Field hockey transitions coaching staffs
Jessica Wetzler
Contributing Writer
VCU field hockey has a focused and determined mindset as they begin the new season thanks to a brand new coaching staff and two signees from Germany.
Last year, the Rams finished with an overall record of 7 wins to 11 losses, marking a drastic improvement on the 2015 season. Despite the progress, former coach Laura Baker resigned after four seasons with the team, allowing Stacey Bean to step in.
After only the spring season to get her feet wet with the team, Bean announced in May she would be signing two student-athletes to their National Letter of Intent from Germany — twins Maite and Svea Sturm.The sisters bring with them a wealth of international experience including a collective eight Juvenile Western German WHV Championships.
Now that preseason has ended, Bean said she has had time to make tweaks and get her squad ready for the fall season.
“It’s not just new for them in terms of coaching staff, it is also new for us,” Bean said. “Obviously you get to build a relationship with the kids and they get comfortable with how we teach and how we coach, but having the bulk of the group through the spring allowed a smooth transition this preseason.”
Bean said the coaches were focused on improving the team’s ability to move on from mistakes and play for the next opportunity.
“It was really just a matter of focusing on the right things,” Bean said. “It’s not about the mistake, it’s about how quickly you respond to it. I am focused on how to recovery from those mistakes. You can tell that the teams that recover the quickest from their mistakes are the ones that can have a little bit more success in the win/loss column.”
The Rams have not qualified for the Atlantic 10 tournament since 2013, but with a new season approaching and a new coaching staff settled in, Bean said the bar is raised.
“These kids have made some pretty high goals and it’s part of what attracted me to the job,” Bean said. “As a college coach, your day to day is with the athletes. For me, I am a motivated and driven coach and if I didn’t have a group like that here at VCU, I wouldn’t have taken the job.”
Bean said she’s excited with how fast her kids have transitioned to her and her staff.
“Every season, regardless of changes in staff, is an opportunity to have a clean slate because the team is new,” Bean said. “For me as a college coach, that’s a pretty cool part of my job.”
Aside from having a new head coach, the rest of the coaching staff is also new to VCU. Annie Zinkavich and Kayla May were hired by Bean to serve as assistant coaches.
Zinkavich is currently the co-director of the Panthers United Field Hockey Club and served as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia from 2012-2015.
May joins VCU after serving as an assistant at Indiana University in 2016 and an assistant at Siena College from 2012 to 2015.
“The important thing for me is, as a head coach, I always have a short list in terms of assistance,” Bean said. “Annie and Kayla were on that short list — and pretty high up it — not just because of their hockey knowledge, but also because their great teachers and their philosophy matches well with mine. It was important for me as a head coach to put together a staff with a diverse personality.”
The Rams began their 2017 season with a 2-3 loss in an exhibition game against American University on Aug. 19. Their first official game of the season is against Drexel University on Aug. 25. The Black and Gold will play a total of 19 games in 2017 — 11 at Cary Street Field.