WSU names Southwick High School's Berger next field hockey coach

July 4, 2012

WESTFIELD — Westfield State University (WSU) athletics director Richard Lenfest announces the hiring of Jessica Bergen as the Owls' new head field hockey coach.

Bergen comes to WSU from nearby Southwick High School, where she had been the head coach for the past two years. She also has a wealth of experience with youth and club field hockey programs.

"Jessica is a enthusiatic, passionate and energetic," Lenfest said. "We are pleased to have her as our new coach."

"I am really excited to get started," Bergen said. "The field hockey program at Westfield is in good shape and I am looking forward to coaching the current group of talented players. Westfield plays in a highly competitive conference, and I would like to keep improving the program and get more recognition down the road regionally or nationally. I am particularly excited about the recruiting side (of coaching) and really would like to get that going."

Bergen replaces Heather Cabral, the WSU head coach for the past 13 years. She is a 2008 graduate of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where she was a letterwinner for four nationally ranked teams and participated in two NCAA Tournaments. Bergen grew up in Wells, Vt., and attended high school just across border in Granville, N.Y.

Bergen is completing coursework for a master of science in exercise science, with a concentration in sports and exercise psychology, at Springfield College, where she served as an assistant field hockey coach and a teaching fellow.

Bergen is employed full-time as a fitness club manager in Avon, Conn., but is actively involved in area field hockey youth and club programs. She has been the head coach of the U-19 national and local field hockey club teams in Northampton since 2008, and the club's assistant director since 2010. She is beginning her third year as the head coach for the Holyoke, Mass., Parks and Recreation premier performance field hockey camp, and serves as the coach for the Westfield Parks & Recreation department's fifth and sixth grade team.

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