Nearly a decade after emerging as one of the most dominant field hockey players in Merrimack Valley High School history, Jennifer Otis has traded in her stick for a chance to roam the sidelines at her alma mater.
Otis, a Penacook native, was hired to replace longtime varsity field hockey coach Kim Kenney at MV earlier this year, and a little over halfway into the season, the former player turned coach is excited about what the future holds for the Pride – and herself.
“I feel like I’m learning something new every day, which is great,” Otis said. “Being only eight games into the season, I know I still have a long way to go, but just having a hard-working group of girls makes everything easier.”
Around Penacook, Otis is best known for helping bring home the only state championship in program history when she led the Pride to a perfect 18-0 season in 2008, capped by a 2-1 victory over Kennett in the Class I title game.
Otis was named Class I Player of the Year that season and earned First Team All-State honors before moving on to play at Merrimack College. It was there where she finished fifth all-time in scoring (113 points), third all-time in goals (46) and played the role of hero several times with 11 career game-winning scores.
During her time at Merrimack College, the program reached the Final Four of the Division II NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons (2011-2012) and won 17 games in both of those years. Before that, the Warriors had only won double-digit games once – 13 in 2009, Otis’s first year with the team.
“Coming from a program that wasn’t very successful, working hard and seeing those changes happen while you’re there is exceptional and it’s pretty amazing to be a part of a program that came from nothing and went to the Final Four two years in a row,” Otis said.
Otis’s playing background also provides proof to her players that, despite being a rookie coach, she knows what she’s doing.
“I’m definitely a players coach,” Otis said. “I have that perspective where I did play at the high school, college level, so I’m able to connect with players on that level. They trust my knowledge of the game, they trust me and they know that I know what I’m talking about. It’s just having that trusting relationship with my players that I know what they’re going through.”
The challenge in her first year coaching at Merrimack Valley won’t be quite as steep as the turnaround she led in college, but the Pride is still a rebuilding bunch.
Merrimack Valley won just a single game last season and returned seven starters to small team. Under Otis, the Pride (2-6) has already surpassed last year’s win total and could have a few more if not for a pair of one-goal defeats to Pelham and most recently Pembroke.
“I have a great booster club behind me, the community, the athletic director, everyone is behind me,” Otis said. “I’m just taking it day by day, learning new things and trying to get better from it.”
And if Otis ever needs help or some words of advice, she knows exactly where to turn.
Jennifer’s father, Rich Otis, has been coaching since as long as she can remember. Rich currently serves as the varsity boys’ basketball coach at Pembroke Academy, but has had coaching stops at Bishop Brady, Merrimack Valley, Trinity, Franklin and Manchester Central.
“My dad’s been coaching since before I was born. My brother played basketball and my mom played in high school, too, so (sports) has always been an emphasis,” Jennifer said. “(My dad) is definitely my biggest coaching role model. The biggest things he ever said to me, which I still find applicable, is that good players make other players better.”
So do good coaches, and Rich believes Merrimack Valley found one in his daughter.
“We talked a little about the commitment, parents and stuff like that, and I did tell her that it’s hard to win,” the elder Otis said. “People think it’s easy sometimes, but it’s hard to win and she seems to have taken all those things and went with it. She decided to do it and she’s doing a nice job.”
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3371, jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JayMcAree.)