Chase Wooten became Northeastern State's women's soccerhead coach in January 2010, and is just the third person toserve in this capacity since the sport was added in 1996.
The former head coach at Centenary College and an assistant atthe University of Alabama brings a wealth of NCAA Division Icoaching experience to the Tahlequah campus.
"I am really excited about coming to Northeastern State," saidWooten. "It's a great opportunity and I'm looking forward togetting started.
"It's a pretty warm and pleasant place (Northeastern State) andthe town is wonderful. It seems to have an absolutely greatenvironment for getting a great education."
Konya said Wooten was clearly the choice as the University seeksto elevate its women's soccer program.
"We had so many quality candidates for this hiring, but ChaseWooten's credentials clearly separated him from the others incontention," said Konya. "When I spent time with Coach Wooten, andgot to know him as a person, his interpersonal skills made him theideal choice.
"Administrators often use the adage of "hitting a home run" withloose lips, but we truly feel as an administrative team atNortheastern State that Coach Wooten can meet our loftyexpectations for our women's soccer program. Those expectationsstem from a commitment to academic excellence, attractinghigh-character student-athletes, service to the community, and ofcourse, excelling in athletic performance on the pitch.
"This is a great day for RiverHawks soccer, but moreimportantly, it is also a great day for our university community aswe add another individual of high character and vision into theNortheastern State family."
Wooten believes the RiverHawks have an opportunity to become apower in women's soccer on the NCAA Division II level.
"I think the upside at Northeastern is really, really high,"said Wooten. "It's a situation where the (Lone Star) Conference isreally good, but I think we can reach that level quickly in a yearor two. Then we can be at a place where we start setting new goals,like winning the conference championship. I think that's realisticand then we put ourselves in a situation where teams arehistorically really, really good."
He inherits a program that faltered in 2009, winning only fiveof its 17 matches and one LSC contest. Wooten's first order ofbusiness is to evaluate the program from the inside-out.
"The first thing we have to do is identify the talent that'shere (Northeastern State), and then bring in the talent we need tocompliment them," he said. "We'll recruit the Tulsa area rightaway, then look in Dallas, St. Louis and any other areas where wecan bring in quality players."
During his interview process, Wooten met with the currentRiverHawks squad and came away with an impression of a team that ishungry to win.
"The student-athletes had great questions and I was reallyimpressed with them," said Wooten. "They weren't reallyconcerned about themselves, but more interested that the programwas moving in the right direction.
"They were concerned about how we can turn this around and win.I was impressed with that."
Wooten, who served as head coach of the women's program atCentenary for six years (2003-2009), led the Ladies to two SummitLeague semifinal appearances and had three players named SummitLeague Players of the Week this season. He also had severalAll-Conference and Freshman All-Conference selections.
During his tenure at Centenary Wooten placed a high priority onacademics and during his Ladies coaching stint, every team obtaineda 3.25 grade point average or higher.
While at the University of Alabama from 2001-2003, Wooten servedas assistant women's coach. He was the Crimson Tide'srecruiting coordinator and served as the goalkeeper trainer. TheTide's 2001 team had the sixth most improved record in thenation.
Also at Alabama he was the boys head goalkeeper trainer for theAlabama Olympic Development Program.
Wooten has also served as the Shreveport Futbol Club head coach,which included a U18 Dallas Cup participant and coached theShreveport United squad, where three teams were Louisiana PremierState finalists.
Wooten coached high school soccer at Caddo Magnet High School inShreveport from 1996-98, where he served as head coach andassistant coach of both the boys and girls programs. His girlsprogram placed second in the Class 5A State Championship in 2001,won district titles and Wooten earned District Coach of the Year in2000 and 2001. They were listed among the Top 50 girl's teams inthe nation in 2001 by Fox Sports.
Wooten's boys teams were District Champions three consecutiveyears from 1999-2001. He was also selected District coach of theYear in 1999 and 2001.
The new RiverHawks coach has held coaching licenses with theUSSF B (University of Oklahoma), NSCAA Advanced National(University of Notre Dame), NSCAA National (Trinity University) andUSSF National D (Houston).
Wooten played at Centenary College from 1995-98 where he was agoalkeeper and the '98 male student-athlete of the year. He alsoplayed at Lindsey Wilson College from 1994-95 before transferringto Centenary, where the Columbia, Ky., school reached the NAIAFinal Four.
Wooten is a graduate of Taylor High School in Katy, Texas, wherehe was captain and selected MVP of the team. He was also a firstteam All-District selection, second team All-Region and was amember of the Texas Senior All-Star Team. He was also a member ofthe Classic Soccer Club in Houston. Wooten was also a member of theSouth Texas Olympic Development Team, and was a USA Cup BronzeMedal winner, a Dallas Cup participant and a member of the 1991South Texas State Champions.
Wooten and his wife, Amber, have a daughter, Catherine.
