ONEIDA, Ky. (KT) — Hunter House’s first year as soccer coach at Oneida Baptist Institute saw the school win the 13th Region championship and advance to the state tournament — but that is not what he will remember most about the season.
His most vivid memories will include the circumstances that led to him getting the soccer coaching position at OBI — but more significantly, the impact his players had on him.
Oneida Baptist Institute had a strong soccer season that included capturing the 13th Region championship.
After OBI lost to Ashland in the state tournament, a newspaper reporter asked him what his group of players and the season meant to him.
“At that time there were a lot of emotions going on. People often ask ‘What can a coach do for his players?’ but they don’t ask what the players do for the coach as a person and a coach,” House said.
Since that time, House had the opportunity to talk with his team to tell them what they meant to him. It’s a powerful story as well as life lesson.
“I told them when I played in high school and college I had three major knee injuries. By the third time you think you are cursed. Not only are those times physically challenging but also challenging on the mental side. I missed two full years of high school soccer, and I always look back and think ‘What if this didn’t happen?’
“When bad things happen, you get a victim mentality — there is some grief, some anger and you look at things in a negative aspect. It made me look at things more negatively. Then I started at Union College playing soccer and ended up transferring. So those surgeries, then a transfer — I kept developing a victim mentality and asking why things are happening this way.”
He told his players about the many negative thoughts that he had developed over the years. “But somewhere along the way those went away because of you guys, the investment and success you have had. You have grown as soccer players and young men,” he told the team.
He added, “Everything happens for a reason, but I couldn’t figure it out until years later. My story may be different from yours, but there will be times you will wonder why things are happening to you. But there is a purpose and a reason for that. Those are times you have to keep going, and one day you can look back and see there is a reason for everything happening the way it did,” a principle from Romans 8:28: We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
House said getting the OBI soccer position “came out of nowhere, and it seems like it was made in heaven.”
He is in his fifth year as a physical education teacher at Hunter Hills Elementary (K-5) but notes that soccer has been “one of the biggest parts of my life since I was 5 or 6. When you finish playing it’s hard — you can’t play so you become a coach.”
In the past he has coached several travel clubs and done private soccer training but also has completed his second master’s degree at Ohio University in soccer coaching. “They offer the only soccer specific academic degree in the U.S.,” House noted. “I want to use my experiences to help all the boys I will coach.” He has done a residency at the National Soccer Convention and will be going back in January for another stint with that program. “As a coach, the learning never stops.”
Previously, he was coaching a youth travel team, but it wasn’t his dream job. “It really wasn’t what I wanted. While it was a good experience, deep down I wanted to be coaching at the high school or college level, where it feels more like a family.”
He said he grew impatient looking for a position. “Nothing was open and available, and I was refreshing my phone every day looking for a job.” The Kentucky High School Athletic Association listed the Oneida position, and he emailed the school that day.
At that time, Oneida was seeking someone who would be there full-time. But House and his wife both had teaching jobs in London, about 45 minutes away, plus they had childcare in place and were active in Calvary Baptist Church. He and his wife, Taya, rotate doing youth recreation and run the recreation program for the summer Vacation Bible School.
The next month OBI reached out to House and asked to meet. Within a few days he had accepted the job and soon met his new team. “We met a few minutes then headed straight down to the field.”
House has just finished arranging the school’s 2026 fall schedule. “It’s another tough schedule — we could have a poor regular season record, but I want us to be battle tested.”
He faces the task of replacing 15 graduating seniors but is still involved in helping them with their college plans. “I’m taking players to colleges so hopefully that is the next part of their journey. We definitely have some boys who can play at the next level.”
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