JOHN 'SAMMY' LANE TO BE HCC'S FIRST SOCCER COACH

By Steve Carpenter

HCC Sports Information Director

Thursday, January 13, 2005

The Hutchinson Community College Board of Trustees on Thursday night, Jan. 13, approved the hiring of John “Sammy” Lane to be the Blue Dragons’ first women’s soccer coach.

Women’s soccer, voted to be added to the athletic department in December, is the 14th intercollegiate sport at HCC. Women’s soccer is a fall sport and will play about 20 to 25 matches. Hutchinson will practice and play its home matches at the Hutchinson High soccer complex on 23rd and Cleveland.

The inaugural season for Blue Dragon soccer is slated for next season. HCC will be one of 10 Jayhawk Conference teams to offer women’s soccer. Coffeyville and Garden City are the other schools in the league adding a women’s soccer team.

Lane, who was born in Ireland, comes to HCC with an impressive soccer record. He is currently a head coach and trainer for the River City Soccer Club in Wichita.

Before that, though, Lane was a player and later assistant coach for the now-defunct Wichita Wings indoor professional soccer team from 1991 to 2001. Lane was a goalkeeper for the Wings during his playing days.

During his time with the Wings, Lane was an assistant coach and was later promoted to head coach at McPherson College in 1996 and 1997. McPherson dropped soccer after 1997, but later re-formed its team in 2001.

Lane came to the United States with an opportunity to play soccer at Sterling College. He graduated from Sterling in 1991 with a degree in business administration.