The United Soccer Coaches recently announced the association’s 2020 National Coaches of the Year for high school boys’ and girls’ soccer. Battle Ground Academy’s Jan Morrissey was one of seven coaches nationally recognized.
Morrissey led the Lady Wildcats to a 17-6-0 overall mark and the Division II-A State Championship this season. It was the seventh title game appearance and the fourth championship under her tutelage. Four of the five BGA title wins have come with Morrissey as head coach.
BGA repeated as champs this season with a 1-0 victory over University School of Jackson. Last season, the Lady Wildcats handed rival Christ Presbyterian Academy its first and only loss of the year with a title win over the Lady Lions.
MURFREESBORO – The Battle Ground Academy girls needed a flawless performance Friday to defea…
“This championship is a testimony to everything this team has done this season — it’s a culmination of all the cooperation, all the dedication, and all the sacrifices they’ve made this year just to make sure they could be together (and actually have a season),” Morrissey said last month. “2020 has been such a strange year, all the way around. … I am really proud of how resilient and how mentally strong they are.”
The Lady Wildcats dealt with several injuries and absences throughout the regular season and into the postseason. Goalkeeper Graci Semptimphelter was sidelined by an injury most of the year, but returned in time to help steer the postseason run.
“We truly limped across the finish line,” Morrissey said.
In 18 seasons at the helm, she has compiled a career record of 208-105-39.
MURFREESBORO — All season long, the Battle Ground Academy girls soccer team has been strivin…
2020 High School Boys’ National Coaches of the Year
Large School: Russ Plummer, Hendersonville High School (Hendersonville, Tenn.)
Small School: Jens Levisen, Austin High School (Austin, Minn.)
Private/Parochial School: Richard Whitelaw, Sun Valley Community School (Sun Valley, Idaho)
2020 High School Girls’ National Coaches of the Year
Large School: Blair Gerlach, Mars Area High School (Mars, Pa.)
Small School: Stacy Smith, Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho)
Private/Parochial School: Jan Morrissey, Battle Ground Academy (Franklin, Tenn.)
2020 High School National Assistant Coach of the Year
Brian White, Saint Thomas Aquinas High School (Overland Park, Kan.)
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