Nate Norman Named WMU Head Women's Soccer Coach
KALAMAZOO -- The Western Michigan Division of Intercollegiate Athletics
and Director of Athletics Kathy Beauregard are proud to announce the
hiring of Nate Norman to the position of head women's soccer coach, becoming the fourth head coach in program history.
"We
are very excited to have coach Norman returning to Western Michigan,"
said Beauregard. "Nate has a tremendous amount of support from the team
and will be a great leader. The team has had a lot of success both on
the field and in the classroom over the past few years and we believe he
will keep the team on that path."
Norman, 27, returns to Kalamazoo
and Western Michigan after a season as an assistant coach for the
University of Miami (Fla.), where he helped the program to its best
season in program history. With Norman's help the Hurricanes won their
first NCAA Tournament game in school history and finished ranked 29th in
the nation, all while competing in the top-rated women's soccer
conference in the nation. Norman also helped the team to great academic
success, with the Hurricanes achieving the highest GPA in the Atlantic
Coast Conference.
"I am very excited to be back at Western
Michigan University. I would like to thank Kathy Beauregard and Dennis
Corbin for this wonderful opportunity," said Norman. "I grew up in
Michigan and previously spent a season at WMU, so this definitely feels
like a homecoming. I have wonderful memories of being part of this team
and could not be happier to be reunited with them. I look forward to
getting started and continuing the success that Coach Suzie Grech had in
the last three seasons."
Norman was Western Michigan's assistant
during the 2010 season in which he helped the team to a berth in the Mid-American
Conference Tournament Championship game and helped coach WMU's first
ever MAC Offensive Player of the Year in Stephanie Skowneski. Helping
direct the Bronco attack, team scoring increased by 18 goals from the
previous season. Three student-athletes were named All-MAC and the team
received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America academic
award after finishing the year with a 3.47 GPA.
"I would also
like to thank the University of Miami and, specifically, head coach Tom
Anagnost for the opportunity to spend the last year and a half in South
Florida," added Norman. "The team, the administration, and everyone
involved in the women's soccer program gave me an experience that
created fond memories that I will never forget."
Prior to his
time at WMU he was an assistant at Covenant college and a volunteer
assistant at the University of Notre Dame, his alma mater. He played four years at
Notre Dame and was drafted 21st overall in the MLS Super Draft by the
Chicago Fire in 2007. Norman, a native of Rochester, Mich., and his wife Rachel
will reside in Kalamazoo.
