Montezuma-Cortez High School has a new girls soccer coach who has a long list of accomplishments as a player and coach. She comes here with an impressive resume.

Monica Plewe was officially confirmed as head girls soccer coach by the RE-1 School District Board of Education at its monthly meeting Tuesday night, Jan. 16. Her name was recommended by the search committee following a search which lasted through the fall months. Plewe replaces Barb Cullington who resigned after two seasons in that position.

"Our interview committee thought she was just an outstanding candidate," MCHS Athletic Director Mike Allison commented on Wednesday, Jan. 17, in his office. "She is very energetic. She seems to have excellent knowledge of the game. And her resume, most definitely, was a factor."

She is new to the area. She is married to Todd Plewe, a partner of MCHS head boys soccer coach Todd Starr, who is a lawyer in the firm of Dyer, Dilts, Beisel and Starr P.C. in Cortez. She is a currently a stay-at-home mom (son Hayden, 4; and daughter Kiseoya, 22 months) but has an insurance license and has worked not only in insurance but in mortgage and titles as well.

During her short stay so far here, she has helped some with the successful Pink Panthers of the Tri-City Soccer Association.

"A successful high school program provides an environment for girls to develop skills, compete, develop friendships, and enhance their educational experience...," she wrote in her formal application.

Plewe reported she is willing to fully commit to the program and the high school community.

"I know the importance of emphasizing academics in high school sports. I was on the dean’s honor list with a 3.5 GPA during my college soccer season, because of a coach who insisted on excellence in class as well as on the field," she wrote.

Plewe has an extensive soccer playing experience.

"I grew up in a soccer family in "soccer-crazed" Southern California and Germany. I finished my playing career at Irvine Valley College. At Irvine Valley, I was All-Conference and team captain. As a teen-ager, I played for the Mission Viejo Soccer Club, a winner of many national championships. As a player at Capistrano Valley High School, I was team captain, team Most Valuable Player, All-Conference and All-South Coast League," she wrote in her resume cover letter.

Plewe, 27, said her sister, Aurelin Wiedner, is currently starting for the Brigham Young University women’s soccer team. Her older brother, David, played professionally in Germany for six years. He currently coaches club soccer and girls high school soccer in Southern California.

She moved to the area after living in the Los Angeles area and prior to that in Alamosa.

"In Alamosa my love for coaching soccer grew. I was a personal skills coach for 12 of the high school and middle school girls in Alamosa. I was privileged to work with talented and dedicated girls who wanted to become better players. I developed a focused coaching strategy and ran high-intensity practices. I learned how to coach and motivate high school-age soccer players. In Alamosa, I was also the assistant coach for the successful girls’ competitive U-16 team," Plewe added.

"Offensively, I will probably use a 4-4-2 with a sweeper. After living for a short time in Germany I like what they do," she said by phone Wednesday morning, Jan. 17. "But I haven’t seen the talent we have here yet. But I think that’s what we will probably use. Defensively, we will want to have strong marking backs with a strong middle."

"I am so excited to be able to teach the girls what I know about this great game," she commented. "When I taught the girls in Alamosa, they were hungry to learn. My coaching philosophy is to never teach something they will not or can not use. I’m excited about the opportunity to teach them. From what I understand, there are some very good girls coming up and some others right behind them. I’m thrilled and I can’t wait for the season to start."

Assisting her will be Cheryl Gilbert, a new seventh grade teacher at Cortez Middle School. Gilbert also has college playing experience. This will be Plewe’s first job as a high school level head coach.