Tech soccer adds Rachel Fulkerson as assistant coach
The Tennessee Tech soccer team and head coach Steve Springthorpe have finalized the 2020 Golden Eagle coaching staff with the announcement of the addition of Rachel Fulkerson as an assistant coach.
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech soccer team and head coach Steve Springthorpe have finalized the 2020 Golden Eagle coaching staff with the announcement of the addition of Rachel Fulkerson as an assistant coach.
Fulkerson, who will work with Tech's goalkeepers among a variety of other coaching responsibilities, comes to Cookeville following a two-year run as an assistant coach at Indiana State.
"After an extensive search, we are excited to be adding Rachel to our staff here at Tennessee Tech," head coach Steve Springthorpe claimed. "Throughout the interview process it was apparent that Rachel had all the qualities that we were looking for to complete our coaching staff. First and foremost, we want to make sure that we continue to have a diverse level of thinking when it comes to the three of us coaches on staff. We all have our own way of thinking and I feel that it's important to challenge each other on a daily basis and have a staff that can relate to our players in many different ways. Rachel will certainly bring a coaching style that I know our whole team will enjoy."
While with the Sycamores, Fulkerson played a pivotal role in training the club's goalkeeping unit for each of the last two seasons. The Brownsburg, Ind., native also assisted in planning, leading training sessions, film analysis, organizing all aspects of team travel, recruiting and running all youth and prospective student-athlete camps. During her tenure, Indiana State received six All-Missouri Valley Conference honors.
"I am extremely excited for the opportunity to join the coaching staff at Tennessee Tech," Fulkerson said. "I want to thank both Steve and [Associate Head Coach] Corey [Boyd] for being so welcoming during this entire process. I'm looking forward to growing and learning alongside them and I believe that the characteristics and standards that encompass the Golden Eagle soccer program and athletic department as a whole directly correlate to my beliefs."
Prior to her stint at Indiana State, Fulkerson spent two years as an assistant coach at NCAA Division III Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, also located in Terre Haute, Ind. During her stint with the Fightin' Engineers, the club possessed one of the top defenses in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, highlighted by a combined 13 shutouts in Fulkerson's two years with the program.
"Rachel's background working with the goalkeeper position will prove to be valuable for our program," Springthorpe noted. "Not only did she play the position in college, but her background coaching the position at the collegiate level is a major plus for our team. I'm confident she will continue to develop our keepers at a high level in the OVC."
Fulkerson suited up between the pipes at Indiana Wesleyan University, an NAIA school in Marion, Ind. A four-year player and team captain as a senior for the Wildcats, Fulkerson was part of a squad that was ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation and competed in the NAIA National Tournament. She received her undergraduate degree in 2014 and completed her Masters in kinesiology and exercise science at Indiana State in 2018.
"I'm excited to join the rich history that has already been, and continues to be created at Tennessee Tech," Fulkerson said. "I believe TTU is an environment I will be able to grow as an individual and hopefully leave a lasting impact. I'm grateful for this opportunity to be a part of this program, department and University."
