Over 12 seasons, Leigh Sears has become Hope's winningest women's soccer coach. She has guided the Flying Dutch to two Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) championships and appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

In 12 seasons, Sears has compiled a 127-90-15 record.

The 2012 Flying Dutch tied for second place in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). Unbeaten on their home field (8-0-1), the Flying Dutch posted a 14-6-2 overall record.

As a collegian, Sears was a three-sport standout at Ohio Wesleyan University. She was an all-conference player in the North Coast Athletic Conference in three sports — soccer, basketball and track. In her senior year in soccer, she was voted the Ohio and conference player of the year and achieved All-America recognition as a midfielder. In 1998 she was inducted into the Ohio Wesleyan University Athletic Hall of Fame.

After receiving her bachelor of arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan, Sears earned the masters of science degree from Ithaca College (N.Y.) and in 2007 was awarded the Ph.D. degree from The Ohio State University.

Prior to coming to Hope, Sears was the women's soccer coach at Marietta College (Ohio) (1994-99). In addition to her teaching and coaching responsibilities at Marietta, she was faculty advisor to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Sears has served a chief clinician for women at the Ohio High School Soccer Coaches Association and has been a member of the NCAA Division III Great Lakes region women's soccer advisory committee.

Sears has been a director and clinician at numerous soccer and basketball camps.

A member of the kinesiology faculty, she holds the rank of associate professor.