Varsity field hockey coach, Diane Toth, had one of the most exciting games of her coaching career this past Wednesday against Masters. Not only did she coach the team to a victorious win of 3-0, but it was on Wednesday that she ushered in her 200th field hockey win. This is a huge accomplishment for Toth and speaks volumes about her skill and dedication to field hockey. Every athlete at Fieldston knows of her abilities and immense knowledge of the game and are so excited to have witnessed Toth achieve such a highly acclaimed honor.
Toth has worked her whole life to get to where she is right now in her coaching career. She started casually playing field hockey in 7th grade after her friend had mentioned they try it. The two of them thought it would be interesting to try field hockey once they heard how talented the coach was.
“The coach had a reputation with my classmates as being disciplined, yet, fun and certainly inspirational,” Toth said.
Toth played field hockey through middle school and continued on into high school, where she played at Centereach High School, a public school in the center of Long Island. At the time, she played 4 sports –– field hockey, volleyball, basketball and softball. She didn’t take field hockey seriously until she realized she would not be able to go for professional basketball because of her “size and skill.”
“I was skilled, our team was exceptional, and I was taught by top notch coaches,” Toth said. “They always inspired to me to work hard, make no excuses and believe in teamwork in order to be successful.”
Every season, Centereach won the field hockey league championships and competed in many Long Island championships. After high school, Toth went on to play field hockey at University of Connecticut (UConn). Toth said that, at the time, UConn had an “up and coming field hockey program and inspirational and knowledgeable coaches.”
To this day, Toth still talks to many of her former teammates, many of them being her close friends. Coach Toth began working at Fieldston as the field hockey coach in 2000, but prior to that, she was the Director of Wellness and the Field Hockey Coach at Manhattanville College.
At the beginning of this season, after having lost 10 seniors the year prior, one of the biggest challenges the team had was understanding they, too, were able to play up to the level and aggression of the graduated seniors.
“This challenge has taken some time to overcome, but by mid season, players started to believe in themselves and in their teammates,” Toth said. “After this, the team’s wins began to accumulate.”
Another one of the team’s challenges was buying into Toth’s philosophy.
“A great team must learn to trust each other on the field,” Toth said. “They must learn to understand a great team is a team that has good individual stick word and, more importantly, the ability to pass between players.”
Throughout the season, Toth has worked tirelessly to help the team overcome these challenges and play to the best of their ability.
The coach is one of the most important parts of making a successful team. Field hockey is no exception, and from the success of the team, Toth’s commitment and hard work is evident. Despite this, she remains very humble with regards to her contribution to the team’s success. Although she is the coach, she is very respectful towards the team and acknowledges all their hard work.
“Coaching is all about the players, not about the coach,” Toth said. “It’s about teaching players to be disciplined, helping them learn to make adjustments during games, and hoping they can ‘learn to be the best they can be.’ This takes time, passion, a love for the sport and many sacrifices in between.”
Going into the Wednesday game against Masters, Toth knew the importance of the potential win that lay on the other side of the one hour game.
“I approached it as any other game,” Toth said. “We had a good warm up with a focus on the basic skills and I hoped the players came ready to play that day.” Toth told the players that a win would help them get a home game in the first round of the upcoming playoffs, but did not mention it as being her 200th win.
“Although I believe they knew it,” Toth said.
At half-time, the score was 0-0. Before starting the final half, Toth changed her starting line-up and implemented some new plays. Once the second half started, she immediately noticed the change in their performance, almost as if something had switched on inside of them.
“The change in their play was instrumental as we scored three goals and began to pass into the open spaces,” Toth said. “Everyone upped their game to a higher level. It was so nice to see.”
After their win, parents and faculty came up to let Toth and the players know the game was beautiful to watch and that the skill and aggression of the players were evident.
Toth has had great success in her coaching career, but being a coach isn’t easy. Field hockey has changed a lot since she first started playing, forcing her to learn the sport alongside her players as the rules, regulations and social field hockey dynamics change.
“With all these changes, I, as a coach, have had to change how I teach the basic skills,” Toth said.
In spite of the many changes to the game, Toth’s basic coaching foundation has not changed. She still advocates for the same philosophy she was taught as a young player and preached once she started coaching herself.
“I always tell my players they must love the game first,” Toth said. “They must want to work hard to improve their skills, and they must want to be a team player. They can not whine or make excuses if they do not try to change their mistakes. They have to believe in themselves, their teammates, their coach and have pride in their school. When this all happens, success will breed success.”
