South field hockey’s assistant coach, Margi Whittingham, is a nominee for USA Field Hockey’s National Grow the Game Award. She has created her own way to share her love for the sport with kids in the Midwest region by coaching them during their physical education classes.
Field hockey is a more popular sport along the East Coast. In order to grow the game, there needs to be people who step up to help coach, like Whittingham.
“I think field hockey is growing in Michigan,” Whittingham said. “It’s exciting to be recognized for all the work that Great Lakes Regional Field Hockey (GLRFH) is doing to try and help grow the sport locally in communities and help encourage more schools to add field hockey programs.”
Whittingham was first taught how to play field hockey in her middle school gym class and has been in love with the sport ever since. She is spreading the game the same way she first learned it.
“I think the most important part about growing field hockey is returning to the places you first showed how to play field hockey,” Whittingham said. “Consistency shows that we’re invested in the community and there’s opportunity for them to continue to learn how to play field hockey.”
Elena Huebner ’26 has played field hockey throughout all four years of her high school career. She has been coached by Whittingham all but one season and only has nice things to say about her.
“Margi definitely grew my love for the game. She was always very encouraging and very good at explaining things,” Huebner said. “As a person who just started the sport in eighth grade, she taught me a lot and made me feel a lot more comfortable.”
South’s head coach, Jessie Rouleau, has been coaching with Whittingham for many years and knows how she has spread the sport to many new kids.
“What Coach Margi does really well is she follows through,” Rouleau said. “She has the right intention, she knows what needs to be done and then she actually goes out and gets it done. So it really is her determination and follow-through.”
Being nominated for this award is not only a big deal for Whittingham but also for the Great Lakes Regional Field Hockey program that she works for.
“Because USA field hockey is the biggest organization of field hockey for our entire country, I think Coach Marie being recognized, not only through GLRFH and what we’re trying to do, but as a Midwest field hockey person growing the game here in our region, I think, is really exciting,” Rouleau said.
