Etherington Tabbed as Director of Ops for Soccer
Baton Rouge, La. – Sam Etherington has been named the director of operations for the LSU soccer program, head coach Sian Hudson announced on Friday.
Baton Rouge, La. – Sam Etherington has been named the director of operations for the LSU soccer program, head coach Sian Hudson announced on Friday.
Etherington, a native of Newcastle, England, has strong Louisiana ties as she played collegiately at Nicholls State (2008-11) and was the head coach at Louisiana College from 2015 to 2020. Etherington will handle a number of day-to-day tasks for LSU soccer that includes but is not limited to travel arrangements, ordering/distribution of equipment and gear, gameday responsibilities, budget management and more.
Etherington has a deep knowledge of the game of soccer and has experienced it at all levels – she’s played Division I, she’s ran a Division III program, and has served as a coach in the Louisiana Olympic Development program. She immediately jumped into the coaching ranks following her four year career at Nicholls where she played in 70 games, starting 66 of those, en route to scoring 5 goals and 11 assists in her career. She served as the captain for Nicholls State her senior year and was named the Team MVP as a junior and a senior.
Most recently, she served as the assistant coach at Idaho State University from April of 2020 until June of 2021. She worked closely with the goalkeepers on the field and played a part in the team achieving a 3.73 GPA off the pitch, the highest in recent years for Idaho State. She also handled recruiting duties, scouting reports, and overall program management while in Idaho.
While serving as head coach at Louisiana College, Etherington led the program for five years. She led Louisiana College to its best start in program history, a record of 3-0-0, in her debut season in 2015. She also served as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee co-advisor and was responsible for implementing activities that engaged student-athletes. She served as a member of the strategic planning committee for Louisiana College campus wide while in Pineville as well.
During her time as an ODP coach, she was selected as a South and West Region Coach regional events in 2019 where she evaluated talent and nominated players for teams in order for them having a chance to be named to the national team. She also led the Louisiana 1999 Girls’ team to the finals of the South Region Camp in Montevallo, Alabama in July of 2016; the following year she took the 2000 Girls back to the final and three players were named to the all-region pool.
Etherington was also a two-time conference champion at Gateshead College in Gateshead, England, as well as 5v5 National Champion before her career at Nicholls State. Most recently, Etherington was named in the Gateshead College Athletic Hall of Fame. Etherington played club soccer for Newcastle United Women’s Football Club who competed in the FA Northern Premier League.
Etherington graduated from Nicholls State University in 2013 with a B.S. in Health Sciences, and earned her M.A. in Communications from the University of Dubuque in 2015.
In August 2015, Etherington was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) “30 under 30 program”. Picked from over 500 applicants, Etherington and will be part of a year long mentorship program created to support and grow America’s next generation of coaches. She currently holds her USSF C License, F.A. Level One, NSCAA Advanced National Diploma, and NSCAA Goalkeeping Level 2 License.