Eastern women’s assistant soccer coach Jenny Anderson-Hammond will get a chance to impress coaches general managers from the newly formed Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) at the second United Soccer League Women’s-League combine this weekend in Tampa, Fla.

Anderson-Hammond, in her first year as an assistant coach for the Panthers, is one of 128 players from the USL W-League selected to try out.

The W-League had its first combine from Aug. 28-31 in Sacramento, Calif.

The W-League, which Anderson-Hammond has competed in during the summer for the past five years, is the highest level of professional soccer in America and Canada.

However, WPS is a newly formed professional soccer league looking to replace the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) that ceased operations in 2003.

The WPS will begin its inaugural season in the spring of 2009 with seven teams, including franchises in Chicago and St. Louis.

“It’s definitely an opportunity for me to progress as a player,” said Anderson-Hammond, who most recently played for the Chicago Gaels in the W-League. “After the WUSA folded I thought my playing days were over as far as playing professionally, but this is a great opportunity for players like myself as well as these girls in college to aspire to play beyond college.”

After the combine, which begins today and runs through Sunday, players from the U.S. Women’s National Team will be allocated to different WPS teams. After an international player draft, where teams are permitted to select two players, a general draft will be held on Oct. 6 where Anderson-Hammond and others from the 128-player pool will be eligible to be drafted.

Panthers’ head coach Tim Nowak, who hired Anderson-Hammond as his assistant in March, is excited to see her get an opportunity to continue playing professionally.

“I think it speaks volumes about her passion and dedication to the game,” Nowak said. “Someone who has been out of school for as long as she has, to stick with the game and earn an opportunity like this is special. I’m proud of her.”

Anderson-Hammond graduated from Clemson in 2005 where she was a four-year starter on the Tigers’ soccer team. She helped lead the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament appearances and was a team captain during her junior and senior seasons.

Anderson-Hammond began her post-collegiate career at Kansas where she was the director of soccer operations during the 2005-06 seasons. She was a volunteer assistant during the 2007 season and coached in a local club in Kansas.

As far as her future with the Panthers is concerned, Anderson-Hammond said it is still far too early to comment.

“I’m just going to take it one step at a time,” she said. “I’m not sure what’s going to come out of this. It’s just the first step of many for me as a player.”

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or at cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.

The new assistant coach Jenny Anderson-Hammond works with the goal keepers during practice on Wednesday. Anderson-Hammond was a starter for all four years of her college career at Clemson University and was recently selected to try out for teams in the Wo

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