October 1, 2009
Purdue duo leads West Lafayette High School girls' soccer team
James Hunter and Jamal Ratchford have spent the majority of their lives in two places: inside a school and on the soccer field.
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Hunter, a New Jersey native, is a postdoctoral research assistant at Purdue. As an environmental engineer, his research is geared toward developing tools and promoting technology that will help communities deal will the harmful impacts of land use change.
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Until three years ago, Hunter and Ratchford had never met. Now, after as many years together as the head and assistant coaches of the West Lafayette High School girls' soccer team, the two have become best friends.
But the way Hunter and Ratchford ended up coaching the same soccer team is anything but ordinary.
Hunter began his coaching career as a volunteer with the Tippecanoe Soccer Club after he arrived at Purdue in 2000. Through this position he began coaching some of the same girls that he is still coaching today. So when the job as head coach of the Red Devils became available three years ago, Hunter's name was among those mentioned.
"Between the players and parents, they wanted somebody who was familiar with the girls to come in and coach them at high school level," Hunter says.
Ratchford, on the other hand, began by reaching out to Central Catholic for a coaching opportunity. But when CC didn't reply, he was fortunate enough to get a call from Hunter, whom he had met only once at a Black Graduate Association cookout.
"We hooked up together a couple of years ago and had some of the same goals and expectations," says Ratchford. "We came from two different places. He was already experienced as a coach. I was just starting. It was two different paths."
Hunter and Ratchford devote countless hours to the Red Devils' soccer team, often staying up late to complete research and prep for classes. Like any coach, they attend games and hold practices, but what makes their situation unusual is the fact they've done this while pursuing doctoral degrees.
Despite the strenuous time commitment to both the academics and the athletics, Hunter and Ratchford have enjoyed their time at West Side. The two love helping the girls on the team grow into mature people and players. At practices, they even get a chance to play again themselves.
The way Hunter and Ratchford have been able to balance their academics and their duties as coaches has resonated with the team. Many of their players are juniors and seniors in high school and are preparing to step into the world in which their coaches are already living.
"It's definitely more than we're doing, so we have a lot of respect for them," says Kiley Field, one of the four senior captains.
Field and the other captains say they feel free to ask questions about their futures, and their coaches are more than helpful in those situations.
And as for the soccer, West Lafayette has continued to make strides and has consistently competed for sectional and regional titles since Hunter and Ratchford took the helm, leading the Red Devils to a 45-10-1 record over the past three seasons. In this span, the team scored more than 250 goals, earned state rankings as high as No. 13, and defeated numerous premier opponents.
The small age gap between the players and coaches is something the captains say helps them relate to one another.
"They're really enthusiastic and they are always there for us," senior captain Elena Hogenesch says. "I think they balance each other out well. When one is a little more upset with us, the other one is calmer and vice versa."
However, when the 2009 soccer season concludes, so will the coaching career of the Red Devils' head coach -- at least for the time being.
"This will be it for me for a while," Hunter said. "I will be going back to my alma mater to do research and teach. I'll be an assistant professor at Morgan State University."
Ratchford, who has spent this season as a volunteer assistant coach, says he will play things by ear. He will continue writing his dissertation at Purdue.
However, senior captain Mackenzie Staton, who will continue her soccer career at Division I school Illinois State, says the ability to connect with the coaches has given the West Lafayette program such a momentum that the Red Devils will be able to continue their winning ways long after their coaches have gone.