The reigning Class A state champion girls soccer team welcomes a new coaching staff this year. Kelly Ordway brings years of playing and coaching experience to the head coaching position at Whitefish High School. 

She replaces Roland Benedict, who was head coach since 2015 and last season led the team to its first state title since 2006.

Ordway said the team is off to a good start. They scrimmaged Glacier High School once and Flathead twice thus far, even though the first official day of training is Aug. 16. The Bulldogs’ first game is Friday, Aug. 30.

Each year, new players join the team and others leave. Currently, the team has a good foundation and new additions. Coach Ordway said it should be a good season. 

“We start our season off with an overnight trip to Billings, so we're diving right in,” Ordway said. “It’ll be good. We’ll have an opportunity to really get to know each other super well.”

Ordway was born in Tucson, Arizona, and began playing soccer when she was 7 years old. During high school, her U19 team was ranked fourth best in the nation. When she was a junior, her team scrimmaged twice with the U.S. Women’s National Team and as a senior, she was named Co-Player of the Year for Southern Arizona. 

She received both academic and athletic scholarships to Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where she played soccer for four years. She served as a captain of her team and was a starting defender while earning her bachelor degree of science in health and wellness.

One month after college graduation, Ordway moved to Whitefish. She shared her passion for the game by coaching champion and premier league teams, and for the last two years, she’s coached regional teams with Glacier Surf Soccer Club.

After several parents of Whitefish players asked her to coach, Ordway applied for and received the high school head coaching position.

“My husband was born and raised here and he actually played on the first-ever Whitefish High School boys team his senior year in high school, in 1992,” she said. “We love our community and we love the game of soccer.”

Her family has been big supporters of the high school game, whether they have family playing or not. She said she’s happy to give back to the community all that she’s received from the game of soccer.

JOINING ORDWAY is assistant coach Cooper Culver and volunteer goalkeeper coach Micah Busey.

Culver said he started playing soccer as soon as he could walk. He has played premier soccer for 11 years and has experience coaching players of all ages. He said he has a strong love for the game of soccer including all elements, both physical and mental.

A former Flathead High School player, Busey has stepped up to coach goalkeeping. 

“Busey’s been really dedicated and that’s great because it's not my place of expertise,” Ordway said. “He’s been a huge help.”

Part of what Ordway loves about soccer is that there is always more to learn and as a coach, she looks for ways to inspire all the players.

“In the high school team, there are 35 to 40 lives coming together to work towards a common goal and everyone has their unique gifts and unique challenges,” she said. “That’s one of my favorite parts about it. That we are all uniquely inspired.”

Ordway aims to find unique ways for the team to inspire each other and have a positive experience while also working through challenges – health, mental and psychological challenges, even when it may be difficult.

“It's not fun gaining new levels of endurance because it's uncomfortable,” Ordway said. “But with all that hard work and focus and sweat, and sometimes tears … we can have just a ton of fun.”

Ordway sees the game of soccer as a fun way to learn and live the ethics of determination, courage, creativity, sportsmanship and teamwork. She is concerned that fun has been overlooked in youth soccer in recent years.

“I would like (the players) to look back and say we worked really, really hard and had so much fun. I want them to have grown out of their comfort zone, worked really hard and had a blast,” she said. “That’s what really keeps you coming back for more.”

    Coach Kelly Ordway and her daughter, Sage, after winning the Empire Cup in Spokane, Washington. (Photo provided)