Varsity Field Hockey Coach Nicole Kuykendall has been named the 5A East Conference Regional Coach of the Year and Coach of the Year for the Peninsula District.  The Menchville field hockey team had an ultimate run of success during this year’s field hockey season.  They made the state tournament for the first time ever but lost to Deep Run 4-2 in the first round.

Coach Kuykendall (or Coach K as her team calls her) is a motivating coach who pushes her athletes to become great at the sport they play.  “My coaching style is, in fact, tough; however it’s what’s best for my athletes and our program so it makes them better overall.” She explained that the best part of being a coach is when she can watch her athletes grow not only on the field but off the field as well.  When it comes to field hockey, Coach Kuykendall doesn’t just coach, she also instills core principles into her athlete’s character as well.  She always puts her athlete’s educational life first, as they are students before they are athletes.  Their grades are extremely important to her as this factor determines how well they will do in school.

She said, “The principles that I instill here are some of the same ones that we instill at school.  We want them to be responsible, and we want them to be respectful, which is everything that makes them employable.  These are a lot of the principles that I instill in them.  I try to think of them as more than just high school field hockey players, as some of my athletes want to play field hockey professionally.  A few even just want to go to college for it, so I want to prepare them for that as well.”

Coach Kuykendall explained how a lot of her principles derive from many of the same teachings that she had learned as a player at Menchville from 2001-2005.  She also played for Christopher Newport University for four years before returning to Menchville as a math teacher and coach.  She has been coaching at Menchville since 2011.

Coach Kuykendall has successfully led the girl’s field hockey team to many victories.  As she pushes her athletes to live up to their full potential, she continues to motivate, educate and make the entire experience a positive one for her entire team.