Mike Wolanin | The Republic Columbus Express Soccer Club administrator Jenny Carlson has been named Indiana Soccer Administrator of the Year. She is pictured at the Richard Wigh Soccer Complex in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, April 12, 2022.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Jenny Carlson never played organized soccer, but that hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of the more powerful influences on the game in the Columbus community.
Carlson, who has worked with the Columbus Express Soccer Club in some capacity for two decades, recently was named the Indiana Soccer Administrator of the Year.
“It was just an honor that someone nominated me, thought enough of me to be considered for such an award,” Carlson said. “The things I do can’t be done without great support from (CESC director of coaching) Ty (Smith) and our board and our soccer community. It’s just a team effort all the way around.”
The Rockford, Illinois, native ran track at Indiana State. After she and her husband Mark moved to Columbus in 1996, they had four kids, and the three daughters became soccer players.
Jenny began working with the Express as a volunteer in the early 2000s when her oldest daughter Kelsie began playing soccer. Daughters Kenadie and Katie followed Kelsie in the program, and Jenny eventually became club administrator, a role she has held since 2011.
As club administrator, Jenny carries out tasks like registering players, registering the teams for tournaments, making sure all the documents are collected and helping families obtain financial assistance.
“As the club evolved over the past 20 years, I went from volunteering in various roles to being employed by the club,” she said. “Anything to do with paperwork, that’s more my role.”
Prior to becoming club administrator, Jenny was team manager, uniform coordinator, served on the board and tournament chair when the Express hosted tournaments.
“We’ve hosted prelims several years and actually hosted the state finals one year, and our club and our community have always received high accolades from Indiana Soccer,” she said. “A lot of people pitch in, and we host a fantastic event. It’s definitely a club effort.”
That was the case last year, when the Express hosted the Indiana Presidents Cup and Challenge Cup at Richard Wigh Soccer Complex.
“Jenny was instrumental in leading our club in hosting 2021 Indiana Presidents &Challenge Cup in Columbus,” Smith wrote in his nomination letter. “She took the reins and oversaw the entirety of the operation, while still ensuring that all of our club’s internal administrative needs were met throughout the entirety of the process.”
Carlson, who has come out of retirement a couple times to resume her full-time job as teacher at St. Bartholomew, was a finalist for the Indiana Soccer Administrator of the Year award in 2016 and 2020.
“Jenny Carlson is a major factor in the success and organization of Columbus Express,” Smith said. “Jenny has selflessly donated her time and knowledge towards helping our club in all administrative facets so that players and families can enjoy the game. I have witnessed Jenny first-hand meet families in-person to complete applications and apply for community scholarship opportunities. Jenny has pulled into rest stops on road trips, altered her plans and paused from her much-deserved vacations to aid in an often-time trivial club matter to make sure that our players could play.”
