JACKSON – After leading the Northwest Mississippi Community College women's soccer team to a fourth consecutive Region 23 and Gulf South District Championship, Head Coach James Beattie has been named the Region 23 Coach of the Year for a fourth year in a row as well.
"What we've done the last five years is really crazy," Beattie said. "When I think back to when we lost on penalties five years ago, if you had told me we would win the next four, I would have probably told you you're crazy. I think it is just a testament to the program and all the players who have come through and the fact that we've been able to overcome different hardships over the years."
Beattie added that the award doesn't come without the support from a village, starting with Assistant Coach Brandon Boren.
"We are kind of each other's yin to yang," he said. "We are opposites in personality, and I think that really helps because it's not one size fits all. He's got players on the team that definitely gravitate towards him, and there are players on the team that gravitate towards me, and it's good to have that balance."
It's not just the coaching staff that aids in this award either. The culture that has been set at Northwest in athletics is one that also breeds a successful culture, starting all the way at the top with the president's office.
"Dr. Heindl is constantly giving us what we need to remain competitive," Beattie said. "If you just look around our facility from right to left, it's been in constant upgrades for the last five years, and I think that makes a real difference in the student-athlete experience. Northwest just won three championships in a row, so it's not just our sport; it's in the other sports as well, which really helps, because if you are recruiting top athletes in other sports, it definitely doesn't hurt us."
The Rangers had quite the season with wins over five ranked teams and over six teams who were in the National Tournament field from the previous year on the way to a 16-3 record. All three losses for the Rangers came to teams that were ranked in the top ten, and the Rangers reversed several of those in the Region 23 Championship with upsets over #3 Pearl River Community College and #1 Holmes Community College.
"It's easy in the middle of the season to say everything is going against you and there is no way out, but here is always a way out," Beattie said. "I think it just takes belief from the staff and belief from the players. The teams we were beat by were really well coached and had talented rosters, and I think you just need to battle through adversity, and I think the setbacks definitely helped us make the comeback."
The Rangers will be heading to the NJCAA Division II National Championship for the fifth consecutive year, looking to win a third straight national championship.
Follow along with news and updates on the Rangers' trip to the national tournament, being held in Huntsville, Alabama, from November 15th through the 21st, by visiting nwccrangers.com or following along on Northwest social media accounts.
