New Jersey/New York Sky Blue FC head coach and general manager Ian Sawyers said he knew only a little about Eastern women’s soccer assistant coach Jenny Anderson-Hammond’s playing ability prior to the Women’s Professional Soccer combine.

“I had vaguely heard about her because she had played in southern California where I’m from,” Sawyers said.

But once Sawyers saw Anderson-Hammond during the WPS combine in Tampa, Fla., in early September, he learned enough that he decided to select Anderson-Hammond as one of the Sky Blue’s four draft picks at the WPS General Draft on Oct. 6.

For Anderson-Hammond, being drafted is the opportunity of a lifetime.

“It’s pretty much a dream come true,” she said. “I’m really excited for the opportunity to continue playing. I’m basically on cloud nine.”

The WPS General Draft consisted of four rounds for each of the seven teams in the league. Anderson-Hammond was selected by the Sky Blue with the first pick in the fourth round.

Anderson-Hammond said she was following the draft on the Internet but wasn’t expecting to get drafted in the General Draft. She said she was already preparing for the next WPS combine and the second draft in January.

“I really had no idea I was going to get drafted,” she said. “I went into it thinking I was going to have another tryout before the next draft, and I figured a lot of national team players would be getting drafted. But I got lucky that they needed defenders to complete their team.”

Sawyers said he saw a lot of important qualities in Anderson-Hammond that factored into the team’s decision to draft her.

“She showed a lot of things (at the combine),” Sawyers said. “The things that stood out were her composure, her ability to read the game and her problem-solving techniques. At the pro level those things become very important considerations.”

Sawyers said he plans to use Anderson-Hammond at the outside-back position, and while Anderson-Hammond said she played center-back in college, she’s still comfortable playing outside-back.

“Even though I played center-back while at Clemson, I played outside-back during the whole combine so I’m very comfortable attacking out of it,” she said.

Eastern head coach Tim Nowak said he is happy to see Anderson-Hammond get an opportunity to play at the professional level.

“I’m really proud of her,” Nowak said. “It’s not every day that someone has a dream that big and they get to accomplish it. She’s earned it with a lot of hard work and dedication to the game. It’s validation for all of the hard work that she’s put forward as a coach and as a player.”

The Sky Blue’s roster currently has 13 players and the team will add more during the next draft in January.

Included on the team are Natasha Kai, Heather O’Reilly, and Christie Rampone, who played for the U.S. National Team that won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Anderson-Hammond said she doesn’t know any of her new teammates personally, but said she is excited to get to know them.

“I played against a couple of them in college while I was at Clemson, but I’ve never played with any of them or know any of them,” she said. “I’m excited to play along side national team players that just won a gold medal.”

Anderson-Hammond said while she’s looking forward to the chance to play professionally, she has not yet made any immediate decisions on her future.

Her husband Andrew is a high school math teacher at Champaign Centennial High School, and the couple has not yet made plans on relocating to the East Coast.

“It’s definitely a big decision, but we really haven’t gotten that far yet,” Anderson-Hammond said. “It’s still early – with five and a half months until the season starts – so a lot of things will happen. Right now my focus is still here at EIU and continuing working here and finishing up the season and then time will tell.”

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