Heather Ross

George Sisson, director of athletics and recreation at Jamestown Community College, has announced the hiring of Heather Ross as the new women’s soccer 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.”

Ross said that coaching at the collegiate level is “something that I have always wanted to pursue.”

“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 a wealth of coaching knowledge, most recently as the head coach of the varsity girls soccer team at Iroquois High School in Elma. During her four years with the Chiefs, Ross accumulated a record of 44-12. In the 2019 season, Ross helped guide Iroquois to a Section VI 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 loss in overtime against Greece Olympia.

After the 2020 season being canceled 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 VI Class A championships. Ross finished her tenure with a 10-5 record during the 2022 season along with another league title.

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

Ross will look to carry her success over into the college ranks, including giving the student-athletes 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 here 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 Jamestown CC, Ross is 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 with her bachelor of science degree in physical education. In addition to playing soccer, she was also a member of the lacrosse team. After Canisius, Ross obtained her master’s degree in special education from St. Bonaventure University in 2003. Since then, Ross has taught physical education at Iroquois High School.