2007 Gibault grad Hanna Schuerman gets the chance to do something she has always wanted: coach soccer.

“I’ve actually wanted to be a coach since I’ve started playing,” Schuerman said.

The fact that she gets to coach at her alma mater makes the opportunity that much sweeter, she says.

“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to coach at a higher level and its just sweeter that I played there four years.”

Schuerman has been named the new Gibault girls junior varsity soccer coach for the 2013 season. She has been asked to fill the position after the former coach, Mike Olson, stepped down to watch his daughters’ high school careers from the sidelines as a parent rather than a coach, according to Gibault Athletic Director Jim Montgomery.

“I was informed that she was back in the area and involved in youth soccer,” Montgomery said. “I was still relatively new when she was here but I remember watching her play. She was tenacious on the field.

“My hope was that the passion she played with could be transferred to the coaching level. If I’m right we might have a keeper. Time will tell,” Montgomery said with a smile.

Schuerman was one of the stars of Gibault’s 2007 girls soccer team that placed second at state in Class A. She went on to play one year at the University of Alabama in Hunstville.

Now, Schuerman works for Vetta Sports at the Power Haus in Columbia as the after school coordinator for the daycare. But perhaps her most intriguing title is Power Haus Soccer Club Coach. She is one of five coaches in the newly formed Power Haus Soccer Club. Schuerman said the club consists of seven teams ranging from three year olds to eighth graders.

“I’m coaching girls now that go to SPPCS and want to play at Gibault,” explained Schuerman.

She says she is excited to contribute to the program and work with head coach Matt Reeb to build the program from the lower levels on up.

“Matt Reeb has taken over the program and done really well since I’ve been there,” Schuerman said. “My main goal is to get the girls ready for the varsity level.”

The high school girls soccer season officially starts on Feb. 25, when they can begin practicing. Gibault’s first game is March 12.