Winnie Edmed will vacate her head coaching position in July 2011. Photo from Web.
Last week, a surprising statement was released on the College’s website. It announced the imminent departure of Winnie Edmed from her position as head coach of the women’s soccer team.
According to the statement, Edmed decided to relinquish her position after five years with the program; however, she will stay at the college as an instructor in the physical education department.
The first big question, of course, is why did she decide to depart so suddenly?
Chelsea Johnson ’11, one of the team’s midfielders, said that Coach Edmed told the team about her decision during a meeting in Cro’s Nest, which took place a week before Thanksgiving. Edmed told her players that she “didn’t know if [coaching the team] was her calling,” according to Johnson. With two young children to look after and a four-year contract coming to an end, Edmed also mentioned that she needs to focus more of her attention on her family.
This announcement at the team meeting happened before Edmed told athletic director Fran Shields. Johnson said the team appreciated this gesture and was supportive of their coach’s decision.
It is no secret that the women’s soccer team did not enjoy a lot of success in the NESCAC league during Edmed’s tenure as head coach. During her five seasons at Conn, the team had a conference record of 3-36-6. This did not seem to be a factor in her departure, but a fresh start with a new head coach could be just what the Camels need to break out in league play next year.
The second big question is who will be this team’s new head coach?
The athletic department’s statement mentions that Shields will be conducting a “national search for a replacement head coach.” One of the candidates will be assistant coach Joe Mendonca, who just finished his first season at the position.
Johnson believes that he has an advantage over the rest of the competition because “he did so much to improve our defense this year. We allowed fewer goals this season than we did last season.” Indeed, while the Camels gave up a total of 36 goals to opponents in 2009, they only allowed 19 goals in 2010. Such drastic improvement seems to be partly attributable to Coach Mendonca’s new strategies.
With the women’s team behind their assistant head coach’s candidacy, it seems likely that Mendonca will be a front-runner to replace Edmed as the new head coach. •
