ODU Women's Soccer Coach Angie Hind Steps Aside to Return Home to Her Native Scotland

By Harry Minium

NORFOLK, Va. – After 12 seasons as the head women’s soccer coach at Old Dominion, where she took over the reins of a struggling team and built it into a championship program, Angie Hind says it’s time to return home to Scotland.

Hind inherited a team that finished 1-13-3 in 2013 and turned ODU into a nationally prominent program that won three conference tournament championships, a regular-season conference title and two Sun Belt Conference East Division crowns in the last five years.

Her final team was 11-3-4, defeated power conference schools Maryland and Virginia Tech and finished 52^nd in the NCAA women’s soccer RPI among the 350 Division I schools.

Next season, with most of her players returning, and an excellent recruiting class already signed, the Monarchs could be even better.

But for Hind, the pull of home was something she could no longer resist. The Kilmarnock, Scotland native says her parents, Thomas and Isabelle, are no longer able to travel to America to see her, and that over the years, she’s grown increasingly homesick.

Earlier this week, she met with Dr. Wood Selig, ODU’s director of athletics, to inform him that she was resigning. She told her team during an emotional meeting on Tuesday.

“I love the United States and everyone at Old Dominion,” she said. “But I knew it would not be my forever home. It was a matter of when it felt right, and it just feels right.”

She and Michelle Barr, her coaching compatriot for more than 25 years, will return to Scotland together. They have received frequent coaching offers in Scotland over the years.

“No doubt that Michelle and I will get back in the game in Scotland,” she said. “Soccer has grown tremendously in Scotland. It’s time to go back and see if we can make a difference there.

“The last few years when we’ve visited Scotland, especially for Christmas, it’s gotten more difficult. It was harder and harder to get on the plane to return to America. It’s just time to go home.”

Dr. Selig credits Deb Polca, then ODU’s associate director of athletics, for finding Hind, and says Hind did everything and more that she promised to do.

“Angie did everything any institution could possibly want from a head coach,” he said. “She excelled in the classroom. Her players were highly visible in the community. And they were dominant on the field. When you think about the saying, ‘Did they leave it better than inherited it,’ Angie absolutely left it far better. When she took over, we were in the bottom 10 percent. She has us in the top 10 percent.

“The continuity of the coaching staff has been a major factor in our success. Angie and Michelle have been the anchor of the coaching staff. You don’t have that level of continuity with the head coach and assistant coach much these days.”

A former Scottish National Team player and coach, Hind came to America to become an assistant coach at Dartmouth and later took over as head coach, where she went 54-38-8 in six seasons. She had returned to Scotland to coach when she heard about the ODU opening.

“I always chose places to work that I could believe in,” Hind said. “And I believed in Old Dominion and the vision that Wood Selig has for this University’s athletics program. I got to come in and bring our vision to life and make a difference.

“I have worked with some very special people, and not just players and coaches, but other assistant coaches who went on to do great things. Wood has been with me every step of the way. He believes in me and trusted in what we were trying to do. He trusted us and we delivered six trophies in the last five years.”

Hind was 106-80-37 in 12 seasons at ODU.

Academically, her players were among the best at ODU. Every player that Hind recruited who stayed at ODU at least three years graduated.

“Angie embodied everything right and good about college athletics—recruiting people of character, demanding excellence on the field and in the classroom, and caring deeply for every player,” said Danielle Cohea, ODU’s executive senior associate athletics director, compliance and student-athlete success, who is also the sport administrator for women’s soccer.

 “With her staff, she built a family whose bond goes far beyond sports. And now, as she steps away to care for her own family, she shows once again that she has always kept her priorities exactly where they belong.”

Hind had special praise for Barr, a standout defender for the Scotland National Team as a player who has been ODU’s associate head coach since 2017. She tutored ODU’s defenders, who were among the nation’s best.

“Michelle has been a big part of every step here,” Hind said. “Everyone who knows about our program knows what she’s done for our progress.”

Ryan Parncutt, who played for Hind, is now director of social media for ODU athletics.

“They’ve always been a unit, the entire coaching staff,” Parncutt said. “The trust they have for each other is amazing. Michelle was my direct coach, and she did so much for the team.”

Although Hind cares for her players, Parncutt said she was often tough on them as well.

“She taught all of us the value of having hard conversations,” she said. “She pushed us all the time. Culture was so important to her. Having a team means more than just showing up and practicing every day. It’s excelling at everything you do, on the field and in the classroom.”

Hind said one of the hardest parts of leaving was telling the team of her decision.

“It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done,” she said. “There were a lot of tears. We told them that we will see them again and we will. We’ll pop back and forth from time to time.

“This will become our vacation spot for sure. Old Dominion and the people here will always be a huge part of my life.”

Minium is ODU's Senior Executive Writer for Athletics. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram

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