EMORY, Va. – Emory & Henry College has selected Linda Schirmeister-Gess to be its Head Women's Soccer Coach, Director of Athletics Myra Sims announced Friday. Schirmeister-Gess is the fourth head coach in program history and will begin her duties immediately.
"Linda is a bright young coach who will work extremely well with our student-athletes and with the rest of our staff," said Sims. "Her positive energy and enthusiasm for the sport is contagious, and our players really responded well to her when she was on campus."
Schirmeister-Gess comes to E&H from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania where she served as an assistant coach for the past two seasons. During that time, the Gators posted a 25-7-7 overall record and were the North Coast Athletic Conference Regular Season Co-Champions in 2011. Allegheny reached the NCAC Tournament final in both years and earned an at-large bid to the 2010 NCAA Division III Tournament, only its third trip to the national tournament in program history.
While at Allegheny, Schirmeister-Gess coached 12 All-NCAC players, one NCAC Newcomer of the Year and a NCAC Defensive Player of the Year. She was responsible for developing on-field and off-field training regimens for the players and organized fitness testing as well. Schirmeister-Gess was also responsible for video analysis, recruiting, travel planning and was the liaison for individual player study hours.
"Linda is clear on the type of program that she wants to run, and is fully committed to recruiting young women who will fit well with her philosophy," added Sims. "I am confident that she will build on the success that the women's soccer team has had recently and will continue to move the program forward. We could not have found a better fit for this position and I am thrilled to have her on our staff."
A 2010 graduate of Slippery Rock University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, Schirmeister-Gess was a four-year letterwinner as a midfielder for the The Rock. She was a member of the2007 team which won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division title and reached the PSAC Tournament Championship. SRU also received three at-large bids to the NCAA Division II Tournament during Schirmeister-Gess' career.
"I am extremely excited and honored to be joining the Emory & Henry Athletic Department," said Schirmeister-Gess. "Having the opportunity to work within a department with such strong leadership is something to which I am truly looking forward. Working with a team that is coming off a solid season promises to provide a great foundation for this program to move forward and continue to flourish. I am ecstatic to be a part of that, and cannot wait to get started!"
Schirmeister-Gess also served as the Co-Director of the Allegheny Team camp and was a head coach for soccer camps at the University of Pittsburgh and Slippery Rock. She has been extensively involved in mission work, traveling to Haiti and New Orleans with the Forgotten Angels, a non-profit organization for student-athletes to help under-privileged children, and also the Democratic Republic of the Congo as an individual.
Additionally, Schirmeister-Gess has worked with the PA West Soccer Association in its Olympic Development Program as an assistant coach for the U-15 girls' team and served as a co-director for the Sports Challenge Leadership Academy.
Born in Frankfurt, Germany and raised in London, England, Schirmeister-Gess started her playing career for Watford Ladies Football Club, the leading women's club in Hertfordshire. She holds a Level One Coaching Badge from The FA, and has attended the National Coaches Institute and Positive Coaching Alliance in here in the United States. Schirmeister-Gess is also a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NCSAA).
Schirmeister-Gess inherits a program that is coming off its third winning season in the past four years, going 9-8-1 last season. The Wasps also earned their first trip to the ODAC Tournament since 2006.
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