Head soccer coach Dylan Harrison’s love, passion and success in soccer came about unexpectedly.

When he was six years old, his family moved to McAllen, Texas, about five miles from the Mexican border. As a kid, Harrison knew that to fit into his new environment and make friends, he would need to play soccer, a sport that so many of the kids his age played in his community.

At the age of 14, Harrison decided to make soccer his passion. He was involved in the Olympic Development Program after high school and went to Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. While attending Trinity, he experienced quite a bit of success. He guided his team to three Division III Tournament appearances, including two consecutive Elite Eight appearances in 1998 and 1999. During the 2000 season, Trinity advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.

Soon after his Olympic Development Program, the ODP coach offered to pay his training course to become a soccer coach.

“It was that push from my college coach that got me into it,” Harrison said. “I was actually looking at another job for the government and was point one (.1) GPA away from getting the job. Funny how those little things in life can put you on an entirely different road than you thought.”

From 2003 to 2004, Harrison was an assistant coach at the University of the Incarnate World. His team finished 16-2 that year.

In 2009, Harrison took the head coaching job at Nicholls State. During his first season, he led the women’s soccer program to many milestones. The Colonels broke several records and scored their first point in a Southland Conference in over two years when they tied Texas-San Antonio.

So far this season, Harrison has led the Colonels to wins over Prairie A&M and Spring Hill and a tie with UL-Monroe.

“I was never a really good soccer player, but I was a competitor. However, here I am with a business degree coaching soccer, and I haven’t looked back yet,” Harrison said.

He said he owes the most to the friendships and people he has met along the way.