On the day of her graduation from Texas State in May 2018, Kassi Hormuth received a phone call from Kapolei Middle School in Kapolei, Hawaii — a town in Oahu about 30 minutes west of Honolulu. It was already a special day, and to make it even sweeter, she was offered a job. The college graduate packed up and moved off the mainland to begin her career as a teacher.
Now, after spending a few years in the Aloha State, Hormuth is ready to come back to Texas and get back to her roots.
Hormuth was announced as the new head coach of the Lady Rattlers soccer team on May 21. There isn’t a soccer team at Kapolei Middle School, so she didn’t get the opportunity to coach during her time there as an eighth grade science teacher. This will be Hormuth’s first job as a head coach.
“When this opportunity in San Marcos popped up, I couldn’t turn it down,” Hormuth said. “When I went to Texas State, I fell so in love with San Marcos and the river and just the whole atmosphere. I was super excited to get a chance to go back to that and see it from a different side … It'll be a learning curve, but I’m excited.”
Hormuth grew up in Cedar Park and started playing soccer at just four years old when she joined a recreation league. She played different sports as she grew up and eventually had to choose between gymnastics and soccer. Hormuth decided to continue her soccer journey and stuck with it. When she was a freshman in high school, her club team won national championships, and by sophomore year, she committed to play for Texas State.
During her career as a Bobcat, Hormuth was a key player all four years and racked up many accolades. She played and started in nearly every game under current head coach Kat Conner. In both 2016 and 2017, Hormuth was named the Texas State Offensive MVP and was awarded the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week. In 2017, she was an SBC Leadership Team Member, selected for the All-Sun Belt Conference First Team and was named the SBC Offensive Player of the Year. Hormuth was also a team captain during her senior season in 2017.
Hormuth said Conner taught her how to transition into a captain and through that role, she found her passion for being a leader and teaching others. It came full circle when she was getting her degree.
“Coach Kat really taught me how to lead,” Hormuth said. “I’m not one of those people that knew I wanted to be a teacher from a really young age. I changed majors multiple times in college, but I think through that leadership role, that’s when I learned that I like teaching and leading and I like watching people grow.”
Upon graduation, Hormuth wanted to experience a new area, which is part of the reason why she started her career in Hawaii. She almost accepted a job in Cambodia, but thought it was a little too far. At the time, Kapolei Middle School operated on a year-round school schedule where they went to school for nine weeks and then they were off for three weeks. Hormuth took advantage of the schedule and she was able to travel to Kauai, Thailand and Australia before COVID-19 entered the world.
The new head coach is happy to be with her family again, as she knew her time in Hawaii wasn’t going to be permanent. She thought this would be the perfect time to come home and start her coaching career.
Hormuth had coached at a variety of levels through summer camps and College ID Camps for Texas State, but never at a school. She was nervous because she’d never been a head coach before, but SMCISD athletic director John Walsh reassured her that he would help her as she navigated through the process.
“I was a little hesitant just because I felt like I was skipping steps,” Hormuth said. “Normally people start as an assistant coach and then work their way up to being a head coach … he (Walsh) was like, ‘You know, I know you. It’s not a secret, you’ve never been a head coach before … If you can handle the logistics of soccer and coaching and connecting with these kids, I can teach you to be a head coach. As long as you handle the soccer part, everything else is teachable.’ He made me feel really confident and that I would have a strong leader to lean on and kind of guide me through.”
Hormuth learned how to surf during her time in Hawaii and would even go before work at 5 a.m. since her school was five minutes away from the beach. She’ll miss being able to ride the waves every morning, but she’s excited to come in this summer and get to work with her new team. They’ll start with strength and conditioning, as well as the essential soccer skills.
“I’m gonna have to start with getting my own footing,” Hormuth said. “We’ll have a solid three weeks in July to kind of lay the groundwork, get that strength and conditioning and start on a little bit of soccer. And then when school starts, we’ll hit the ground running.”
She hopes the team will come in with intensity and work hard during her first year. Hormuth refers to a book by former United States national team player, Julie Foudy, and wants to instill that message in the Lady Rattlers.
“I just want these girls to come in and work hard,” Hormuth said. “The two things you can always come in and control are your attitude and giving maximum effort. So, what I’d like to focus on this year is just getting that attitude straight, working hard and getting everybody on board and bought into Rattler Nation.”
