LSU soccer’s loss of three defensive starters who had compiled 233 career starts was bad enough.
The Tigers’ already-young defense took another hit in July when assistant coach Daniel Brizard accepted a head-coaching position at Tennessee Tech.
However, LSU coach Brian Lee already had a replacement in mind: Kevin Dempsey, head coach at College of Charleston.
The two coaches have a long history, coaching against each other in the Southern Conference when Lee was at Furman. Both also worked together with the Region III Olympic Development Program team for a number of years.
“I tried to keep a running list of people we would consider for assistant coaching positions if something came open, and Kevin was on a short list of two or three people from across the country,” said Lee. “We were fortunate when the job came open that he was interested, and we were able to hire him pretty quickly.”
For Dempsey, the benefits outweighed what some would see as a demotion, given his years of head coaching experience.
“My ego is in check,” he said. “The opportunity to coach at a school like this was a big part of the decision. I don’t have any worries about that.”
Dempsey spoke modestly, but when asked about what he could contribute to the program, he didn’t hesitate.
“In 16 years as a head coach, I’ve seen it all,” he said. “I have the perspective of experience.”
Dempsey, who never served as an assistant before, admitted to looking over the job with a careful eye before accepting.
What he saw was a bunch of familiar faces. Most of the players in the freshman class have played on the Region III ODP team at some point in their careers.
“I’ve known Brian for a long time, and I respect him,” he said. “Also, I knew the talent level [of LSU] from coaching ODP.”
In Dempsey, Lee saw a coach who could provide valuable leadership while giving the Tigers one of the most experienced staffs in the conference, if not the country.
Along with Dempsey, fellow assistant coach Debbie Hensley was the head coach at Western Carolina for six years before coming to LSU with Lee.
“I think we have three coaches on staff who are all capable of being head coaches in the SEC,” Lee said.
For now, though, Dempsey is focusing on the job at hand instead of worrying about future ambitions.
The back line is a formidable project, as the Tigers start freshmen Alex Ramsey and Emily Cancienne, as well as junior Taryne Boudreau, who moved to defense from midfield.
It didn’t take long, though, for Dempsey to win over the players he’d be coaching.
Senior defender and team captain Courtney Alexander recalled meeting Dempsey when he interviewed for the job.
“I thought he was a great guy,” she said. “I really liked what he stood for and what he was saying, as well as his tactics and what he’s about as a person.”
 
 
 
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Contact Ryann Ginn at [email protected]