Tiffany Van Hoose, a former standout player at Hardin-Simmons University, has been hired as the new head girls’ soccer coach at Abilene High School.
Van Hoose has coached several club soccer teams in Abilene and has been an instructor at Texas A&M and HSU summer camps from 2014-21. She comes to AHS from Wylie, where she was teaching fifth-grade science and social studies at West Junior High School.
“I am extremely excited to have Tiffany Van Hoose as a part of Team AISD as the head girls’ soccer coach at Abilene High School,” AISD Executive Director of Athletics Jim Garfield said. “Coach Van Hoose is a high-energy coach, she is ultra-organized, and she has a great bank of knowledge in the game of soccer.”
Van Hoose replaces veteran head coach Brent Camp, who resigned as the Lady Eagles’ head after the 2022 season. Camp, who also coached Van Hoose as a volunteer coach at HSU, led the AHS program for 19 seasons.
“I am extremely excited to be the next head coach at Abilene High School,” Van Hoose said. “This is a fantastic opportunity for me, and I’m honored to be able to lead these girls on the field, in the classroom, and the real world. Brent Camp is a great coach and person. I learned a lot from him when I was at HSU, and I have some very big shoes to fill. I’m ready to bring my knowledge and experiences to the girls to be able to create my own culture of success.”
Van Hoose helped lead HSU to the NCAA Division III Final Four in 2017 as a starting defender. She was named the team’s Most Valuable Defensive Player in 2016 and was voted the American Southwest Conference Player of the Week multiple times during her HSU career.
During her four seasons with the Cowgirls, HSU was a combined 78-7-4 with four straight conference championships and four straight trips to the NCAA Division III postseason. In 2016, the Cowgirls’ lost in the third round to Washington University in St. Louis on penalty kicks. In 2017, the Cowgirls won 23 straight matches before a 1-0 loss to Williams College (MA) ended their season in the Final Four semifinals.
In addition to teaching at Wylie West, Van Hoose kept herself busy by obtaining several coaching licenses through the United States Soccer Learning Center. In addition to working multiple summer camps each year, she also coached the independent Abilene Reign from 2020-21. She also coached with the Sting Soccer Club from 2021-22, and has pledged to continue coaching the club this season.
“I have a lot of energy and am so excited to bring my love for the game and my enthusiasm onto the field,” Van Hoose said. “I have had some fantastic coaches throughout my life that have significantly impacted me and contributed to my understanding of the game. I have coaches around me every day that challenge me and give me opportunities to learn from their experiences. I want to continue the tradition of developing young student-athletes to prepare them for college and beyond. I’m looking forward to sharing all of this knowledge with the girls. I also believe being a woman gives the girls a unique situation to have a positive female role model impacting their everyday lives in the classroom and on the field. I’m so excited to be a Lady Eagle.”
