LOUISIANA TECH
2011 LADY TECHSTER SOCCER
UNIVERSITY LA TECH
KEVIN SHERRY
28
Head Coach
Kevin Sherry begins his fifth season as head coach of the Lady Techsters and his 11th overall in Division I college coaching. Since he arrived in Ruston prior to the 2007 season, he has completely revamped the culture surrounding the soccer program by instilling the four pillars of Lady Techster soccer: Passion, Commitment, Unity and Sacrifice. The native of Grantham, England is coming off a season that was without a doubt the most successful in Louisiana Tech’s seven-year history. The Lady Techsters finished with a record of 15-6 overall and 5-3 in the Western Athletic Conference, both school records. After being picked last in the conference preseason polls, Tech finished tied for third, its highest finish ever. Also for the first time ever, the Lady Techsters placed individuals on the allWAC team and qualified for the WAC Tournament, which was held at the Lady Techster Soccer Complex. In a season with so many great program accomplishments, Sherry recorded a personal milestone. With an 8-0 win over Grambling State on Sept. 1, 2010, Sherry won the 100th game of his NCAA coaching career. Since his arrival in Ruston, Tech has consistently been recognized for its work in the classroom as they were awarded the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Adidas Team Academic Award for the third consecutive school year. The award recognizes teams that have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better. Sherry’s teams have always taken pride in sportsmanship as evidence by receiving the NSCAA Ethics/Sportsmanship Award for the second straight season in 2010. The award recognizes teams with less than five yellow cards throughout the season. On the field Sherry’s Tech teams have improved their win totals every season, with two wins in 2007, 10 in 2008, 12 in 2009 and 15 in 2010. In 2009, after winning their first 11 games, Sherry led Tech to a 12-7-1 record,
www.LATechSports.com
including the program’s first-ever Western Athletic Conference win. Tech scored the most goals (54), assists (45) and points (153) ever in a single season. In match play, the Lady Techsters set new singlegame records in goals (12), assists (12) and points (36). In 2008, the Techsters were recognized for their significant improvement from their 2007 campaign when they went 2-14-1. Sherry and Co. posted a 105-5 record, an eight game improvement, that the NCAA recognized, along with three other schools, as one of the most improved teams in the nation. They also established a new shutouts record with 10, which included a 0-0 draw against Idaho, as they held their opponents scoreless in nine of their 10 wins. Shortly after the conclusion of the 2008 season, Sherry was selected to serve as U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development coach. Sherry was given the responsibility of coaching the Louisiana U-16 team. He was also selected to instruct a coaching clinic for all high school coaches in the state of Louisiana. Sherry spent two years as head coach at Western Illinois. He inherited a program that was 24-111-7 over its history, including a 3-12-3 mark, the year prior to his arrival. Between the 2005 and 2006 seasons, he compiled a 20-13-4 record, and the program was recognized as one of the NCAA’s most improved. Before his arrival, the program had never experienced a winning season. That changed due to Sherry, his staff and his studentathletes as they recorded back-to-back winning seasons. He led Western Illinois to its first Mid-Continent Championship finals in 2006. Even though the Westerwinds lost the conference championship in a shootout, they finished with an 11-7-1 record. Their 11 wins were the most victories in school history. Sherry turned around another losing program as
head women’s soccer coach at Graceland University. Prior to his arrival, the Yellowjackets never had a winning season in its history. That changed as well. He coached Graceland to records of 12-7-1 and 16-2-3 before he led the team to an 18-0-5 record in his final season. Their success equated to the school’s first undefeated season, the school’s first-ever Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) Champion Championship and an appearance in the NAIA Final Four. In that year, Graceland achieved its highest national ranking in the program’s history with a No. 7 rank by the NSCAA. For Sherry’s efforts, he was named NSCAA Central Region NAIA Women’s Coach of the Year. His student-athletes also received numerous awards as he led