IUP yesterday named Kelly Terwilliger as the seventh head field hockey coach in program history. She comes from Division III Colby College in Maine, where she spent the last five seasons. Previously, she was associate head coach at Big Ten Indiana and an assistant coach at Ohio State.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM IUP:
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) has hired Kelly Terwilliger as the seventh head field hockey coach in program history, Director of Athletics Todd Garzarelli announced Thursday.“I am very excited to welcome Kelly Terwilliger to the Crimson Hawk family as our new field hockey coach,” said Garzarelli. “Her history of success as a player, coach, recruiter, and program developer was evident during the hiring process. We are also excited to see the high-level of passion she has for coaching and for the game of field hockey. We look forward to her success here at IUP.”
“I am excited for this tremendous opportunity and cannot wait to start soaring as a Crimson Hawk,” said Terwilliger. “Everyone I have met throughout this entire process has been incredible and genuine, and I cannot thank athletic director, Todd Garzarelli, enough for affording me this opportunity.“IUP is a world-class institution and it is a dream come true for me to return home to Pennsylvania and coach in the PSAC. IUP is a place that can attract the very best players and I am so excited to recruit and impact a person’s life with an opportunity to play here. I am thrilled to build on the rich history of the program while also creating a new beginning with this team. I am honored to be IUP’s coach, and you will get my very best. As a program, each day we will choose to prepare with passion, confidence, and a team outlook.”Terwilliger comes to the Crimson Hawks from Division III Colby College (Maine), where she spent the last five seasons leading the Mules to success out of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). She developed a Mules team that had averaged six wins in the 10 seasons before her arrival in 2016, into a nationally-ranked top-20 squad with four straight winning seasons and two straight NESCAC tournament quarterfinal appearances. Terwilliger won 33 games in her first four seasons, including three straight 9-win campaigns, in the traditionally strong NESCAC. She recruited and developed one All-American and six NFHCA all-region players during her short time at Colby, while also overseeing total program development with several conference and national academic and sportsmanship awards, both team and individual. Mule alums are successful in fields such as medicine, coaching, teaching, law, environmental science, business, government and finance. Terwilliger also boasts an impressive experience as an assistant coach at three Division I programs. Prior to her time at Colby, she was the associate head coach at Indiana University in the Big Ten, where she helped the Hoosier to at No. 25 national ranking in 2015. Before Indiana, Terwilliger was the assistant coach at The Ohio State University for four years, which included a 12-win Big Ten tournament semifinalist team in 2013. Her 2014 recruiting class with the Buckeyes produced seven starters, an all-region honoree, three Big Ten freshman of the week awards, and a goalie that led the conference in saves. Terwilliger was also as graduate assistant/assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Ohio University in the Mid-American Conference. The Bobcats were highly successful during her time in Athens, boasting two MAC championships, two conference tournament titles, and two NCAA tournament appearances in three seasons. Prior to beginning her coaching career, Terwilliger was a four-year scholarship player who started every game of her career as a defender at Ohio State (2004-07). An All-Big Ten player selection and an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete honoree, Terwilliger helped the 2006 Buckeye team win the Big Ten conference championship. She earned All-Big Ten honors in 2007 and was named Ohio State’s Most Valuable Defender in the same year. Three of her four years playing for the Buckeyes Terwilliger competed in the NCAA tournament, advancing to the Elite 8 in 2006.In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, she is also the owner of the Maine Majestix Field Hockey Club and Maine Field Hockey Academy, and coached with USA Field Hockey from 2009-17.Terwilliger earned a bachelor of science in education from Ohio State in 2009. She went on two earn two master’s degrees from Ohio – coaching education in 2010 and sports administration in 2015. Terwilliger was a three sport high school athlete and was inducted to the East Stroudsburg (Pa.) High School Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. She also comes from a family of coaches. Her brother, Jimmy, is the head football coach at East Stroudsburg University and broke 18 NCAA Division II records as quarterback for the team from 2003 to 2006. Her father, Mike, is the offensive coordinator for ESU football and has been coaching at ESU for 46 years.
