(Originally posted at WPS-Soccer.com) Grays Harbor College is one of the 29 two-year colleges that sponsor women’s soccer regionally and plays in the competitive Western Division along with Bellevue, Centralia, Green River, Highline, Lower Columbia, Tacoma and Pierce colleges.

New head coach Ian Connell takes over after successful stints at Timberline High in Lacey, Aberdeen and Hoquiam high schools as well earning SCAC Coach of the Year honors at the Cle Elum-Roslyn School District. Ian will be joined by veteran coach Dave Brown who will work as his assistant after several years of successful club coaching in the Puget Sound region. Dave will work with the team’s goalkeepers as well as focusing on physical preparation and holds the certified strength & conditioning specialist (“CSCS”) certification.

The team is looking for players interested in joining the team for THIS Fall season. At this point the team’s priority is a goalkeeper (or two) as well as three to four solid field players. The program has a number of tuition waivers (typically granted for players in two-quarter per-player awards) and up to $400 per quarter in soccer scholarships as well as work-study funds. (This is in addition to standard financial aid available to all students.)

This is a great way for a student to get her first two years of college mostly paid for and earn her AA transfer degree*, study workforce training programs** or beyond as the college now offers three Bachelor’s Degree programs including those in Teacher Education and Organizational Management.

Training starts the week of August 1st and classes begin on September 18. As the team’s pre-season is fairly long, with scrimmages and friendly games scheduled along the way, we anticipate that players will be joining the core of the squad throughout pre-season.

The goal of the coaches and the college is to quickly raise the profile and competitiveness of the program and the college’s school’s administration is fully committed to providing the resources do so.

The GHC campus is a modern, attractive and safe centralized campus located two miles south of Aberdeen and close to some of Washington’s nicest beaches. It has privately-owned student housing located adjacent to campus at Heather Meadows Apartments and at other locations nearby. The cost of housing and living is much less than in other parts of the state and student-athletes often have the best choice of housing as they arrive on campus before other players and receive assistance with arrangements. The college is located less than an hour from the state capital in Olympia.

The type of players who will be successful will be eager to work hard, learn and see plenty of playing time. Maybe they were overlooked in the recruiting rush or their grades or finances may not have allowed them to attend their first choice college or university and now may have something to prove. Good players who have been out of high school for a year or two and did or didn’t attend college are welcome as well and will be trained into playing condition slowly. The returning players are a great and welcoming group of young women.

Please contact Head Coach Ian Connell at ian.connell@ghc.edu and feel free to forward this on to any players or coaches who would be interested.