In her third season, Sue Kolb coached the women's soccer team to their first winning campaign since 2008. (Photo by Wayne Gehman)

Kolb resigns as EMU women’s soccer coach

Eastern Mennonite University has announced the resignation of women’s soccer coach Sue Kolb. She also served as the Assistant Athletic Director of Student Athlete Well-Being. Kolb has accepted a position as an academic administrator in the athletic department at George Mason University.

She recently completed her third season at the helm of the EMU women’s soccer program, leading the Royals to a 10-9 season, their first winning record since 2008. As Kolb’s recruiting rebuilt the roster in 2013, the women more than tripled their win total from each of her first two seasons, which were each three-win campaigns.

“While I am excited about my new position at George Mason University, it was a difficult decision to make leaving an amazing group of soccer players, an awesome team of colleagues, and one of the best leaders I have ever worked for – Dave King,” Kolb explained.

Along with successfully re-tooling the Royals’ program, Kolb was a driving force in a number of significant initiatives in EMU’s work with their student-athletes, most visibly an academic support program and also a graduate assistant program.

Director of Athletics Dave King explained the impact Kolb had in her three years in Harrisonburg, rebuilding the soccer team while increasing both the retention rate and the GPAs of EMU’s student-athletes.

“Besides the responsibilities associated with head coaching, Sue used her interest in athletic administration to develop three programs that have greatly enhanced the athletic program,” said King. “The offering of graduate assistantships, attendance tracking and academic support, as well as a class for freshmen athletes are all programs that Sue was very involved in developing. I am grateful for her insights, persistence and creativity in putting together the details of these initiatives. ”

King praised Kolb for a tremendous work ethic in her numerous tasks of recruiting, meeting with students, coaching, visioning and working on her doctorate.

“Sue accomplished more in three short years than I expected of a young coach taking her first head coaching position,” he said. “Her interest in administration along with her desire to learn made her a valuable asset to the athletic department. She will be missed but I’m excited for the opportunities she will have to further her goals in athletic administration.”

Kolb hopes she was able to impact the lives of young student-athletes at EMU the same way her time at the school impacted her.

“Just as I hope my players at EMU will dream big and go after their dreams, I am doing the same,” she said. “EMU opened up an amazing door for me in collegiate coaching and administration. I am blessed to have had the mentorship, leadership, and trust from my colleagues and administrators, which has equipped me with the tools that I will use in my next journey in Division I.”

A national search for EMU’s next women’s soccer coach has already begun.