To the Western Wyo Women's Soccer Program and Players,It is heartbreaking for me to realize that my time with Western Wyo Soccer has come to an end. I once thought to be a part of Western Soccer until I chose to retire from coaching. The end of my Mustang coaching career was a decision entirely made by Western Wyoming Community College. There were three supervisors who signed my letter of termination; one had never met me, one did not know anything about me as a person or a coach and another who was so deceitful and untrustworthy.
It is my opinion that the powers that be at Western did not appreciate that I researched and demonstrated that the compensation I was receiving was well below the job that I was fulfilling. I was the lowest paid coach in Region IX of the NJCAA for both Men's and Women's soccer. In fact, if you combined my earnings for both coaching jobs I held at WWCC, the majority of coaches in Region IX who only coached one soccer team were paid more than myself who coached two teams.
For five seasons, I was the head women's soccer coach and the head men's soccer coach at Western Wyoming, both of these jobs equaled one part time job in Western's eyes. Because of the low pay and the part time status, I continued to teach Spanish at Rock Springs High to make ends meet. Working a full time job off of campus while still coaching and recruiting for two Western Wyo soccer teams is not an easy feat. In coaching both men's and women's soccer I hoped that someday the job would grow into full-time employment for me. On many occasions I reminded the college of my intentions and desires to be employed full-time at WWCC to only see other people with less coaching experience and less tenure receive those chances and benefits. I thought that I had done everything the college asked me to do including having success on the field and in the classroom with the Western Wyo Student Athletes.
Not being a part of the Mustang Soccer Family will be difficult as it has been such a big part of my life for so long. There are many great memories that I will carry with me forever and I am so thankful to have been a part of this program. The two things I will miss the most are; the players and the coaching staff. Some of the best individuals to ever grace the WWCC campus wore the Red, Black and White for Western Wyo Women's Soccer. The players made this program what it has grown into and I thank them for believing in me and choosing Western to start their soccer careers. It was my extreme pleasure to have worked all five seasons with the Western Wyo Women's Soccer team along side Brady Baldwin. Brady is an exemplary coach and an even better friend and human being. The last two seasons Alex Allred joined the staff as a team manager. Alex is such a kind and good-hearted individual. Alex did anything we asked of him at training sessions or matches, we were lucky to have his smile, work rate and dedication. Although I am no longer a Mustang, I am sure that I will continue to be involved in coaching and in the sport of soccer, somethings are just too hard to get out of your system.
Sincerely,
Jeff Atkinson
