General | April 13, 2023

Home is where the heart is. This means something different to everyone, but for Susan Hood, her home lies in the heart of Aiken County. 
 
Now in her second year as the Compliance Coordinator at USC Aiken, Hood has been a part of Aiken, S.C., her entire life. Being born and raised here, Hood attended South Aiken High School before ultimately making the decision to attend USC Aiken from 1995-1999. 
 
Hood's ties with the Athletic Department run deep. She was a standout-athlete on the USC Aiken softball team under head coach, Jerry Snyder. When deciding between USC Aiken and opposing athletic offers, the choice was clear for Hood. Because of scholarships and proximity to home, USC Aiken was her best fit. 
   
Though the experience in the sport would have been similar, going to a school away from home would have most likely been short-lived for Hood, due to her connection with Aiken. 
 
Hood said, "My overall experience would've been similar to Aiken, except I love my home. It was just me and my mom. I don't think I would have stayed anywhere else. I probably would have been homesick and not stuck it out."
 
Being a student-athlete has taught Hood valuable lessons she has been able to take with her throughout her life and career. Time management was a tool that has proven to be the biggest asset for her. 
 
"It taught me how to manage my time. That was the hardest thing to figure out. I worked, played ball, and went to school. I didn't have the traditional college life. The balance of everything and trying to schedule everything has really helped me as I got older," Hood said. 
 
While playing softball at USC Aiken, Hood has developed many relationships with her peers that hold great value to her. 
 
Hood said, "The relationships that I have built with my teammates are some that I still have. My best friend was my shortstop. She is still my best friend today. She never moved back home, she stayed here in Aiken."
 
Hood came into college with expectations to become a P.E. teacher with coaching in the back of her mind. When the school removed the P.E. program the year she began, she shifted her focus to exercise science with a concentration in athletic training. 
 
Initially following graduation, Hood stayed local. She worked her first two years at a screen printing shop before ultimately making the decision to work at the Savannah River Site from 2002-2016. 
 
"For two years I worked at a screen printing and embroidery shop. After 9/11, they increased security out at the Savannah River Site," said Hood. "My stepdad worked out there and the only requirement to work there was that you had to have a college degree, or military or law enforcement experience. In 2002, I went out to the site and was working on barricades and law enforcement until 2016."
 
During her time working at the Savannah River Site, Hood kept softball close in her life. She had been coaching at her old high school for four years, experiencing both an assistant and head coaching position. 
 
Hood said, "I was coaching at South Aiken while I was working at the site for four years. I was an assistant coach to start with and then the varsity position came open so during that time I was the varsity coach."
 
After spending 18 years away from the school, Hood found her way back to USC Aiken. Now able to see athletics through a different lens, Hood became the assistant coach for the USC Aiken softball team alongside her previous coach, Snyder. 
 
"Coach Snyder randomly called me one night and said that he needed an assistant and wanted to know if I was interested. I was, but I still had my team. I finished out the season with them and came the next fall to be his assistant," said Hood. 
 
Coaching, for Hood, was a way for her to offer her players aspects of the experience she may have lacked. The most important part for her was to provide her team with support and knowledge of the game.  
"There were times when I didn't have a coach that helped me. I wanted to be that coach that helped, whether that was on the field or off the field," Hood said. "Not always coming up did I have a coach that knew what they were doing. Many lacked knowledge of the game. As a coach, I am trying to give back what I have learned over my time." 
 
In need of something new, Hood transitioned from one role in USC Aiken Athletics to another. Upon getting her master's degree and experiencing the physical demands of coaching, she began to search for something that would sustain her long term. 
 
"I had debated for a long time getting my master's degree. With everything going on in my life, getting married, and having a kid, it got pushed to the back burner. When I left the site I finally got my master's," said Hood. "Twenty hours a week of practice, pitching, hitting ground balls, it all starts to wear on your body. I began to wonder what was next. I knew in 10 years I wasn't going to be out here coaching." 
 
Knowing she wanted to remain in athletics, Hood began to pursue positions within the department at USC Aiken. She eventually was offered a position as Compliance Coordinator and Senior Women's Administrator.
 
"I began to seek out available positions within the athletic department. It just happened there was an opening with Compliance and they needed somebody there. I came in temporarily to see how it was going to go. I eventually got full-time and it just rolled into what it is now," said Hood. 
 
Similar to when she coached, this new position allows Hood to maintain the relationships she has built and is continuing to build with athletes. 
 
Hood said, "My main goal was to stay in athletics. This was the best path to be involved with everything. I can still help the athletes and not have such a physically demanding job."
 
The one factor that has kept Hood driven to be a part of Aiken is the sense of belonging and connections it has bred. 
 
"It's home. I went to school here, I played here, I coached here. My family is here. It's just home for me," Hood said. "Even some of the same faces from when I went to school here are still around. It feels the same even though it's different with all the familiarity. This is the only place I've ever lived. It is home to me and I can't imagine being anywhere else."

 

Career Hitting Statistics

Season	AVG	GP	GS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SLG%	BB	HBP	SO	GDP	OB%	SF	SH	SB
1996	.276	29	23	76	11	21	1	2	0	17	.342	3	1	4	0	.309	1	0	2
1997	.336	46	45	137	30	46	4	12	3	25	.606	5	2	15	0	.368	0	4	11
1998	.337	59	59	166	31	56	9	6	0	32	.464	12	0	21	1	.378	2	4	12
1999	.288	45	44	125	15	36	8	4	0	19	.416	14	1	13	0	.357	3	3	7
Total	.315	179	171	504	87	159	22	24	3	93	.472	34	4	53	1	.359	6	11	32