By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
Andrew Olsen was a varsity starter on New Hope High School’s soccer team before he ever stepped foot on campus.
He joined the team as a seventh-grade central defender and helped lead the Trojans to multiple district titles before playing two years as a center back at East Mississippi Community College. He remembers the heated rivalry games against Caledonia and the passion his classmates and the community had for the program.
Olsen’s hope of his alma mater recapturing the success of the early and mid 2000s materialized earlier this month when he was named head coach of the boys’ soccer team.
Olsen, who spent the last three seasons as the girls head coach at Lake Cormorant, begins his appointment on July 5.
“We’ll roll out at 9 a.m.,” Olsen said, “and I can’t wait. I’ve met with the players and had more calls from parents in these last two weeks than I count. I’m ready to go.”
Olsen took over a Lake Cormorant program that hadn’t won more than two games in a season prior to his arrival in 2013. He went 7-7 in Year 1, followed that up with an 8-8 clip in Year 2, and went 10-6 in his final season with the Lady Gators.
He navigated numerous obstacles to building the program, including limited to no access of the junior high program, blighted facilities and a lack of fundraising. Over the last three years, Olsen and Lake Cormorant boys coach Mark Hogan created a booster club and helped raise more than $20,000 for field maintenance and equipment. The most significant fundraising haul was a $10,000 grant from Delta Technical College in Southaven in which more than 20 schools had to create videos and social media campaigns to highlight academic or athletic needs.
“We really had to get the community engaged via social media to be competitive for that grant,” Olsen said. “And it paid off – we overhauled our field, got a new shed, news balls and vests for the players.
“When I got there, I took up a program that didn’t have anything. The experience taught me to build a program from the ground up, to change the mentality of players, parents and the community as a whole.”
Olsen has been overwhelmed by the excitement of his new players and parents and said it “reminds him of home.” He said part of his pitch to New Hope administrators were his roots in the area; he grew up in New Hope and his family still lives there. He said he has no plans to use New Hope as a stepping-stone to a larger program, a mentality that he’ll need to turn around a program that mirrors the Lake Cormorant job he took three years ago. The Trojans haven’t had a winning season since 2010-11, when they went 7-5. They’ve had three different head coaches during that span, including Kyle Watson, who led New Hope to a 6-18-4 mark over the last two seasons.
“Getting that school pride back is the first step,” Olsen said. “Our players and our school have to believe we can make the playoffs and make a deep run when we get there. That’ll require building meaningful relationships with players and parents, especially the junior high players.”
Olsen said he’s been impressed with the investment New Hope has made into its facilities, a five-year plan that has already seen the installation of new bleachers, locker rooms and a press box at the soccer field, which was once the school’s football field.
“The pieces are in place,” Olsen said. “I knew it was time to come home.”
The Trojans return a string of starters in midfielder Bryan Vogel, forward Jake Crosson, goalkeeper Bryce Braddock and defender Cai Earhart. Olsen will also have senior midfield options in Marc Weathers and Nathan Wilson to fit into his preferred 4-4-2. While the formation isn’t final, Olsen said his teams will play aggressive and use the width of the field.
“I never coached against Andrew, but he was the guy I could see as a coach someday,” said Brian Bennett, who coached Olsen at EMCC. “He demanded a lot out of his teammates and was our coach on the field. He loved to talk New Hope soccer, so I expect to see a lot of excitement and heart out of the Trojans under his tutelage.”
Olsen’s hire marks a rarity in area prep sports in that two former college teammates have been named head coaches of programs at their alma maters – within weeks of one another. Louis Alexander, who was named head coach at Caledonia earlier this month, played with Olsen at EMCC. Before that, the two competed against one another in a rivalry they hope will become the “Lowndes County Derby.”
“Louis is just as excited as I am to be back home and leading a program,” Olsen said. “It’s great for the kids who play in Lowndes County, and I want that rivalry match to have meaning again. I want the kids to be excited about it. I’ve always felt that if you can beat the teams in the Golden Triangle, you can compete in the postseason.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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