Edie MacAusland Takes Charge

Seven years ago, Edie MacAusland chose to go to Middlebury College instead of Harvard, where both her father and brother had gone to school.

"I wanted to be in the boonies and ski," she said.

But once again blood has proved thicker than brains, and MacAusland now finds herself head field hockey coach with an office in the IAB.

"I guess Harvard's pull was too great," she quips.

MacAusland may be new to Harvard, but she is not a stranger to New England field hockey.

After she finished as both captain and MVP of the Middlebury field hockey team in 1975, she remained with the team as an assistant coach. However she continued to be serious about her own play.

She has played forward for the United States squad every year since 1976 and should the team qualify for the Olympics, MacAusland, as one of the country's top 30 players, should have a good shot at traveling to Moscow.

Despite her own potential playing interests, MacAusland says her job comes first; and she gets to practice her own skills only on weekends.

As the Harvard coach, MacAusland replaced Debi Field, who coached the Crimson for four years. MacAusland and Field use similar game strategies, such as a 4-2-3-1 lineup. MacAusland, however, has developed a very new practice system.

When teaching a new skill in practice, MacAusland gradually applies pressure (e.g. putting time limits on play or by cutting down the practice area) until players can execute the maneuver under a strongly competitive condition.

"I believe that if you don't go 100 per cent of the way out at practice, you can't perform 100 per cent of the way during a game," she said.

But if MacAusland demands that her players work as hard as they can, she also wants them to enjoy the sport as much as possible.

"I want to make field hockey fun for the players, and then it will also be fun for me," she said.

The team has begun to absorb this attitude. "Edie gets us really excited. She has lots of encouragement and enthusiasm for the team, and she shows it," returning varsity back sweeper Anne Macmillan said. "She does a lot of cheering from the sidelines."

Blond-haired and blue-eyed, MacAusland probably looks more like a teammate than a coach when she shouts and jumps from the sidelines, but her actions should build her team's confidence, which is certain to help the squad's play.

Welcome home, Edie.

1979 Field Hockey Schedule

Sept. 20 vs. UNH, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 22 vs. Bowdoin, 2 p.m.

Sept. 25 vs. Springfield, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 29 at So. Conn, 1 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Northeastern, 3 p.m.

Oct. 6 vs. Penn, 11 a.m.

Oct. 10 vs. Bridgewater State, 3 p.m.

Oct. 12 at Cornell, 4 p.m.

Oct. 16 at B.C., 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 vs. Dartmouth, 11 a.m.

Oct. 24 at Brown, 3 p.m.

Oct. 27 vs. Princeton, 11 a.m.

Oct. 30 vs. Conn, 2:30 p.m.

Nov. 2 at Yale, 3 p.m.