Coach Cloud

Teaching life skills on soccer pitch Hillary Cloud taking Texas High Women’s Soccer to another level

Hillary Cloud, Texas High School girls soccer coach, readies for the challenges of a new season. (Staff photo by Andrew Bell)
Hillary Cloud, Texas High School girls soccer coach, readies for the challenges of a new season. (Staff photo by Andrew Bell)

Hillary Cloud always knew she wanted to be involved with the game of soccer. As head coach of Texas High School's girls team, she has not only achieved this goal, but has made her presence felt on and off the field within the program.

"I remember growing up in Texarkana, and I had to play club soccer in Shreveport," Hillary said. "Texarkana was always just kind of behind in the soccer scene. So growing up here, I can remember telling Martha and Fred Norton that I wanted to coach at Texas High.

"I wanted to come back and make Texas High Soccer what I wanted and needed it to be as a young athlete."

While Hillary is hesitant to credit herself, the team's success since she became head coach in 2018 has been evident.

The team had no playoff hopes before she arrived, but made the playoffs in her first season coaching. The year after that was derailed by COVID, and last season, the squad missed the playoffs by one placing point.

"We're to the point now where we're a lot more competitive," Hillary said. "We have a great problem. It's hard for us to choose who's varsity and who's junior varsity now because every year those players are getting better."

Also heading the junior high women's soccer program, she has made a key effort to connect talent and preparation by getting young players involved in activities that will vastly improve their games earlier rather than later.

"To me, there was a huge gap between the quality of players in JV and varsity," she said. "Especially being in Texarkana, you really have to rely on these kids to play soccer outside of school. So, I think one of the biggest things we've improved in four years is bridging that gap at the middle school level and servicing those kids that aren't able to go play club to create a more competitive environment here at the high school.

"I wanted to try and establish a culture among these girls that helps them resonate skills that are going to last longer than the game of soccer. To help them and see them be good teammates to each other is very important to me."

This establishment of culture is something Hillary learned the importance of during her tenure as a graduate assistant and interim coach at Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi.

After playing collegiately at Mississippi College, as well as in a semi-pro league there, and getting her degree in Kinesiology, she knew she was on the path to becoming a coach if she worked hard enough.

"Going into the graduate assistant program, you don't really accept that unless you are pursuing coaching," Hillary said. "It is a lot of hours with very little pay. But I just fell in love with it. I had such a great experience as a college athlete, that I knew when it was over I wanted to stay involved somehow. What's the closest way I can stay in the game, now that I'm not a player? And that was coaching."

Through these learning experiences, the fourth-year coach developed philosophies that she holds with her to this day. She said the main ideals she tries to pass on to all of her players include having a team-over-individual attitude, holding her players to a high academic standard, valuing conflict resolution skills and encouraging them to take care of their bodies.

These messages have been well-received by her players.

"Coach Hillary is a determined, fearless, goal-oriented, and enthusiastic coach who pushes our team to the best of our abilities," senior Ellison Davis said. "Playing for her keeps me on my feet and makes me be the best version of myself on and off the field. As Coach Hillary would say, 'Iron sharpens iron,' and that is what our team strives to prove."

One of the many reasons Hillary's players admire and respect their coach so much is because of her ability to make them realize what they're capable of.

"For athletes here -- especially because my girls are so accustomed to watching our football and baseball boys get recruited -- I think one thing I've really tried to bring home to Texarkana in my experience from coaching in college is knowledge on that process of becoming a student athlete at the college level," Hillary said. "I always try to encourage my girls to be the best versions of themselves, which is not always the easiest job. Being someone who always holds them accountable, I'm not always the good guy or favorite person. But it's always rewarding to me when they may come back years later and be like, 'I know this because of what we did in soccer.'"

Getting recruited as a male football or baseball player looks completely different than it does as a female soccer player, but Hillary wants her players to know that different doesn't mean worse.

"If anything, I hope I've normalized that it's okay if you don't have a Division I scholarship," she said. "You can still go play college soccer and get a good education somewhere. They see their guy friends getting recruited from all the big schools, so it's disappointing to them when they don't have it. But it just doesn't look that way for us, unless you're just incredibly gifted.

"Being able to educate parents on that, especially at the middle school level so they know going into high school soccer. You have to take a lot of responsibility for the recruiting work. That's something I've been glad to have a voice for."

While Texas High has had female soccer players pursue the sport at the collegiate level in Hillary's tenure, she says most don't. But that doesn't take away from the life lessons and relationships that are built in their years of being on the team.

"Coach Hillary is a motivator on and off the field," sophomore Annabeth Killian said. "She keeps us on our toes and wants us to succeed in every aspect of our lives. I can always count on her for great advice."

Going into the 2021-2022 season, there is excitement for what the young roster can accomplish. Hillary and her team are looking forward to showcasing the team's improvement on Dec. 31 in their first game against Pleasant Grove at Grim Stadium.

"I'm excited for this team because my first group of freshmen are now seniors," Hillary said. "It's so fun to see these young girls step up, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they overcome adversity. It'll be an interesting year."

The Lady Tigers have high hopes for another strong playoff push.

"I've always told them I want to play on my birthday because my birthday is in the beginning of April, and that means we've made it far into the playoffs," she said. "That's something we say every year."

Hillary Cloud, Texas High School girls soccer coach, readies for the challenges of a new season. (Staff photo by Andrew Bell)
Hillary Cloud, Texas High School girls soccer coach, readies for the challenges of a new season. (Staff photo by Andrew Bell)
Hillary Cloud, Texas High School girls soccer coach, gives instructions to her team during a recent practice (Photo courtesy of Clint Smith/TISD)
Hillary Cloud, Texas High School girls soccer coach, gives instructions to her team during a recent practice (Photo courtesy of Clint Smith/TISD)
Hillary Cloud, Texas High School girls soccer coach, gives instructions to her team during a recent practice. (Photo courtesy of Clint Smith/TISD)
Hillary Cloud, Texas High School girls soccer coach, gives instructions to her team during a recent practice. (Photo courtesy of Clint Smith/TISD)
Texas High girls soccer coach Hillary Cloud keeps a watchful eye on her charges as they go through drills in anticipation of the coming season. (Photo courtesy of Clint Smith/TISD)
Texas High girls soccer coach Hillary Cloud keeps a watchful eye on her charges as they go through drills in anticipation of the coming season. (Photo courtesy of Clint Smith/TISD)
“I wanted to try and establish a culture among these girls that helps them resonate skills that are going to last longer than the game of soccer," says Texas High School girls soccer coach Hillary Cloud, prior to the season. "To help them and see them be good teammates to each other is very important to me.” (Photo courtesy of Clint Smith/TISD)
“I wanted to try and establish a culture among these girls that helps them resonate skills that are going to last longer than the game of soccer," says Texas High School girls soccer coach Hillary Cloud, prior to the season. "To help them and see them be good teammates to each other is very important to me.” (Photo courtesy of Clint Smith/TISD)

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