The Transylvania Women’s Soccer team is having their best season in recent memory, standing at a record of 9-2-2 coming off a dominant victory 4-0 over Earlham on Wednesday. They had tied Earlham once before this season. Most recently, they had an even more dominant performance over Manchester, 6-0.
But their success is not the only story. The sudden departure of their Head Coach Reeds two weekends ago has been at the top of the Transy rumor mill, with multiple stories about the situation. Although the team has not missed a beat in his absence, it was a surprise, considering they were doing well this season.
According to two players who asked not to be named, the team was angered, shocked, and upset by his sudden ouster just minutes before a road trip to Missouri. He informed some players in text messages and phone calls after his firing that he resigned, but the same players said they didn’t believe that.
Coach Reeds’s overall record in his tenure was 16-20-5, including the red hot 6-1 start the Women’s team started this season with. This year, there were a whopping 17 first-years recruited to the team, with many first-year starters this season.
Some players said that Reeds was a very loud and intense coach. He was known for being a perfectionist to a fault, with a number of players quitting the team over the past couple of seasons. He was not known for doing a good job of translating his yelling and passion into positivity for the team.
However, this situation has not blown over at all. In these past two weeks, this cloud has hung over the heads of the team. Reeds has consistently contacted some players on the team since his departure. One staff member said that Reeds had contacted several other members on staff, too, in hopes he could get his job back as the head coach of the Transylvania Women’s Soccer team. These efforts, so far, have not been successful.
But the young women on the team are not interested in that. According to some players, the overarching feeling on the team is a sense of relief that he is no longer around. “We just want to get back to playing the game we love and not have to deal with this drama,” one player said.
Assistant Coach Farmer has stepped in and led the Pioneers in Reeds absence. Players say he has done his best with being sensitive to the team’s feelings about the situation and helping the team shift their focus back to soccer. Some hope that Coach Farmer will take on the full-time head coach role going into next season.
The Pioneers are now on their third Women’s Soccer coach in four seasons. But this year, the team is looking like a force to be reckoned with. With all of the young talent on this roster, this team is a team to look for in the Heartland Conference in the years to come.
Their next game is this Saturday in Manchester.
