Women of Excellence: Heather Nelson

Heather Nelson is the only head coach that has guided the Southeast Missouri State University’s women’s soccer program since its inception in 1999. In over 20 years, under her steady guidance, the Redhawks have posted 16 winning seasons and compiled a 229-178-59 record. Nelson has coached six Ohio Valley Conference regular season champion teams and back-to-back OVC Tournament championship squads (2006-07) that earned berths in the NCAA Tournament. SEMO has made the OVC Tournament 18 of the 20 seasons, the most in league history.

A former member of Canada’s national soccer team pool, Heather was a four year starter at the University of Saskatchewan, where she completed a degree in Physical Education. She was one of only five Canadian female coaches qualified to coach at the national level.

In her 21 seasons here, Heather has coached four OVC Players of the year, seven OVC Defensive players of the year and four OVC Freshman of the Year honorees, and 58 OVC Medal of Honor recipients. She has coached 96 players who have earned All-OVC accolades as well as two in the SEMO Hall of Fame. In doing so, Coach Nelson was able to immerse her players in a championship culture while contemporaneously developing standout female student-athletes. During her tenure as head coach, the SEMO women’s soccer teams have posted a 3.3 GPA or higher every season. The result of her efforts is a cadre of well-rounded successful woman. For all the wins her teams have posted and all the accolades they have received for their exemplary performance, perhaps it is even more commendable that Coach Nelson has influenced hundreds of athletes who excel to this day because of her influence not only on the field but in their lives.

The 2012 season was one of adversity for the Southeast soccer program as the team overcame numerous hardships and a tragedy that impacted the entire university and Cape Girardeau community. First, Coach Nelson was injured in an accident over the summer and spent time away from the sidelines recovering during the first month of the season.

Then, in early September, senior defender Meg Herndon was involved an accident that tragically cut her life short. Described by Coach Nelson as equal parts a captain, friend, sister and teammate, Herndon displayed tenacity as a driven defender on the field and was admired by the countless lives she touched in competition and her personal life. Herndon’s No. 2 jersey was retired one year later during a celebration of her life prior to the annual alumnae match. During the event, Herndon’s mother, Cindi Silvey, presented a check for the newly formed Meghan Herndon Memorial Scholarship. “It’s amazing knowing that Meg’s legacy is going to live on through her scholarship,” Coach Nelson said.

Last season, Coach Nelson was named OVC Coach of the Year for the fifth time. Nelson and her husband, Paul, Associate Head Coach at Southeast, have four children, Jordan, Taylor, Justin and Chase. Their daughter Taylor is a sophomore at Southeast and is a member of the SEMO soccer team, while oldest daughter Jordan is a SEMO Soccer alumna.

Please join me in a Zonta round of applause for 2020 Woman of Excellence--Heather Nelson.