See the picture with Mike Hughes on the left?
Conner’s fourth-year girls soccer coach would rather not be in it.
Hughes would rather you notice his players. It’s a philosophy that’s worked – the Cougars are 44-23-9 in Hughes’ three seasons and three games in Hebron, including a 3-0 start this year.
“I think the game’s about the kids, it’s all about them,” Hughes said.
Hughes’ formula for success is as simple as first-grade math and as structured as military basic training – consistent, stable leadership.
“The schools that have consistent growth … are when you have stability,” Hughes said. “Here’s the program, here’s the expectations, here’s the leadership, here’s kind of how things are going. I think that helps build programs and gives kids consistency.
Conner senior goalkeeper Ally Welch remembers when Hughes arrived in 2021. She watched older sister Abby suffer through 2020’s 6-8 season.
“I had a few worries going into (2021),” Ally Welch said. “But I could tell that, with his reputation and his determination about the game and how well he knew it, that he was wanting to stay and grow the program.”
Sophomore left wing Ashley Sweetay has two goals so far – one in Conner’s 1-0 victory Wednesday at Henry Clay and the other in a 3-0 win over George Rogers Clark on Aug. 12. She said Hughes talks about “having your mind right.”
“He motivates me to be a better person and makes sure I’m focusing in, even if it’s not soccer, just anything,” Sweetay said.
‘This isn’t for me’
Hughes, a 1993 Holmes graduate and striker on the Bulldogs, earned all-state honors. He intended to play college soccer at Bellarmine University in Louisville (then an NCAA Division II school but now in Division I).
“And then I went down there, and then just kind of felt like, ‘You know, this isn’t for me’,” Hughes said.
Hughes started his coaching career in Covington; he was the Bulldogs’ boys soccer coach from 1997-2002, the softball head man from 2002-2006, and was also a soccer referee.
Before Conner, Hughes led Boone County’s girls to a 169-103-23 record – and only three losing seasons – in 14 years in Florence from 2007-2020.
While Hughes successfully guided the Rebels, Conner struggled – the Cougars were 105-129-19 with just four winning seasons under six coaches.
The 2020 season was memorable because of the COVID-19 pandemic – Hughes’ son Brenden graduated from Boone County that spring but missed the summer club season. Then, the high school season didn’t start until Sept. 9 that year. (Boone County was 9-4.)
“This is, like, craziness to watch kids lose everything that they worked for, especially when they’re seniors, they’re going off to college,” Hughes said. “And in high school, it was, ‘Are we going to have a season? What can we do to give these guys opportunities?’”
‘It changes your life’
Hughes said he got into coaching partly because he enjoyed “helping out.”
“When that grabs hold of you, it changes your life,” he said.
Hughes is not shy about crediting his support team – wife Jennifer, Brenden and 2024 Simon Kenton alumna Megan – for everything he’s accomplished.
“At home, I know that there’s things I’ve missed or times that I wasn’t present,” he said. “I probably could’ve done a better job there versus coaching. Luckily, I have a supportive wife and my kids and family. Without that, I think that I would’ve burned out.”
Hughes said coaching philosophy has evolved, especially when he talks to players about college sports. “In hindsight, I tell these kids, now that I coach, ‘Hey, man, try it for a year, then decide,” he said.
Hughes said players’ skill level is exponentially better now than in his day.
“It used to be, you had a handful of players who had a skill set or a skill level, and you had one or two teams that had those players,” Hughes said. “Now, you can play anybody in this region, and they have one skilled player; most of the teams have more than that.”
Hughes said there’s also more emphasis on film study – he said the Cougars look at athletes and ways to attack.
“We try to teach them not just the technical side, but the tactical,” he said. “I think without the evolution of film, that was something that really couldn’t be done years ago. The evolution of the game, that means you have to change with it.”
There’s a question Hughes can’t answer: When will he retire from coaching soccer?
“I’ve never lost the passion for it,” Hughes said. “So, they say you’ll know when you know. I don’t know yet.”