JAMESTOWN – There's a new era of Jamestown Community College women's soccer as George Sisson, Director of Athletics and Recreation, announced the hiring of Heather Ross as the team's new head coach.

"Heather brings in a wealth of knowledge of coaching," said Sisson. "She is a proven commodity at the high school level. She has the passion to coach at the collegiate level and has the desire to build a program going forward. She's motivated to bring us back to a level that we were at five years ago."

"The opportunity to coach at the colligate level is something that I have always wanted to pursue," said Ross. "Most people would shy away from trying to rebuild a program, but I take this task head on and bring JCC women's soccer back to the top of the region."

Ross brings in a wealth of coaching knowledge, most recently as the head coach of the varsity girls soccer team at Iroquois High School in Elma, New York. During her four years with the Chiefs, Ross accumulated a record of 44-12. During the 2019 season, Ross helped guide Iroquois to a Section 6 Class B Championship with a record of 19-2 as well as winning the league championship. The run ended in the far west regional with a 1-0 defeat in overtime against Greece Olympia.

After the 2020 season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ross and the Chiefs put together a 15-5 record during the 2021 season where they finished second in the league and were runners-up in the Section 6 Class A Championships. Ross finished her tenure with a 10-5 record during the 2022 season along with another league championship.

Throughout her time at Iroquois, Ross had 21 student-athletes named All-ECIC Division 3 along with two players earning All-WNY Team honors.

Ross will look to carry her success over into the college ranks but says that having a winning program is a focus, but the focus lays more in giving the student-athlete an experience that they can take with them in life.

"I believe as a coach it is important to show these young people that they are important and help them grow in spirit and in life," Ross said. "We want to help these student-athletes be prepared for life and the experience that they will have her at JCC on the women's soccer team, it will help them who they want to become and teach them how to balance academics and athletics."

After their time at JCC, Ross will be hopeful that her players will continue to play at the next level as she draws from her time at Canisius College. 

"Being apart of a team to me helped make my college experience that much better," said Ross. "While I was at Canisius, it helped better prepare me for life after school as I learned about the balance of being a student-athlete and if I can help get our players to the next level so they share the same experiences, then I will do my best to do so."

Ross graduated in 1999 from Canisius College with her Bachelor of Science in Physical Education where she was also part of the women's soccer and lacrosse team. After Canisius, Ross obtained her Master's in Special Education from St. Bonaventure University in 2003. After graduation, Ross has been at Iroquois Central School as a physical education teacher.