Impact
Records
Jacque LaFleur
Bel Air High School
Impact Statement
“She just has that natural fluidity, being in the right place and getting herself open.” -Phyllis Hemmes, Head Coach
Biography
The 5-foot-9 LaFleur excelled in three sports – field hockey, basketball, and softball – at Bel Air High. She was Bel Air’s leading scorer for three years, ending her career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 53 goals and 22 assists. She was a three-time Baltimore All-Metro Second Team selection and was selected Second-team All-State by the Maryland Coaches Association as a senior. She was voted the winner of the Al Cesky Memorial Scholarship as Bel Air High’s top senior athlete this year.
“Athletes like Jacque LaFleur are among the success stories produced in high school athletics today,” NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro said. “She has worked extremely hard to develop her skills and has become one of the best lacrosse players not only in the state of Maryland, but the entire nation, and we are proud to be honoring her.”
As a three-year starter in basketball, LaFleur finished her career with 1,198 points – the first female player at Bel Air High to score more than 1,000 point in a career – and also led her team in rebounds and steals her final two years. She also was a four-year starter at shortstop on the softball team and was a four-time All-Harford County Team selection.
Also an outstanding student, LaFleur graduated seventh in her class of 365 with a 4.08 grade-point average, and scored 1410 on the SAT exam.
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Professional Achievements
Warren Hills High School
Coach Laurie Kerr has a lifetime coaching record of 265-71-12 and led the Warren Hills field hockey team to its first state title in 2014.
Coach Laurie Kerr has a lifetime coaching record of 265-71-12 and led the Warren Hills field hockey team to its first state title in 2014.
Laurie Kerr
Warren Hills High School
Impact Statement
Coach Laurie Kerr has a lifetime coaching record of 265-71-12 and led the Warren Hills field hockey team to its first state title in 2014.
Biography
Laurie Kerr, who has been the head field hockey coach at Warren Hills for 15 years, led the school to its first state title in 2014. Warren Hills captured New Jersey’s Group 3 title. Kerr, who is a Warren Hills alum, is a member of the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame. Kerr’s lifetime record is 265-71-12. Coach Kerr is the second coach from New Jersey to be named NHSCA National Field Hockey Coach of the Year. Eastern Regional’s Danyle Heilig won the award in 2010.
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Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Lower Dauphin High School
“The team aspect of our program has been the trump card of our program. People want to be part of our tradition and our family.” -Linda Kreiser
“The team aspect of our program has been the trump card of our program. People want to be part of our tradition and our family.” -Linda Kreiser
Linda Kreiser
Lower Dauphin High School
Impact Statement
“The team aspect of our program has been the trump card of our program. People want to be part of our tradition and our family.” -Linda Kreiser
Biography
Kreiser has had an incredible career with a lifetime record of 738-104-35 with six state titles in 1993, 1998, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2013.
She began her coaching career at her alma mater in 1978. Kreiser has been inducted into the National Field Hockey Coaches’ Hall of Fame, the USA Field Hockey Hall of Fame and into the Millersville University Athletics Hall of Fame.
Not only is Kreiser a great coach, she was also an excellent player. She played on Team USA from 1972 through 1979 and participated in the 1975 World Cup.
Since being honored, Kreiser has continued to lead Lower Dauphin. She and her Falcons have finished second the past two season (2018 and 2019). In addition, Kreiser accomplished another feat. On September 16, 2019, she won her 800th career victory knocking off Susquehanna Township 8-1.
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Articles
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Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
First Colonial High School
“Whether you succeed or fail, it will not feel like failure if you give 100% of your effort.” -Haley Schleicher
“Whether you succeed or fail, it will not feel like failure if you give 100% of your effort.” -Haley Schleicher
Haley Schleicher
First Colonial High School
Impact Statement
“Whether you succeed or fail, it will not feel like failure if you give 100% of your effort.” -Haley Schleicher
Biography
This past season, Haley Schleicher was Virginia’s All-Group 6A Player of the Year after leading her school to its second straight state title during her time in the program. The future Duke Blue Devil senior finished the 2015 season with 61 goals and 50 assists.
Schleicher is the only high school field hockey player in America to ever to score more than 50 goals and dish out 50 assists in the same season. She also achieved the feat for during her junior year with 52 goals and as many assists. Schleicher also had 201 assists also marked a National High School Federal record.
Schleicher was All-Group 6A state Player of the Year. She was also named the Coastal Conference Player of the Year and South Region Player of the Year after leading First Colonial to the state crown her senior year.
She was a member of the U17 and U19 National Team and is the only high school player in history to finish her career with 200 goals.
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Videos
Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Watertown High School
“After a loss, you want to improve and get better and never have that feeling again.” -Kourtney Kennedy
“After a loss, you want to improve and get better and never have that feeling again.” -Kourtney Kennedy
Kourtney Kennedy
Watertown High School
Impact Statement
“After a loss, you want to improve and get better and never have that feeling again.” -Kourtney Kennedy
Biography
Kourtney Kennedy closed-out her outstanding high school career without a loss and four straight Massachusetts Division 2 state championships.
Kennedy scored the winning goal in her team’s 4-3 win over Oakmont Regional in the state final, which extended Watertown’s national record win streak to 123 straight. Watertown also has a 183 game unbeaten streak. Kennedy, who has accepted a scholarship to play at the University of Connecticut, was her team’s leading scorer, finishing her career with over 100 goals.
As a junior and a senior, she was named second team All-American, plus she was named to the Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic teams in 2016. Kennedy is the first winner of the National Senior Field Hockey Player of the Year Award from Massachusetts.
Kennedy saw action in 19 games her freshman season. She started all 23 games as a sophomore and junior. As a junior, she posted a career high 3 goals and 3 assists.
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Records
Personal Honors
Severna Park High School
Shelton retired after 37 seasons with 20 State Champions, the most state titles by any coach in field hockey.
Shelton retired after 37 seasons with 20 State Champions, the most state titles by any coach in field hockey.
Lillian “Lil” Shelton
Severna Park High School
Impact Statement
Shelton retired after 37 seasons with 20 State Champions, the most state titles by any coach in field hockey.
Biography
Shelton’s 37th and final season concluded last fall with her 20th state championship, more than any other coach in National Federation high school history. Severna Park’s 3-1 victory over Bethesda-Chevy Chase High in the 4A final capped a 17-2 season and lifted Shelton’s final record to 544-60-10, with 31 Anne Arundel County and 29 regional titles.
She built those numbers despite Maryland being restricted to playing the shortest regular-season schedule in the United States – just 12 regular season games, plus one in-season tournament – the latter requiring Shelton’s lobbying efforts before the Maryland state legislature to be added to the schedule.
Shelton, who retired from teaching in 2000, started the county’s first program with sticks found in a broom closet, and was instrumental in the addition of youth leagues and Bermuda-grass fields to strengthen the sport. Shelton was named the Dita/National Field Hockey Coaches Association South Region Coach of the Year this season, and she also received national Coach of the Year honors from TopOfTheCircle.com and VarsitySportsNetwork.com.
In April of 2019, Severna Park High School dedicated the field hockey field in honor of Shelton and her commitment to the school and community.
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Records
Professional Achievements
Tabb High School
“She was an excellent coach & really understands that having successful programs is more than just knowing the strategy and skills of the sport.” -Angela Seiders, Tabb Principal
“She was an excellent coach & really understands that having successful programs is more than just knowing the strategy and skills of the sport.” -Angela Seiders, Tabb Principal
Wendy Wilson
Tabb High School
Impact Statement
“She was an excellent coach & really understands that having successful programs is more than just knowing the strategy and skills of the sport.” -Angela Seiders, Tabb Principal
Biography
One of the most respected offensive minds in the sport’s coaching ranks, Wilson has turned Tabb into a small-school Virginia powerhouse since her arrival in 2004.
In 2009, the Tigers became just the sixth team in the nation to score more than 150 goals in a season, while posting its second consecutive 24-0 season. That team, which included the first group of seventh-graders she recruited in building Tabb’s program, graduated with back-to-back state championships and the nation’s longest winning streak. Wilson’s 2008 team allowed just six goals all season, earning her Bay Rivers District, region and state Coach of the Year awards, along with South Region Coach of the Year honors from the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA).
The Tigers’ 2009 title earned Wilson the NFHCA’s National Coach of the Year award. Last fall, rebuilding a team that graduated its goalkeeper and its entire defense, Wilson led the Tigers to a 22-3 record, and her team didn’t allow a goal in the state tournament for the third straight year.
A standout field hockey and lacrosse player at Christopher Newport University (CNU), Wilson once scored nine goals in a game and holds the school single-game, season and career records in goals and points. She also scored 73 goals in two lacrosse seasons, and is an assistant lacrosse coach at CNU. She was inducted into the CNU Hall of Fame after graduation.
Since being honored in 2011, Wilson continues to lead the Tigers until 2018 when she took a position as the Athletic Director at Tabb.
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Records
Professional Achievements
Personal Honors
Eastern Regional High School
“What I’m most proud of is that I played a role, even if it was a small role, in helping to mold these young women at such an important part of their lives.” -Danyle Hielig
“What I’m most proud of is that I played a role, even if it was a small role, in helping to mold these young women at such an important part of their lives.” -Danyle Hielig
Danyle Heilig
Eastern Regional High School
Impact Statement
“What I’m most proud of is that I played a role, even if it was a small role, in helping to mold these young women at such an important part of their lives.” -Danyle Hielig
Biography
Eastern was a field hockey powerhouse before Heilig arrived, and she has elevated that tradition.
In 12 seasons as a head coach, one at Haddon Heights High School and eleven at Eastern, Heilig’s teams have compiled an overall record of 275-8-9, the best career winning percentage of any high school coach in any sport. Her teams once owned a 153-match unbeaten streak.
At Eastern Heilig is 255-2-5 against New Jersey opponents, including a 57-1 playoff mark. She was named United States Coach of the Year by TopOfTheCircle.com in 2009 after leading the Vikings to a 26-2 record, its 11th consecutive Group 4 state championship and its third Tournament of Champions title in four years. One of the two defeats came on penalty strokes to Kingston (PA) Wyoming Seminary Preparatory School, coached by the NHSCA’s 2009 National Coach of the Year, Karen Klassner.
An offensive juggernaut, Eastern outscored its eight state playoff opponents by a combined 63-4 margin and the Vikings led the nation in scoring with 206 goals, becoming just the second high school team ever to pass the 200-goal mark. Eastern received the Newark Star-Ledger Trophy as the state’s top program for the ninth time in 10 years.
Heilig continued to lead Eastern to state- wide dominance over the next ten years. 2018 was a special year as her team won their 20th straight state title, finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation according to MaxPreps and she captured her 500th career victory.
Heilig announced her retirement in January of 2020.
She finished her stellar career with an magnificent 512-14-6 career record (that’s a 97.7 winning percentage). Her teams claimed a total of 21 State Championships during her 21 year career.
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Professional Achievements
Wyoming Seminary Upper School
“When you reach a milestone, it’s really because of your kids. It really doesn’t have a whole lot to do with you.”
-Karen Klassner
“When you reach a milestone, it’s really because of your kids. It really doesn’t have a whole lot to do with you.”
-Karen Klassner
Karen Klassner
Wyoming Seminary Upper School
Impact Statement
“When you reach a milestone, it’s really because of your kids. It really doesn’t have a whole lot to do with you.”
-Karen Klassner
Biography
Klassner became Wyoming Seminary’s head coach in 1972. Her team posted a 23-1 record and won its third Class 2A state championship last fall. She also has guided the Knights to five district titles, eight league titles and 22 district playoff appearances since the school joined the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association in 1985.
Her career record 503-129-42 and she is a seven-time Coach of the Year. The school’s field hockey field is named Klassner Field in her honor. Klassner chaired for the National Field Hockey Coaches Association High School All-America selection committee from 1998-2002 and is president of the state coaches association and chair of its All-State selection committee. Named the Developmental Coach of the Year by the U.S. Field Hockey Association in 2006, Klassner also has coached swimming, basketball and softball at Wyoming Seminary.
Klassner has continued to lead the Wyoming Seminary powerhouse field hockey team. Her teams have won an additional five state championships from 2010 until 2019, bringing her teams up to eight PIAA Titles. Seminary also finished second in 2017.
In October of 2019 the Blue Knights won the program’s first-ever District 2 Class A three-peat by knocking off Oley Valley, 2-0. In addition, it was a very special game for Klassner who notched her 700th career victory. Her Blue Knights’ continued to win the duration of the season and secured another PIAA A State Championship.
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Articles
Videos
Records
Professional Achievements
The Hotchkiss School
“Success breeds success. I’ve had incredible athletes with a strong determination to succeed.” -Robin Chandler
“Success breeds success. I’ve had incredible athletes with a strong determination to succeed.” -Robin Chandler
Robin Chandler
The Hotchkiss School
Impact Statement
“Success breeds success. I’ve had incredible athletes with a strong determination to succeed.” -Robin Chandler
Biography
A 1987 Hotchkiss graduate who became the first girl to earn 12 varsity letters in three sports – field hockey, ice hockey and softball – at the school, Chandler, who still owns several of Hotchkiss’s softball records, has built its field hockey program into a Northeast powerhouse.
Last fall the Lady Bearcats finished 19-0 and won an unprecedented sixth consecutive New England Class A title while sweeping all three postseason tournaments, the Class A meet, the Western New England Championship and the Founders League Championship, for the second straight year and the fourth time in her career. In 11 seasons her teams own a record of 159-9-11 and have won seven Class A crowns, five Western New England crowns and nine Founders League crowns.
Chandler is the school’s co-athletic director and also serves as assistant ice hockey coach. The National Field Hockey Coaches Association voted Chandler its Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year the past three seasons.
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Articles
Professional Achievements
Emmaus High School
“We want these kids to be successful. Even though we want to win a state championship, of course, we look at it as one game at a time.” -Sue Butz-Stavin
“We want these kids to be successful. Even though we want to win a state championship, of course, we look at it as one game at a time.” -Sue Butz-Stavin
Sue Butz-Stavin
Emmaus High School
Impact Statement
“We want these kids to be successful. Even though we want to win a state championship, of course, we look at it as one game at a time.” -Sue Butz-Stavin
Biography
The year 2005 was memorable in the 31-year coaching career of Butz-Stavin, who stands No. 2 on the sport’s all-time victory list. Her Emmaus team finished with a perfect 28-0 record and won its state-best eighth state championship; Butz-Stavin recorded her 600th career victory; three of her players earned high school All-America honors; and she was named a finalist for the United States Olympic Committee’s Developmental Coach of the Year award.
Her career record stands at 638-69-33. This year’s team shut-out its first 19 opponents, finished 24-2 and advanced to the state semifinals. A member of the National Field Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame, Butz-Stavin’s FireStyx club team won the gold medal at the National Hockey Festival, winning pool championships in the event five of the last six years.
Since being honored in 2007, Butz-Stavin and the Green Hornets continue to rank as one of the best in Pennsylvania’s and across the nation. Emmaus won the AAA PA State Championship in 2010, 2015 and 2016. In addition, they finished second in 2013.
In 2015 Butz-Stavin notched her 840th win surpassing the national record for most wins. In 2017 she won her 900th game with a sudden victory win over their rival Parkland.
Butz-Stavin was also honored as the 2017 Coach of the Year after leading her team to its second straight Pennsylvania Class 3A state title.
In the past five years Emmaus boasts a record is 133-5. That puts her career record at 971-82-5. She’ll be looking for win 1,000 in 2021.
On Tuesday, October 5th, Butz-Stavin claimed that 100th win with a 12-0 shutout of East Stroudsburg North.
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Articles
Records
Professional Achievements
Garden City High School
“Athletics is like life, you have the ups and downs, the good and the bad. I strive to set a good example and to ensure my team treats their opponents with respect.”
“Athletics is like life, you have the ups and downs, the good and the bad. I strive to set a good example and to ensure my team treats their opponents with respect.”
Diane Chapman
Garden City High School
Impact Statement
“Athletics is like life, you have the ups and downs, the good and the bad. I strive to set a good example and to ensure my team treats their opponents with respect.”
Biography
Chapman’s teams at Garden City have established a standard of excellence during her 14 seasons as head coach. This year’s team finished 19-0 and dethroned two-time defending state champion Setauket Ward-Melville High en route to the state title, her fourth at the school.
Chapman has led Garden City to a 224-21-21 record and state championships in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2005. She was named Coach of the Year by Newsday, and the National Field Hockey Coaches Association named her its North Region Coach of the Year.
Since being honored in 2006, Chapman continued to lead Garden City to success. Garden City won another two state titles in 2008 and 2018. Garden City also finished as State Runner Ups six times (2007, 2010, 2011, 2014-2016).
In 2013, Chapman was presented by the Garden City Chamber of Commerce as their Community Achievement Award.
On October 12, 2015, Chapman won her 400th game with an 8-0 victory over Oyster Bay.
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Articles
Records
Professional Achievements
Hathaway Brown School
Longley’s 30 year career was highlighted by a state championship title and eight Final Four appearances.
Longley’s 30 year career was highlighted by a state championship title and eight Final Four appearances.
Amy Longley
Hathaway Brown School
Impact Statement
Longley’s 30 year career was highlighted by a state championship title and eight Final Four appearances.
Biography
A 27-year coaching veteran with a career record of 273-43-57, Longley has continued the tradition of excellence at the Hathaway Brown School. Her 2002 team was the Ohio state champion and she was voted Field Hockey Coach of the Year by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Her 2003 and 2004 teams advanced to the state semifinals. A member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Field Hockey Advisory Committee, Longley received the OHSAA’s Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award in 1996. The NFHS named her its Field Hockey Coach of the Year in 2004.
After being honored in 2005, Longley retired in 2008 after 30 years at the helm which highlighted a state title and eight Final Four appearances. She boasted a career record of 316-148-61.
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Records
Professional Achievements
Skowhegan Area High School
“Of course I still love to win. But it’s all about my kids and their futures and seeing them do great things. I love it so much.” -Paula Doughty
“Of course I still love to win. But it’s all about my kids and their futures and seeing them do great things. I love it so much.” -Paula Doughty
Paula Doughty
Skowhegan Area High School
Impact Statement
“Of course I still love to win. But it’s all about my kids and their futures and seeing them do great things. I love it so much.” -Paula Doughty
Biography
Longtime Skowhegan Area High School coach Paula Doughty is the 2004’s NHSCA selection in the sport of field hockey, after leading the Indians to a third straight Maine state title.
This marked the team’s ninth trip to the state championship game since 1991 and its sixth title in that span.
Much has happened since Doughty was first honored as Coach of the Year in 2004. Currently, as of 2019, Doughty is still coaching and still winning.
Since 2004, Doughty’s field hockey teams have won 12 state championships. In addition, the team has made 15 final appearances. In 2016, Doughty hit the 500 career wins marker.
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Articles
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Professional Achievements
Villa Duchesne High School
Watson continues to be a monumentous force in field hockey in St. Louis and the state of Missouri over her 45 year career.
Watson continues to be a monumentous force in field hockey in St. Louis and the state of Missouri over her 45 year career.
Debby Watson
Villa Duchesne High School
Impact Statement
Watson continues to be a monumentous force in field hockey in St. Louis and the state of Missouri over her 45 year career.
Biography
“Debby Watson is clearly among the best high school field hockey coaches of all-time,” said NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro. “The NHSCA is proud to honor her as the National High School Field Hockey Coach of the Year.”
Watson has coached field hockey at Villa Duchesne for the past thirty years and her career record now sits one victory shy of 500 wins at 499-69-17. Watson’s teams have collected eight state championships and have finished as runners-up another 17 times. When Villa Duchesne gets its first win next season, Watson will become only the fourth prep field hockey coach in U.S. history to get her 500th win. During her impressive career Watson has coached over 50 athletes that have gone on to play field hockey at NCAA Division 1 institutions.
Watson left Villa Duchesne in 2007. In 2009, Watson was honored at Field Day at Villa Duchesne.
Since her departure, Watson continued to coach field hockey at Barat Academy. She is also the President, a position she’s held since the inception of the school.
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Community Service
Watson helped establish the inaugural Midwest Field Hockey Association Tournament in 1978.
Records
Professional Achievements
Sanford High School
Walker led Sanford to three state championships over her 36 year career.
Walker led Sanford to three state championships over her 36 year career.
Diana Walker
Sanford High School
Impact Statement
Walker led Sanford to three state championships over her 36 year career.
Biography
Walker has been the head coach at Sanford High for 36 seasons. She led the team to back-to-back state titles in Maine’s big-school Class A in 1999 and 2000, the first school in nearly a decade to win consecutive Class A titles. This past season (2002), Sanford reached the state title game for the third consecutive year and built a 50-match winning streak over the three seasons before seeing it come to an end in this year’s state final, finishing in 2nd place. Sanford also won the State Title in 2007.
Sports Illustrated magazine also recognized Walker’s distinguished career with a mention in its “Faces in the Crowd” section in 2002.
Since being named the 2002 Coach of the Year, Walker is still leading Sanford’s field hockey team.
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Springfield Township High School
“Commitment to excellence through attention to detail.” -Linda Nixon’s motto
“Commitment to excellence through attention to detail.” -Linda Nixon’s motto
Linda Nixon
Springfield Township High School
Impact Statement
“Commitment to excellence through attention to detail.” -Linda Nixon’s motto
Biography
“Linda Nixon is an outstanding example for successful high school field hockey coaches,” NHSCA executive director Bob Ferraro said. “They place a high value on the teamwork skills players learn for success in the classroom and on the field, and we are proud to be honoring her.”
A coaching veteran, Nixon led the Lady Raiders to a 17-4-2 record and the 2000 Pennsylvania District 1 Class AA title last season. This was quite a turnaround from the previous season when the team lost in the first round. Springfield Township also won the District 1 title in 1993.
On September 20, 2018, Springfield School District and the high school honored Coach Nixon in naming the field in her honor.
Nixon is a coaching veteran as she just completed for 51st season at Springfield.
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