BY DAN STICKRADT
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST | WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR | DIRECTOR OF NEWS
PH: (248) 884-1051
TW/X: @msn_stickradt @LocalSportsFans @MiSoccerNetwork
HOLLAND, Mich. – A new chapter for Holly Van Noord is set to open, while another chapter has now closed.
Van Noord, the popular high school girls soccer coach from Hudsonville High School, stepped down from her coaching position at the Grand Rapids area high school and recently accepted the head coach position for the Hope College women’s soccer program.
Hope College Director of Athletics Tim Schoonveld confirmed on June 15 in a press release that Van Noord would be the next head coach of the Flying Dutch.
“I’m sad to leave Hudsonville because we created something very special the last few years,” said Van Noord, who spent her high school days nearby at Hudsonville Unity Christian and attended NCAA Division I Liberty University as a student-athlete. “We had some very good teams, especially the last four years.
“But I’m excited to take over at Hope College and can’t wait for this fall,” continued Van Noord. “It’s exciting to be the new head coach at Hope College and coach (collegiate) soccer.”
Van Noord, who also spent three years as an assistant coach at Hope College, has been successful as both a player and coach since she was an elementary student playing soccer in the Grand Rapids area.
Van Noord, who set some records at Liberty University and was a multi-year Division 3 state champion at Hudsonville Unity Christian, succeeds Dr. Leigh Sears at Hope College, who stepped down after 23 seasons as head coach. Sears, who is Hope College’s most successful women’s soccer coach with 270 victories and six Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) league titles, is moving into a full-time role as a faculty member with Hope College’s Kinesiology Department.
“Holly is an amazing person who will be a great addition to all we do here at Hope (College),” said Schoonveld. “She is a winner. She has been highly successful in all areas of her career and is an even better person. Her commitment to our pillars of academics success, competitive excellence and, most importantly, transforming the lives of our student-athletes is clearly evident. We want to welcome her to the team and are excited to see her impact on our department and women’s soccer program.”
Over seven seasons as a high school head coach, Van Noord helped turn Hudsonville from a program struggling to even win league games within the Ottawa Kent Conference-Red Division to a program that spent the better part of the last four seasons in the MIHSSCA Division 1 top-15 state rankings.
Hudsonville posted an 83-22-16 overall record during Van Noord’s seven-year tenure with a .752 win percentage and led the Eagles to a MHSAA Division 1 state runner-up showing in 2023 amongst numerous accomplishments. Van Noord taught physical education and health at Hudsonville, which was 64-7-10 during the last four campaigns for a team that remained in the top five in the state for all of the 2023 and 2024 campaigns.
Hudsonville captured three league titles with one league runner-up finish, dropped just one league game the last four years and that was against Grand Haven (1-0) in a shootout during the OKC-Red Division Tournament semifinals. Van Noord’s Eagles also reached the district finals the last four years, winning three districts, while also reaching at least the regional finals three times.
Hudsonville lost in the regional finals twice, captured one regional title and reached the Final Four once during the 2023 season, the same year the Eagles dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 decision to Rochester Stoney Creek in the Division 1 state finals.
Hudsonville was 14-2-2 during the 2024 campaign with a senior-laden team that featured 14 seniors and some highly-touted underclassmen. The Eagles remained in the No. 1 position all season this past spring before being upset in the district finals to Caledonia (2-1) a game where Hudsonville lost in a shootout despite a 23-1 shots on frame advantage in the contest.
During her final four seasons at Hudsonville, Van Noord’s teams were excellent both offensively and defensively. Hudsonville outscored the opposition 60-13 during the 2024 season with 10 shutouts and outscored the opposition 258-37 with 55 shutouts from 2021-2024. There was no high school spring sports season in 2020.
Overall, Van Noord coached more than a dozen All-State players, including two-time All-State Dream Team standout Kendall Aikens, who was named Miss Soccer on June 20 during the Michigan Soccer Network’s Dream Team Reveal Show. She coached several more players that earned All-League, All-District, All-Region or All-Area during her tenure.
While at Unity Christian from 2008-2012, Van Noord, who played goalkeeper, helped the longtime state powerhouse Crusaders to three Division 3 state championships (2009, 2010, 2012) and one state runner-up trophy (2011) to go along with four league, district and regional titles under the direction of legendary coach Randy Heethuis. She had 75 career shutouts while at Unity and 24 clean sheets during the 2011 high school season – both which are still MHSAA state records.
Van Noord was a four-year starter at Liberty University, becoming the Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year in both 2014 and 2016. She was the Flames’ first two-time winner of the award and finished her collegiate career at Liberty with a school and Big South Conference record 34 shutouts in her four-year career.
During the last three fall collegiate women’s soccer seasons where Van Noord was an assistant coach at Hope College, Van Noord helped the Flying Dutch post a 33-12-10 record over those three soccer seasons, including a 10-2-6 mark during the 2023 campaign. Hope College finished 6-1-1 in MIAA play in 2023, good for second place behind Calvin University in the nine-school standings.
In a statement given by Van Noord to the Hope College Athletics Department and issued in a press release, Van Noord said she looks forward to being a part of a college committed to both excellence on the field and in the classroom.
“Hope has a rich tradition of academic and athletic excellence, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. I want to express my gratitude to Leigh for her leadership and mentorship over the past three years I’ve been an assistant. I’ve witnessed firsthand the impactful culture she has created within the program, which fosters both athletic excellence and personal growth for our student-athletes,” offered Van Noord. “I look forward to building upon the program's success and working with these talented women to achieve their full potential on and off the field. I also want to thank Tim and the entire Hope committee who entrusted me with the opportunity to lead this incredible program.”
(The MSN Coaching Carousel is a sampling of coaches from within the Michigan soccer community either stepping down or taking over programs at any level. Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com, or call 248-884-1051. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com.)
(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer of teams or players with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com, or call 248-884-1051. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com.)
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