Susie Homan resigned last week as head coach of the GW women’s volleyball team, saying she decided it was time to pursue new challenges.

At season’s end and during the semester break, Homan reflected on 19 years of coaching, including eight full seasons at GW, and concluded that this was the time to begin thinking about the rest of her life, she said.

“At this point in my life, I want a new challenge,” said Homan, whose team posted a record of 18-12 overall this season and finished fifth in the Atlantic 10. “This is a pretty major deal for me. I feel this great sense of freedom.”

	Susie Homan photo by Joshua S. Prezant

Homan said she looks forward to taking time off and is anticipating the freedom of exploring the many opportunities that lie ahead. She said she plans to continue working with summer volleyball camps in the area.

“Volleyball will always be a part of my life,” Homan said. “But I don’t think coaching will.”

Having recorded the second-best coaching record in GW’s volleyball history including two Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors and three NCAA Tournament appearances, Homan’s announcement shocked her players and staff.

“I thought that she was joking,” assistant coach Yvette Moorehead said.

“She threw it at us immediately and we were all frozen,” sophomore Jill Levey said. “We respect her decision, and we wish her well.”

No mention has been made of who the Colonial women’s next coach will be or when that search will begin. It is unclear whether Moorehead, who was hired this year by Homan, will continue at GW.

“I enjoyed it immensely here, but to be at my best, I need a new challenge,” Homan said. “I think I caught them all off guard, but I really hope something works out for Yvette here at GW.”