The Hope College women’s soccer team has claimed the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award for the 2019-20 academic year.
To earn the distinction, teams must have recorded a composite grade point average
of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale for all student-athletes on the roster for the academic
year.
“Our players come to Hope not only because we are a competitive team, but also because
we stress academics,” head coach Leigh Sears said. “These student-athletes come here
to be doctors, nurses, teachers, and engineers — not professional soccer players.
Winning is very important to us, but who we are as people and students are of the
utmost importance. We certainly do everything we can to win games; however, the ultimate
responsibility is to prepare them for life after Hope.”
The Flying Dutch are among 556 women’s college teams to receive the United Soccer
Coaches award.
This is the 13th time Hope has been honored by the United Soccer Coaches for academics.
The Flying Dutch previously earned the award in 2003, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012,
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019.