I knew I cold go to him for anything and everything at any time, and I knew he wanted the absolute best for me as a person, student, and player. He was truly invested in each and every Kohawk women's soccer player's well-being in all aspects of life, and I firmly believe that is rare to find in a college head coach. We were beyond blessed.
Then, shortly after, our equally as awesome assistant coach, Coach Matt, AND our awesome trainer, Chelsey, left the program to pursue their true passions in life. Again, sadness is what pressed on me, but it was masked by the amount of excitement and happiness I had for each of their futures in their profession.
So, the search for the next head coach for Coe women's soccer was on and as a sophomore, I felt the pressure of the daunting task I was lucky enough to take part in. After several long and strenuous weeks of being coach-less, we finally landed on an absolute gem, an ex-IIAC conference player himself, Michael Prunty. (See "Going for Gold: A Fresh Start" for more on our newest Kohawk.)
If Coach Scott, Coach Matt, or Chelsey are reading this right now, I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for making my first two years at Coe better than they could have ever been, for convincing me the Midwest is as awesome as the West Coast (still debatable, but I'm buying it now), and for putting up with my terrible dad jokes for two years too many. Words alone cannot express my deep thankfulness and the luck I feel to have shared so many fond memories and moments.
I will miss you three and the program, home, and sanctuary you created, but I know you are off in the world continuing to progress towards your greater goals in life; kudos to you for that. Lots of love, gratitude, and appreciation for you three. We won't let you down!
As a recap, last season we made it to the IIAC Tournament Quarterfinals where we lost in PKs against Wartburg College, five Kohawks were recognized by the Iowa Conference (Alli Stubbs: first team, Kelsey Fauser and Jordan Holmes: second team, MJ Winterer: honorable mention, and coach, Scott Myers: Iowa Conference Coaching Staff of the Year), and our team earned the NSCAA team academic award. Yes, we had quite the year in 2016 and I could not be more proud of the upward progress this program is continuing to make.
However, the excitement did not stop in the fall. Early in the first semester, three (now) seniors and I were called in by our coaches to have a meeting, and for any other athletes out there, you know that a meeting out of the blue is never a good sign.
After attending my coaches' talk, the four of us learned that Coach Scott would not be coming back to Coe and had accepted a job as the assistant coach at Illinois State. Can I even be mad!? How cool is it that our coach was chosen to work for a D1 program? If that isn't a testimony to Coach's ability, then I'm not sure what else is.
Of course I was happy for Coach and excited for his future, but I was equally sad. This was the guy who I had been emailing since late junior/early senior year of high school about Coe. This was the guy who would talk my ear off over a long distance phone call from Iowa to California about how awesome Coe and the Midwest are, This was the guy who, when I visited campus, made me feel like I could truly fit into the school and program I am a part of now.
Even more than all of the typical attributes of a great coach, Scott was an astounding person and head figure for me in life. As a Type One Diabetic, I experienced a lot of "scares" and unordinary game day and practice routines, but Coach was always SO accommodating, encouraging, and positive, no matter how much I wasn't all of those things. There were many times I missed home, was stressed with school, or conflicted in leadership and Coach came to my rescue with solid advice. I knew I cold go to him for anything and everything at any time, and I knew he wanted the absolute best for me as a person, student, and player. He was truly invested in each and every Kohawk women's soccer player's well-being in all aspects of life, and I firmly believe that is rare to find in a college head coach. We were beyond blessed.
Then, shortly after, our equally as awesome assistant coach, Coach Matt, AND our awesome trainer, Chelsey, left the program to pursue their true passions in life. Again, sadness is what pressed on me, but it was masked by the amount of excitement and happiness I had for each of their futures in their profession.
So, the search for the next head coach for Coe women's soccer was on and as a sophomore, I felt the pressure of the daunting task I was lucky enough to take part in. After several long and strenuous weeks of being coach-less, we finally landed on an absolute gem, an ex-IIAC conference player himself, Michael Prunty. (See "Going for Gold: A Fresh Start" for more on our newest Kohawk.)
If Coach Scott, Coach Matt, or Chelsey are reading this right now, I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for making my first two years at Coe better than they could have ever been, for convincing me the Midwest is as awesome as the West Coast (still debatable, but I'm buying it now), and for putting up with my terrible dad jokes for two years too many. Words alone cannot express my deep thankfulness and the luck I feel to have shared so many fond memories and moments.
I will miss you three and the program, home, and sanctuary you created, but I know you are off in the world continuing to progress towards your greater goals in life; kudos to you for that. Lots of love, gratitude, and appreciation for you three. We won't let you down!