If you’ve lived in Boyertown most of your life, you might remember the days of triumph, of championships and consistent success the BASH field hockey team enjoyed throught the late 1990s. Since then, the program has been on the downward slide, and has changed coaches quite a bit in the past 10-12 years, with coaches not staying more than two years. Enter Karen Kooker, a teacher for the district, who has become the new field hockey. She hopes to bring a consistency to a program that has seen anything but consistency many years.
Kooker played field hockey at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School and at West Chester University. After college, she played on a club team for six additional years. Her field hockey coaching experience includes being an assistant coach at Philadelphia University for four years. For the last six years, she’s been coaching seventh, eighth and ninth graders at Boyertown Junior High West.
A major part of coaching at the junior high level is creating an atmosphere where the girls learn to love the game of field hockey. They get a lot of playing time so they can develop their skills and be a part of a team. The level of intensity increases at the high school level.
“We try to win all games, while at the same time have the players continue to develop their skills,” said Kooker.
Kooker doesn’t know much about the history of BASH field hockey, though she does foresee a winning season in the very near future. It took several weeks of contemplation just to apply for the position. Now that she has it, she’s ready for the challenge and plans to be here for a long time.
She first found out about the opening from Pam Wernersbach (BASH lacrosse head coach) After talking with her family (husband and son), knowing how much time it would take, she decided to apply for the position
“When this opportunity arose, I wanted to take advantage of it because it might not come again,” said Kooker. “I have been coaching at West for several years and I’m ready to take on the challenge of coaching at the next level.”
Kooker’s job is to turn the program around. One way of doing that is to improve the team speed and strength. Tentatively, there will be a speed camp and strength training program scheduled during the summer months to help the girls prepare for the season. The team will also have Drop-In sessions in July and early August when the girls can play mini games.
Once the team has accomplished, the goal is to turn a mixture of players into a team.
“If the coaches and players know, and accept their roles, and strive each day to become better players, teammates and coaches, while at the same time striving to achieve our team goal, wins will come as a result,” said Kooker.
With the big turnaround in coaches over the past several years, Coach Kooker is looking to bring stability to the program.
“We have an enthusiastic group of young players coming up along with a solid group of upper classman,” said Kooker. “They seem hungry for a winning season. Once we meet as a team, we will know where to direct our energy to reach our team goal.”
Phil Haddad is a free lance writer for the Times. You can follow him on Twitter @writersprtsBT