Hagen Feeling Comfortable in Her New Role
First-time head coach found her fit with Colorado State
When you like everything about what you’re doing, there is no rush.
At Texas, everything was great. Perfect, really, for Keeley Hagen. She was working for her mentor, who had become a trusted and close friend. The pay was good, and she was coaching soccer at the highest collegiate level. So when people asked her if she was seeking a head coaching position, she wasn’t in a hurry.
Hagen always said, ‘no.’
Angela Kelly had recruited her to Tennessee, where Hagen (then Dowling) became a three-time All-American, was All-SEC all four years and was the Soccer Buzz Central Regional Player of the year in 2003 and 2004, the same years she was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a Hermann Trophy semifinalist. Life was good, and as she pursued her professional career, she hung around the program and remained a Volunteer – literally – as a graduate assistant coach. When one of the assistants took time to give birth to a child, Hagen filled in, then joined the staff. She was there with Kelly for four years, and when Kelly took the head job at Texas, Hagen made the trip with her.
There, they remained together for nine more seasons. Life was good, but Hagen was getting the itch. Kelly actually had it for her pupil first.
“Keeley has been ready. The timing is right,” Kelly said. “For the past five years, I’ve said I have two head coaches on my staff and strong females. I’m doing my job to give back to the game. For me, personally, she’s a dear, dear friend, and I’m going to miss her. But for her, I’m just so proud of her. She’s ready.”
So Hagen started taking steps. Updating coaching licenses and attending clinics and seminars. She started making connections beyond the Kelly coaching tree, but still, she was looking for the right spot. She finally told Kelly a few years back if something checked all of the boxes, she’d apply.
But she didn’t call Colorado State, Athletic Director Joe Parker contacted her. Which really piqued her interest.
“In all of my years, I applied for two jobs, maybe three. They actually called me. I didn’t apply for it, and for me, as soon as Colorado State called, I was, this is intriguing,” Hagen said. “I’ve not watched the program from afar, but I’ve appreciated how Colorado has really developed in their youth soccer. I have friends in Colorado, been there, my brother was there, it’s a beautiful place, my in-laws are in Colorado. Let me take a look at this school, and I’m super humble they called me. As soon as I went there, it was, this is very, very intriguing, I’m going to go after it and see if I can get the job.
“My head was all in it. Everybody told me if you go on campus, you have to go all in, so I did. It felt right. It seems like there is so much potential for this program, and that’s something that’s super exciting for me. The conference is very competitive. I just feel like there can be a lot of growth, and that’s really exciting.”
Parker had his boxes to check too, and while one of them was a preference for head coaching experience, he didn’t make it an end-all, be-all requirement. He spent around six hours with Kelley during the interview process, sharing meals and talking about philosophies of the game and life, and by the end, he was glad he made the call.
She wasn’t the only coaching candidate CSU reached out to in the search, but everything about her made him feel she was the best choice to move the Rams forward.
Parker defined her as stable and thoughtful with a very consistent approach to leadership. Someone who held character in high regard and would build a successful culture. She communicated well, and when he asked her what she would have done if not coaching, her response was immediate and striking.
“She said, without hesitation, I’d be a fighter pilot,” Parker said. “I thought that was a pretty interesting response. It wasn’t just simply a response, her brother is a fighter pilot and she had those aspirations until she got really absorbed into collegiate soccer. I think that attitude is a pretty telling one, and one that is going to contribute to success in the coaching space for us.
“It speaks to someone who can handle manage a lot of complexity under a lot of pressure and always keep very steady and focused on what the mission is.”
Her older brother, Tim, is a Lt Col stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in western Florida. He attended the Air Force Academy, and she visited him there and was in attendance for his graduation. She was serious about the path, and she liked what the Academy had to offer in terms of discipline. She also thought it would be a rush to represent your country while flying a jet which broke the sound barrier, but she was more serious about her first dream, to become a professional soccer player.
The Academy wasn’t going to be ideal for that path.
Tennessee was, which allowed her to represent her country as she became captain of the U-19 Women’s National Team, earning a gold medal at the FIFA World Championships. She won gold again as a member of the U-21 National team at the Nordic Cup a few years later.
And she achieved her professional dream, first in the USL W-League and in Sweden, then becoming the eighth overall selection in the 2008 WPS allocation draft, landing with Sky Blue FC, then moving to the Atlanta Beat. She played 50 career games with 47 starts and scored the only goal in the 2009 WPS semifinal game, with Sky Blue FC going on to win the title.
When she moved into the coaching ranks, she put everything she had into the endeavor. While she learned a ton from Kelly, she is not a clone, which is why they fit.
“We’re all so incredibly unique, and Ange and I are very different people,” Hagen said. “She’d probably tell you I was a pain in her ass. I wasn’t a yes person for her, but I think that helped our relationship, because she knew I had her back and I was loyal to a fault, but I know who I am and I know my values and how I want to do things. I’m really excited to implement the things that are important to me. As a player playing for Ange, the mentality part is something she developed in me, I think that’s a huge part in a young ladies’ process in competing and pushing themselves further than they think they can go, so that’s definitely a commonality. But I would say we are two very different people who share we’re both competitive. We’re different in many ways, which I think made us a great fit.”
Kelly allowed each member of her coaching staff to pick a word which held great importance to them and put it on the facility wall. For Hagen, the choice was easy.
Discipline.
There are so many things in your life that I feel if you have discipline, it’s going to help you be successful in your journey.Keeley Hagen
Her parents gave her the foundation early. Go to practice or hang out with friends? Reach for the sugary treat or fruit? Go to the party, or get a good night’s sleep?
“I think it can take you so far in life. Even though you feel a certain way, if you’re disciplined, that overrides the feelings,” Hagen said. “We’ve all been given our feelings, which I think can be a gift and can be a curse. If you have discipline in your life, your likelihood of being successful is going to increase, because you’re going to override your feelings when things get hard, or you don’t want to wake up early to work out, you want to eat that cookie but you shouldn’t. There are so many things in your life that I feel if you have discipline, it’s going to help you be successful in your journey.”
Hagen’s is far from over. Now she’s just taking it in a very new, very exciting change of direction.
She does not shy away from the fact much of what she had to entertain immediately is foreign to her. She’s already busy assembling a staff. She has to put together a schedule and find a place to live for her and her husband, Matt, who grew up in the area. She has an entire roster of players to get to know, starting the process via FaceTime.
But all of it is being done with a plan, one she began to build in her head before she started seriously looking at running her own program. This has allowed her to not feel overwhelmed, though the emotion is certainly one which will try to nudge it’s way toward the front.
“I’m certainly happy to be vulnerable. It’s both. It’s always a mindset in this is an adventure, I’m not on it by myself,” she said. “I have a ton of people who have helped support me and people I can call and ask for advice, and being married is a blessing. The second part is it’s like anything. It’s one day at a time and the most important things at a time and figuring out what those things are. When someone says they’re overwhelmed, that’s a true feeling. I’m trying to keep my feet on the ground and be present where I am. To be transparent, as soon as you take that step over 6 inches from assistant to head coach, there are moments l’m like, ‘holy cow,’ and it should be that way because of the responsibility you do have. It’s a big deal to be entrusted with the care of 26 young ladies, and I don’t take that responsibility lightly.”
Nor their development. Hagen is not familiar with the Mountain West, but she will be, and she’ll most definitely set a high bar of where she believes her program should fit into the hierarchy year after year. For the Rams to reach her goals, they’ll need to meet her criteria.
She didn’t try to slide-step into the role of head coach, she came in with message for her players during her virtual introduction. As Kelly fully expected, Hagen immediately started to put her stamp on the program she was now in charge of leading.
The first impression? Well, she’s envisioned that, too.
“I started thinking about that a couple of years ago, and that’s the exciting part for me,” she said. “There are three things I told the girls. From a vision standpoint, there are three things we’re going to do: We’re going to build character, cultivate culture and inspire competitiveness. Those are my three Cs.
"Building a culture takes time, and a lot goes into that, but that’s my first priority. The Xs and Os are great, but if you don’t have a team that wants to play for each other and is not connected, then the Xs and Os don’t really matter.”
Character, that’s non-negotiable for Hagen. Do not lie, be respectful. Competition, that’s where she says all the fun resides. That’s at practice and in matches. You take chances without fearing mistakes. When they happen, learn the lesson and move forward.
There isn’t much she misses as a player, she said, but that’s the main thing. Competition. The opportunity to take a risk and continue to grow as a player.
And now, as a coach. A head coach. For the very first time.
Kelly knew she was ready five years ago. Parker sensed it in a matter of hours.
For Hagen, it was a slow build, but it’s time. This too, it feels right. Even comfortable.