Kiva Gresham Last College: Louisiana Tech Position: Assistant Coach Experience: First Season

After a storied career at Louisiana Tech as a player, former Techster great Kiva Gresham has returned to Ruston, La., this time as an assistant coach for Kevin Sherry and the soccer staff.

Gresham graduated from Tech in the spring of 2011 and decided to move back home to Albuquerque, N.M. Since then she has continued to find herself on a soccer field, somewhere and somehow, despite her collegiate playing career being over.

"I've been home helping coach with the club team that I grew up playing for, mostly little kids seven and eight years old," said Gresham who was a four-time academic all-WAC honoree. "I also did a camp last summer in Massachusetts that was the Brookshire Soccer Academy and that was eight-to-13 year olds."

The international sport also took her to the Caribbean for a coaching class in Trinidad and Tobago. Despite these long journeys to big cities, states and islands, the small town of Ruston always had a special place in her heart.

"I missed Ruston a lot," said Gresham. "After you go away it's like `man, I had a lot of friends there and a big soccer community.' I have a lot of friends on the team too that I really missed."

And why wouldn't Ruston be a special place for her given the immediate and long-lasting impact she had that is still felt to this day at the Lady Techster Soccer Complex.

As a freshman, the forward out of Highland HS led the team in goals, assists and points. Her senior season in 2010 was record-breaking for the program as she took over season marks for most assists with eight and most points with 32.

"I miss being on the field a lot," said Gresham who was a 2nd team All-WAC performer her senior year. "It's kind of a different aspect, being coached and being on the field, but I've been playing just as much as I've been helping out."