Girls’ varsity head coach Andrew McKnight will step down as the head girls’ soccer coach. McKnight has recently been hired by the Iowa City Police Department.

McKnight started the process to get hired back in 2012 of March and the process will finally be complete this April. He will coach his final game on April 22nd against Washington.

McKnight compiled a record of 31-10 in his tenure at Kennedy high school including winning a state title his first year coaching at Kennedy.

“It’s hard to step down from this school,” McKnight said. “The experiences that I have had coaching at Kennedy high School will provide me with many memories which I will surely cherish.”

Kennedy Senior Kaela Dickerman will miss many things about their coach.

“I’ve had him as a coach for three years and I’ve had him as a coach before that too. I know that he has really helped me improve as a player,” Dickerman said. “Although we sometimes but heads he’s been a really inspiring person for me.”

McKnight will be replaced by current assistant coach Scott Meyers, who has coaching experience on both the high school and college level.

“Scott brings a vast background of soccer to the table and he will have all the tools to be successful,” McKnight said.

The players seem to think Coach Meyers will be successful too.

“I think Scott’s a good coach for us. He understands our personalities and is able to deal with them,” Dickerman said. “I think as a team we’ll really do well with adapting him into our personalities.”

The Cougars appear to be one of the favorites to compete for a state title this year. They are currently ranked second in the state and just recently beat seventh ranked Muscatine 5-2.

“Going into the season we have all the potential to do as well as we can,” Dickerman said. “Our goals are to win as much as we can, play as hard as we can and just stay focused as being a team.”