FEATURES
PASSING IT ON After 29 years as varsity field hockey head coach, Jeanette Budzik passes the mantle to Nina Emala ’06.
Each year around Halloween, Nina Emala ’06 is reminded of a specific moment from her field hockey career at Bryn Mawr. It was the fall of her senior year, and the team was preparing for the upcoming tournament. They had been working hard, playing hard, and the stress was building. But this day was different. Jeanette Budzik, the varsity field hockey head coach, split Emala’s team into three groups: pumpkins, ghosts and spiders. “We came to practice dressed up and competed in those teams,” Emala recalls. “We were working hard and getting ready for tournament, but we were having so much fun and [Ms. Budzik] was getting us excited. She was able to balance that really well.” Now, eight years later, Emala is learning to balance these qualities in her own coaching. She graduated from Gettysburg College, where she played field hockey, in 2010. In 2013, she returned to Bryn Mawr as a second grade teacher, and immediately began assisting Budzik with the varsity field hockey team. In 2014, Budzik made the decision to pass the role of head coach to Emala, stepping down from the position after 29 years.
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Mawrginalia Mawrginalia October October 2014 2014 brynmawrschool.org brynmawrschool.org
“I started thinking about when would be the right time to step back a couple of years ago,” Budzik says. “Then when Nina got a job at Bryn Mawr and became the assistant, I realized how awesome it would be for a Bryn Mawr grad who I had coached to take over the position.” However, Budzik knew that she did not want to leave the field completely. “I think it is something that you always wonder—how long will you stay invested in your sport, and how much do you want it to be a part of your life?” she remarks. “I knew I still wanted to be involved. It’s been a huge part of my life, and I knew I couldn’t walk away completely.” Budzik and Emala soon decided that they would essentially switch positions, with Emala taking the title of head coach and Budzik staying on as an assistant with Karen Paterakis Philippou ’86. “Karen was on one of the first varsity teams that I coached,” Budzik says, smiling. “The fact that the two of us are assistants together—I really enjoy that.” continued on next page