March 28, 2024

Bay View's Hillary Switzer - 2017 Field Hockey Coach of the Year

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Bay View Field Hockey coach, Hilary Switzer, was named the Division I 2017 Coach of the Year by the Rhode Island Field Hockey Coaches Association (RIFHCA). Switzer received her award at a November 15, 2017 ceremony.

The Bay View Bengals finished the 2016-2017 season with the best record in many years under the leadership of Coach Switzer (7W-10L). When she took over the program in 2014, the Bengals had had a winless season the year prior; now in her third year Coach Switzer has taken the program to fifth place in Division I and the fifth seed in the RI Interscholastic 2017 League (RIIL) Playoffs.

In response to being named Coach of the Year, Switzer stated, “It is an honor to be recognized for something I love to do. Coaching is something that has been a part of my entire adult life, and I wouldn’t know what to do otherwise. I am thankful that I get to work with student athletes who want to learn and have passion for what they do. Finishing the season in 5th place this year and making it to playoffs was a team effort from the athletes, my Assistant Coach Meg Voyer, AD Jen Wasson, and the Bay View community. I am proud to be named the Division I 2017 Coach of the Year.” In addition to coaching Field Hockey, Switzer is a Physical Education teacher and the coach for the Lacrosse and Swim Teams at Bay View. She is a resident of Woonsocket, RI.

Switzer has been coaching in the RIIL league for ten years. She graduated from Woonsocket High School where she played field hockey with the team that was Division II Champions in 2003, 2004, 2005, and Division II State Champions in 2004.

In 2008, she became the assistant Field Hockey coach at Woonsocket High and ascended to Head Coach for the 2009-2014 seasons while attending RI College (RIC) and playing Lacrosse for RIC. Simultaneously, she joined the Cumberland High School Lacrosse coaching staff in 2010, and was the head coach for the 2015 and 2016 seasons before becoming the head coach for Lacrosse at Bay View.

Jennifer Wasson, Bay View’s Athletic Director, praised Switzer, saying, “Over the last three seasons it has been fun watching Coach Switzer build and establish a very competitive Division I Field Hockey Program in Rhode Island. We are truly blessed to have her leadership and commitment not only to athletics but also for the St. Mary Academy Bay View community. She takes great pride in developing strong, confident and skilled young women on and off the field. Coach Switzer has earned the respect of her peers, and we are excited she has been recognized as the RIFHCA 2017 Coach of the Year. I am grateful she is our teammate; we are fortunate to have someone of her talents guiding and leading three programs at St. Mary Academy-Bay View."

Joining Switzer at the podium for awards at the RIFHCA awards ceremony on November 15, 2017, at the Crowne Plaza were Bengals players:

Division I 1st Team All Division: Emily Levesque, (Cranston) Division I 2nd Team All Division: Caitlyn Bowles, (Cranston) Division I 3rd Team All Division: Natalie Noland, (East Greenwich) Division I Honorable Mention: Kendall Duprey, (Cranston)
All Division All Academic Team: Annie Bianchi (North Kingstown), Caitlyn Bowles (Cranston), Sydney Ellis (East Greenwich), Grace Hagberg (Cranston), Natalie Noland and Paige Noland (East Greenwich).

St. Mary Academy - Bay View is an independent Catholic School for girls open to all faiths, Pre-kindergarten through Grade 12, located on Pawtucket Avenue in East Providence, Rhode Island.

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