The Wolverines soccer team officially welcomed a new addition to the coaching staff this season.
Former goalkeeper Tasha Bell has been a student assistant for the past year, making her a familiar face to a new position. Bell lettered in both soccer and basketball at Davis High in Farmington, UT. She was Academic All-state to go along with her athletic achievements, adding another quality that will help with coaching student athletes at the collegiate level.
Bell played in 53 career games at keeper spanning 2004-09. After the 2006 season, she served an 18 month LDS mission in the Chicago area. She returned for her senior season in 2009, which included a run to the Great West Conference championship.
“That’s a goal of ours this year, to take back the conference championship we won in 2009,” Bell said.
Another area of expertise that will come in handy is her time spent in the net as keeper. This year’s team is headlined by red-shirt sophomore Lauren Sack, but backup Jessica Duffin is more than capable.
“We felt we were set at keeper but then Lauren injured her shoulder, so that’s why I went after Jessica,” Anderson said. “We didn’t know how long she would be out so we wanted to make sure we had somewhere to turn.”
Duffin, a true freshman, will fill that responsibility for the Wolverines. She played basketball, softball, and ran track to go along with soccer, at Sky View High in Smithfield, Utah.
Sack returns as the conference player of the year, bringing the experience the Wolverines will need on a very young team. Developing the younger talent will be key to future success in the net.
“My main duties this year will be focused on the keepers and helping them develop, along with whatever else coach Anderson needs,” Bell said.
Bell graduated from UVU this spring with a degree in behavioral science and psychology. After graduating she approached Anderson about making her student assistant job permanent.
“She came to me after graduating and asked about coaching,” Anderson said. “I thought it would be good for the girls to have someone they already know and get along with. She really is great with the girls.”
Jonathan Boldt can be reached at jonboldt@gmail.com. You can also follow him on Twitter: @jboldt24.
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