By Serena Lin ’19, News & Blog Editor and Shelby Deibler ’20
MFS fall sports returned this year with some coaching changes.
Merisa Rudy has now assumed the role of Varsity Girls’ Soccer Coach. She began playing soccer when she was six years old. Her coaching career began when she was in high school; she assisted her dad with coaching a U8 team. Rudy attended Temple University to pursue a degree in athletic training. She decided in college that she wanted to be a coach. She enjoys “bringing out the best in [her] players in every aspect of the game and life.”
Having coached both softball and soccer at various levels, Rudy has a variety of experience. Her best moment as a coach happened after a tournament with her girls’ soccer team. The first day of the tournament had gone badly, and her team could no longer win the tournament. The next day, Rudy’s players instead made it their mission to make her proud. The game tied, but it was “the best tie of [her] entire life” because it was “their best game as individuals and a team.”
Afterwards, the team realized that it was their final game together. After Rudy’s traditional debrief and goodbye to her team, the players remained in a huddle around her. They told her that they didn’t want to leave just yet, because if they left, “everything they had worked so hard for wouldn’t continue to be there every week in their lives.”
Rudy hopes the MFS girls’ soccer team will be more possession based this year. One of the changes she is also bringing to the team is the addition of a fourth, non-senior captain. It is a part of her “continuous planning ahead.” She wants to make sure that when the seniors leave next year, someone with at least one year of experience in the leadership position can fill their shoes. The varsity girls’ soccer team captains this year are Micaela Coll, Meghan Roberts, Courtney Tarter, and Bella Runyan.
At the end of the season, Rudy wants her players to feel proud to wear the jersey. A successful season would be “one where they feel more confident as young players and humans by the end.”
Rudy says, “We may not win all of those games, but success is always more than just an outcome.”
Mike Brunswick is stepping down from his position as the Assistant Varsity Field Hockey Coach. His experience coaching field hockey began about twenty years ago when he stepped up to fill a middle school coaching position. However, as his children grow up and he becomes more busy, his time as a field hockey coach comes to an end. He will continue as Head Coach of the girls’ varsity basketball team.
With the departure of Mike Brunswick, former JV Coach Julie Rothwell has assumed the role of Assistant Varsity Field Hockey Coach. Julia Applegate ‘10 was selected to become the new JV coach. She previously coached middle school field hockey. Applegate is currently the Assistant Director of Community Outreach, a new role that was created to boost enrollment. Her role within the administration is to work with community ambassadors to bring interest to the school.
Applegate is an alumni of MFS field hockey, having played under Coach Danielle Dayton. One of her best moments as a player is winning the Fall 2007 Friends League Championship. After graduating MFS in 2010, she played field hockey at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
As someone with experience as a player in the same school and under the same coach, Applegate brings in a unique perspective as the JV coach. She is already familiar with the values that Coach Dayton instills in her players. Applegate describes Dayton as a “leader in [Applegate’s] life.”
As a coach, she defines a successful game as one that features “teamwork until the very end.” She wants every player to play the best they are able to and put their best effort forward. As for a successful practice, she defines one during which players “push themselves.”
Applegate values the sense of community that can be found within sports. A team is an opportunity to “be a part of something important.”
This article originally appeared in a September 7, 2018 print edition.
