CHENEY, Wash. – Like many athletes know, the love for a sport starts young. Watching your favorite player, playing on multiple local teams, or just being thrown into it by your parents. What many athletes do not know is the path that those athletes take once they are submerged with it.
In his first year as an assistant coach for the EWU soccer team, Hayden Hollinger has seen the team take new heights. Eastern Washington women's soccer posted the best win improvement in team history (+7), and finished the regular season 9-5-4, and third in the Big Sky conference.
Before EWU, Hollinger made coaching stops across the Division I level including schools like Oklahoma State, Kentucky, and The Citadel. The love for soccer grew for Hollinger, but not in a way he anticipated it to be.
""Soccer is all I have ever done. I did not play any other sports growing up, and I was lucky enough to be a part of a professional youth academy when I was growing up in Scotland. As I grew up I started to hear about opportunities to get a soccer scholarship and move to America and be able to study and play at a good level. At home it was either play or study."
The opportunity to play in America for the Scotland native came with a scholarship from Hartwick College, in Oneonta, New York. In 2014, he made the move to America.
Hollinger would play at Hartwick for two seasons, before transferring to St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas. Hollinger would be elected as team captain and graduate in 2018. Throughout his playing experience, Hollinger found a new perspective of the game he grew up playing since he was three years old.
"It was a different experience for me but it put things into perspective and helped me mature to see what I valued in terms of people and education, and more than just soccer as the game. I did not enjoy my playing experience so much, so for me to find other things to enjoy outside of that and enjoy the full experience was the ultimate goal. I was able to find so much value in my time outside of soccer and to me that was so important." described Hollinger.
After his college playing career, his path to coaching took an interesting route. It would come from a former teammate and friend who also went to Hartwick.
"We ended up working for the same club in South Carolina, and I did not really know if coaching was what I was going to get into. But, I just loved it, and I have been so fortunate to connect with good people which has helped me to take the next steps in my coaching journey."
Hollinger would start coaching at the club level. From 2018-2019 he worked as an academy coach and international liaison for Global Premier Soccer. He would also serve as an Academy Director for the Commonwealth Soccer Club from 2021-2022.
From there, Hollinger would break into the college ranks for coaching and work as a graduate assistant at The Citadel from 2019-2021 while earning his masters degree in Business Administration. He would then make two power four conference stops at Kentucky and Oklahoma State, before coming to Eastern in November of 2023.
"I think starting at The Citadel was so important for me. I was around excellent coaches and even better people at a place that was so gritty and based on working for everything. To then be at Kentucky and seeing the resources available and everything that comes with a SEC or power four school, it was very interesting. I quickly learned that there are many ways to be successful as a college coach."
Hollinger focused on defensive units, while directing player development. He also assisted in preparing scouting reports, video analysis, along with assisting in the team's recruiting strategy.
"For me, being around different coaches and learning so many different things from them and continuing to learn and refine what I really value helps shape me as a coach and person. I have experienced a lot of things for myself, and it has been very important. Whether that is working with a staff that has won multiple Big 12 titles in a top 50 program, coaches with professional and coach education backgrounds, to working at the Citadel with a head coach who has worked his way up as a head coach at divisions I, II, and III, these experiences in a relatively short time have helped me learn so quickly about what it takes to be effective at the D1 level" said Hollinger
This path has led him to Eastern Washington University. The fit was exactly what Hollinger was looking for. It is also a great place for players to thrive in his eyes.
"Here, we have everything within a hours drive, which is good from a recruiting standpoint and makes Cheney a desirable place to play. It is a nice college town, and it is a great environment to be around."
Hollinger's networking with EWU was made through head coach Missy Strasburg. He was really excited about the similar backgrounds the two have shared, and how they both spoke about the game.
"I met Missy at a camp last summer a few months before I ended up getting hired here. I was really excited from our conversations as there was a lot that we could connect on. She has a clear idea of what she wants from our team. Obviously Nate Ulness as well. A different background that adds value to the balance of our staff, having been a head coach, and being able to learn from each other. It just felt like a good fit for me to add to this team."
The fit has appeared to fit like a glove. This season, the Eagles rank in the top half of many offensive categories across the Big Sky, and have been one of the most improved teams across the country. It has not come easy though for Eastern, as Hollinger said they had to put the work in early, even in the spring.
"You can see collectively as a team they are gritty and willing to work. The new things we have added this year, they have been able to take them on so well. They have been very coachable, and this spring allowed us to kickstart the season, where sometimes you are in the mode of a reset and go again."
This season, the Eagles did not lose back-to-back matches, and have recorded a goal in 17 of the 18 matches this season. As a team, they have recorded five shutouts, and were able to take down Mountain West opponents like Hawaii, San Jose State, and UNLV.
"They care a lot for one another. The new players for the fall have added so much value to our returners who have been excellent throughout the whole year, including the spring. It is a group of brilliant people and that is more important than their qualities as players. They have pushed us to a new level and is so important to the consistency that we have been able to play with, which can be seen with the results that have come from the performances throughout the year ."
EWU soccer finished 4-1-3 in conference, and finished with one loss in conference play for the first time since the 2017 season. Eastern also finished the regular season with nine wins, and it is the sixth time ever an Eagle team has earned nine wins in a season.
"The fall goes by so quickly and it has been such a blast. I love getting ready for games and seeing the players compete. To see them take the things from training, and put those live in the games has been awesome."
It has not been just the success on the field that has brought Hollinger so much joy. From the bus, the airport, to team meals, being able to connect has been the biggest thing in his eyes for the Eagles this season
"Being around the team and the relationships we have been able to build and continue to develop through the fall has been really good. The coffee trips on the mornings of game days and time during travel and meals, those are the important times outside of the time on the pitch. It has been so fun to be a part of, and I'm excited for us all to keep it going."
Eastern Washington soccer will travel to Missoula, Montana for their first conference tournament since 2019. The Eagles will face the #6 seed Portland State (4-8-4) in the conference quarterfinals Wednesday, November 6th at 10:00 am.
ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.
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