Veteran Leominster teacher Kate Phillips has been named the new
head varsity field hockey coach at Leominster High School. Phillips,
who currently teaches fifth grade at Frances Drake Elementary School,
has taught in the Leominster district for 15 years after graduating from
Assumption College.
“I started teaching in Leominster right out of college and I’ve always had my hand in Leominster and I truly love the district,” Phillips said.
Phillips was a standout field hockey player at Notre Dame Academy under recently retired and legendary field hockey coach Patty Provost. Phillips then went to St. Anselm College where she played field hockey before her career was ended by an injury.
“I actually had the same thing Curt Schilling had, at the same exact time, except I wasn’t a major league player,” Schilling said.
Following her injury, Phillips transferred to Assumption College where she was approached by her old coach.
“When I couldn’t play, Patty Provost knocked on my door and asked me if I wanted to help out and I said of course I do,” Phillips said.
Phillips spent the next 17 seasons with Provost and NDA as a varsity assistant coach.
Phillips said during that time, she had often thought about having her own program, but logistically, things never worked out.
“I’ve always wanted to have my own team but with my hours in Leominster, that just didn’t work out,” Phillips said. “So when the Leominster job opened up, it was a dream come true. It’s a great fit.”
Provost said learning from Provost was an extremely valuable experience.
“She is the best mentor a coach could have,” Phillips said. “Her love for the game is unlike any other. She wakes up at 6 A.M. and she eats, sleeps and breathes field hockey. She’s full of energy and she knows how to win and she knows how to do it the right way and she has instilled in me the importance of fundamentals.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I want to win every game we play when we step out on the field, but in the background, there are lessons that go beyond sports. You’re teaching them how to win, how to lose, what failure looks like, and how to take on failure in a good manner and not lose your cool,” Phillips added.
“Also important things like how to work as a team and to effectively communicate, those are all very important things. There are so many things like that that are not only important in sports, but are important to life, and Patty has taught me that.”
Phillips said she is eager to get started, having watched a couple Leominster summer league games.
“I have had the opportunity to go watch a couple summer league games, and I’m excited for their enthusiasm,” Phillips said. “I’m also excited for how hard they play and they definitely don’t ever give up and I’ve seen that in the two games that I had a chance to see. The scoreboard doesn’t really matter to them, they’re going to work hard no matter what and they play in that true blue devil Leominster way that we love our athletes to play like.”
As for goals in year one, Phillips said she wants to see her team improve every time out.
“My goal for this team this year is that every day we step foot on the field we need to be better than the day before,” Phillips said. “If we can do that starting on day one on August 23rd, and be better on August 24th and better than that on August 25th, then we’re going to be really good on October 14th.”
“Our first goal is to get a winning record, we haven’t had one in a few years, so
turn some of those losses into wins,” Phillips added. “Our second goal is to see
us in the tournament at the end of the year.”
“I’m just really excited for this opportunity and to have this opportunity somewhere where I’ve always been,” Phillips said. “It’s kind of an amazing story how it actually happens and how it all fell into place.”
