|
Texas State soccer will enter its 10th year of existence under head coach Kat Conner who has led the program with winning tradition at Texas State.
Last season, the Bobcats winning tradition fell short in its 3-4-2 Southland Conference finish, marking the first year since inception the team did not advance to the post-season tournament.
"We were young last year and were trying to find our style to play," said Conner. "We're still young and still learning new things everyday, but we've learned that chemistry is a huge part of winning championships and that is our goal this season."
Conner led her 1999 inaugural team to a 9-9-3 finish and the Southland Conference tournament title. After setting the standard for success, she led the 2001 team to a record-setting 14-7 season, clinching the Southland Conference regular season title before winning the SLC tournament championship. That team also became the first Texas State and Southland Conference team to play in the NCAA Women's Soccer tournament.
The following year, the Bobcats defended its Southland Conference title, finishing with a 9-7-2 record, but fell in the SLC Tournament Championship game.
After a short hiatus, Conner led her 2004 team to the NCAA tournament for the second time in six years.
Conner has also been successful in developing great student-athletes. In 2001, SLC Player of the Year Reta Derouin was named, before serving as an assistant coach under Conner. Derouin also earned SLC Newcomer of the Year in 2000 playing under Conner's guidance.
Conner has also coached two players who were named SLC Freshman of the Year, forward Natalie Holder and Danielle Holloway. In 2003 Holder received the honor and Holloway followed in 2004. Holloway also became the first Southland Conference soccer player to be named both Freshman and Player of the Year in the same year.
Conner has produced wo of the three Southland Conference players who have been named to the All-Conference First-Team four times. Marva Bailey was an All-Conference First-Team selection from 1999-2002 and Kendra Kade also was an All-SLC First Team performer from 2001-2004.
Along with the championship-caliber program Conner has built on the field, she has also developed championship-quality commitment to her players' education.
"We compete very hard on the field, and with that same intensity in the classroom," Conner said.
The soccer team was awarded the Emmett Shelton Award as Texas State's highest female team GPA for the 2004-05 school year. She also had four players named to the Hibernia Bank/Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll. Kade and Jaynee Sherman were honored for the second tim, while Ashley Brown and Natalie Holder received their first SLC academic honors. Sherman was also honored as the SLC Student-Athlete of the Year.
She came to Texas State in 1999 from Texas A&M University after helping Aggie head coach G. Guerrieri build a talented and successful soccer program. Conner was responsible for assisting with recruiting and coaching all phases of the game at Texas A&M, and oversaw scheduling, travel, budget, summer camp and monitored academics.
With Conner's assistance, the Aggies made four NCAA tournament appearances and won one Big 12 Regular Season Title and one Big 12 Tournament Championship.
Conner, who holds a USSF "A" license (the highest license in the federation), began her coaching career at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash., after graduating from there in Spring of 1991.
While at Pacific Lutheran, she served as the Lutes' defensive coordinator and handled the travel arrangements and recruiting.
While coaching at Pacific, Conner helped lead the Lutes to a national championship in 1991 and a National runner-up finish in 1992. During both years, the Lutes were Conference Champions.
Conner earned a B.A. in physical education at Pacific Lutheran while enjoying a successful playing career. She was an All-American selection in 1990 a member of a Pacific squad that won the NAIA championship three years in a row and was runner-up the fourth.
As well as coaching at Texas State, Conner has been involved with developing Texas youth soccer. She has been a member of the coaching staff for the Region III Olympic Development Program and serves as the coach for the South Texas U16 team.
In 2005-2006, Conner was appointed to the NCAA soccer rules committee by both the Southland Conference and the NCAA.
Conner is a native of Irving, where she graduated from Nimitz High School.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
