Paying It Forward

Sure, there was technical proficiency, finesse, speed, and athleticism. Talent? Certainly. Positivity? Absolutely. Heart, too. Definitely heart. Whatever-it-takes heart. That’s the formula that propelled Jamie Whitten Montgomery and E.A. Jackson to field hockey excellence back in their playing days at Collegiate. That’s the formula that propelled them to success in college: Jamie at Wake Forest, E.A. at the University of Mary Washington. And that’s the formula – and the aura – that they’re bringing to their first Division I head coaching assignments, Jamie at the University of Richmond, E.A. at Towson University.

 

“It’s really neat,” said Karen Doxey, who coached both in high school. “They’ve gone in their own directions and become highly educated in field hockey. They love the sport. Both have a deep-seated passion for the game, and it shows with their kids.”

 

This past Sunday, the Spiders and Tigers, both developing teams, met at Crenshaw Field on the UR campus. The outcome notwithstanding – UR won 5-1 – the matchup was another step in the journey of both Collegiate graduates, each of whom is trying to teach life lessons as well as win a few field hockey games.

 

Jamie, a 2003 alumna, starred in hockey, soccer, and winter track at her alma mater. She was the 2001 Richmond Times-Dispatch hockey player of the year and a 2014 Collegiate Athletic Hall of Fame inductee. At Wake Forest, she earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference and second team All-American honors, shared in two national championships and two ACC titles, and later played on the U.S. Women’s National team.

 

She’d served as an assistant at Bucknell, Temple, and Wake Forest before assuming the reins of the Spiders’ program last spring.

 

Her immediate challenge was instilling a culture of excellence.

 

“How do we write the story of 2018?” she said, referencing her initial meetings with her squad. “How do we take every day as an opportunity? How do we open our eyes to the excitement and optimism of what could happen tomorrow? And how do we work harder? A lot of the spring, summer, and fall has been a learning curve based on how we raise our base level of work.”

 

There’s been good buy-in, she says.

 

“They’re into hockey,” she said. “They’re into working harder. They ask questions. Their natural inquisitiveness has allowed them to embrace me a little bit more because I pose a lot of questions. This is the environment I thrive in. Small, private, liberal arts. Heavy academic bent, but also a pursuit of excellence in a Renaissance way. I love that.”

 

The Spiders are 4-9.

 

“How do we define success?” she said. “If you only define it by winning an A-10 championship, then we’re going to be consistently dissatisfied. We can’t live on this knife’s edge of disappointment and sheer joy. We have to have things in our day-to-day training and day-to-day lives that allow us to feel successful. Can we find success within the losses and within the wins?”

 

E.A. Jackson – Ellen Ashton Smith in her Collegiate days – is a ‘95 graduate who arrived at Towson two years ago after stints at Albemarle High School (Charlottesville) and Division III Eastern Mennonite University.

 

She undertook a massive rebuilding project from presenting her vision of a winning culture to lobbying for a state-of-the-art hockey field (which evolved quickly and is near completion).

 

“I took over a team that was used to losing,” she said. “I’ve intentionally been looking for young women who have that fighting spirit and the ability to see situations through the lens of possibilities instead of the glass half empty. We’re working on showing continued improvement every time we step on the pitch. We want people who lift each other up. We’re laying the foundation: fixing technically counterproductive habits and making sure the kids are gritty, determined young women who show up and fight. Being a Division I athlete is a lifestyle. It should be fun. It’s also really hard work.”

 

The young, inexperienced Tigers (17 freshmen and sophomores on the 20-player roster) are 1-11.

 

“Our goal is to improve,” E.A. said. “Wins will be a by-product of that. We want a program with young women who are intrinsically driven and inspire each other. Right now, we’re focusing on making sure we have the right kids to help us build on the more tangible goals of the win-loss record. My ultimate goal is having these young women be good people. Field hockey is the vehicle I get to use to help them develop life skills: resilience, hard work, and integrity. When we focus on character development, work ethic, and gratitude for this really awesome opportunity, everything else seems trivial.”

 

Though E.A. and Jamie graduated eight years apart, there’re many connections, not the least of which is the program that Coach Doxey has overseen since the mid-‘80’s.

 

“Look at the seeds she’s planted,” said E.A. “Karen always instilled in us that it’s about character, integrity, working hard, and playing with some of your best friends in the world. The fact that Jamie and I are still involved and the ripple effect that that has on our athletes is amazing. When you think about the Doxey Effect, how many young women she’s impacted, and how many of us caught the bug from her and are now sharing that with other young women, that’s a powerful connection.”

 

The “Doxey Effect” resonates with Jamie was well.

 

“Absolutely,” she said. “I think about how Coach Doxey ran a program with 25 girls on the team. The more hockey I’ve experienced, I realize how hard it is to get a large group of people on the same page. Whether it was the person who never played but cheered all game or the person who sponsored a team breakfast or the person who played the whole game, we were all valuable. Creating that kind of environment is very difficult, but she does it consistently, and she does it well. That’s something to be admired and emulated.”

  -- Weldon Bradshaw