It’s an achievement any coach would be proud of and is one students, past and present, at Emmaus High School in Pennsylvania, USA will be celebrating on 19 September when it is expected a national record will be broken.
Sue Butz-Stavin has led their team to 838 wins in a career spanning 40 season as Girls Field Hockey Coach at the high school. It is a figure that’s one win away from equalling the national record, currently held by retired coach Nancy Williams from West Long Branch Shore Regional High in New Jersey.
With the high school season starting shortly in the USA, that record of 839 wins is likely to be eclipsed any time in the next few weeks, especially as Sue has a 90 percent win record, accrued over four decades.
Speaking of the formula for her coaching success, Sue, who has been coaching at Emmaus since 1976, says it comes down to the team around her. She said: “We have a great school and athletic environment, a talented pool of athletes and a wonderful coaching staff.”
In her 40 seasons, Emmaus has been crowned District Champion for the past 26 years. The school has also won the highly competitive State Championships 10 times.
Sue herself got into the game from an early age. She said: “My Mom first inspired me to play hockey. She was very athletic and played field hockey for Cedar Crest College in the 1940s. She was very active as a college official in the Leigh Valley. Many times I sat on the sideline and watched. During my junior high and high school years field hockey was played in physical education classes and after school intra-mural competitions. In my junior year at William Allen we formed the first field hockey team at the school. I then played my freshman year at college.”
Sue got a coaching badge while at college and says that coaching provided a means of supporting her college education. After college, she took a year out to travel and work in Australia, returning to the USA with a lot more coaching experience gained during her travels and some new ideas for playing the game.
“The students were used to the old five-man front, three halves, two backs and a sweeper,” she recalled in an earlier interview. “It took three or four years to get the team to believe in a 4-3-3 system.”
Now the students at Emmaus High School accept their coach’s words of wisdom without question. One of the stars of the team last season was Meredith Sholder, who scored 47 goals and was voted district Field Hockey Player of the Year.
She said of her coach: “People who don’t know Sue are intimidated by her, but she’s not scary at all, she’s very supportive. She can be tough, as all coaches can, but I’m really glad she’s my coach.”
An inductee in the National Field Hockey Hall of Fame, Sue has a stream of honours to her name, including US Olympic Committee Developmental Coach of the Year and National High School Coach of the Year. The winning game that breaks Nancy Williams record will provide just one more piece of evidence that experience is an essential element in the coaching tool kit.
And for the future? “I just take each day, game and season in my stride,” said Sue.
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