National Coach Of Year Is Lafayette High's Field Hockey Leader

Lafayette High School field hockey coach Kate O’Connell usually is just too busy to take frivolous trips around the country, even if the national governing body—the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA)—has nominated her for an award.

O’Connell, a superstar high school performer, who was Area Player of the Year for the Lancers in 2003, and went on to a stellar college career at the University of Indiana, not only coaches Lafayette now, but also helps run the Gateway Field Hockey youth program, which just happens to be one of the best field hockey development programs in the nation.

The 25-year old and Lafayette 2004 graduate O’Connell also is regional coaching director for USA Field Hockey, so there really just isn’t enough time in the day for her to jet all the way to Pennsylvania for an award even she doesn’t think she’s going to win.

“It just didn’t make sense,” O’Connell said, in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “We had our huge Winter Classic for Gateway Field Hockey coming up the next day. So it didn’t seem (smart) to go out of town the night before.”

But what O’Connell didn’t know was the powers-that-be at the NFHCA were dying to get her to Philadelphia, because its 3,000-plus voters had named the fourth-year Lafayette High coach their 2011 National Coach of the Year.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” O’Connell said. “I was totally shocked. Most of the other coaches are in their 50s or 60s and had been coaching for decades. Just about all of them had won a state title. I’m only 25, I thought there was no way I was going to win.”

In fact, O’Connell’s mom – Gateway Field Hockey director and legendary former Lafayette coach Kelly Yates – who had been given hints by other NFHCA board members that something special might happen if O’Connell came to the award luncheon, had to beg her to go.

“She kept saying that since I had won Regional Coach of the Year, it was a great honor just to be nominated,” O’Connell said. “And she kept saying I should go just because of that.”

Finally, O’Connell decided to make a day-trip of it. So she flew up to Philly the morning of the award ceremony, and planned to fly home that night. 

Little did she know, she was going to be packing a little extra luggage to take home.

“I didn’t even notice when they announced my name,” O’Connell said. “I was talking with someone about how beautiful is, and finally somebody said, ‘Hey, that’s you! You won!’”

O’Connell was the youngest National Coach of the Year award winner ever, and was also the first from the Midwest to win.

But what makes her most proud is thinking back on last year’s improbable state title the Lancers won to become the first public high school to win a state field hockey championship in 30 years.

“It was such a great year, and I’m just so proud of how hard those girls worked,” O’Connell said. “The big word with us was accountability. We wanted to be accountable to ourselves, accountable to our teammates, and we tried not to look too far ahead.”

actually lost its first game last year to a talented team from Cor Jesu, then went on to win 22 straight the rest of the season, before defeating Cor Jesu 2-0 in the state championship game Nov. 5.

The Lancers' top player last year was junior Kate Barber, a brilliant high school performer like her coach, who led the St. Louis area in goals and assists, and has earned herself a spot on the 19-under U.S. Junior National team.

“She’s an incredible player,” O’Connell said. “What I really love is her ability to eliminate a defender and make space for herself. Sometimes, she can start a play two steps behind a defender, but she’s so fast that by the end, she’ll be two or three steps in front of that defender.

“She’s unbelievable. It really is cool to watch.”

O’Connell also credited the 21 seniors, some who’d never played field hockey before, with helping the Lancers win state last year.

Next year will be a bit different, with the Lancers now having the target on their backs. But O’Connell believes a squad that’ll be led by Barber again, will be ready to defend their title.

“We make goals and we have things we want to accomplish,” O’Connell said. “But our main focus will be going at it one game at a time. The season begins with the Gateway Classic—that’s our first game—and we’ll try to be ready for that. We’ll just keep working hard to be better coaches and be better players and just try to keep going.”