Lauren Ford is in her first season as an assistant women's volleyball coach at Goshen College in 2019.
A former professional player for five-plus years in Finland, Germany, the Philippines, Switzerland and Spain, Ford played Division I volleyball at the University of South Carolina, where she was a three-year letterwinner from 2003 to 2006. She graduated with a degree in Experimental Psychology.
Ford came to Goshen from northeastern Pennsylvania, where head volleyball coach in the Pocono Mountain school district in 2018. Before that, she served as head volleyball coach at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis in 2015 and assisted the Warriors from 2012 to 2014.
She has also been a travel coach for All-American Volleyball Camps since 2012 and was a Team Indiana Volleyball Club head coach from 2014-16.
At South Carolina, Ford graduated with the most kills per set and second-most blocks of any player in the rally scoring era. Entering the 2019 season, she ranked 10th and sixth, respectively, in those categories. She still holds the rally-era record for blocks per set at 1.12.
Ford's 2004 season went down in Gamecock history with 118 blocks, a rally-era record, and a mark of 1.27 blocks that still stands as a record. Her 75 blocks in Southeastern Conference play were the second-most in program history to that point, and she still holds the program record with 13 blocks in a match. She was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week on October 12, 2004,
“I’m absolutely thrilled that Lauren is on my staff," said GC head coach Kourtney Crawford. "This will be our second time on the bench together. Back in 2016 we coached together at Warren Central High School; I was her assistant for the varsity team. Lauren is extremely knowledgeable about the game of volleyball. Her resume is unreal. Playing big time division one and overseas volleyball, she brings a different experience and a different vision of the game. I’m truly blessed to have her here at Goshen as she will play a big part in changing the program.”
Ford hails from Indianapolis, where she prepped at Lawrence North High School before going on to play her freshman season at the University of Wisconsin. She was a member of the 2001 U.S. Youth National Training Team and also lettered in basketball and track at Lawrence North.
