EMMAUS, Pa. — The winningest coach in U.S. field hockey history — whose success spans 47 seasons, 14 PIAA state championships and 40 district titles — says it's a family affair.
“There's a lot of people that all have participated in this accomplishment," Emmaus High School Coach Sue Butz-Stavin said. "It's just not about me, it's about the associate coaches that have put their time in, and all of the players.”
- Sue Butz-Stavin is being inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame
- She credits her assistant coaches, players and a supportive administration for her success
- Players say her legacy is proven in the lessons she provides
Touching the lives of nearly 50 years of girls in the program, Butz-Stavin reflected on her career and impact as she was announced as an inductee to the National High School Hall of Fame this year.
"It's a great honor," she said.
A national spotlight
In July, Butz-Stavin will be inducted with 11 other honorees into the hall of fame organized by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Her achievements to date: an incredible career record of 1,041-83-35, a recently completed 69-game winning streak, and immeasurable impact on the many girls who have gone on from her program to pursue the sport in college and as a career.
The hall of fame, which recognizes the very best of interscholastic sports and performing arts nationwide, will induct her as part of its 40th ceremony in Seattle, Washington.
This is not the first time Butz-Stavin has been in the national spotlight. In 2021, the Emmaus Hornets reached the milestone of 1,000 wins under her leadership, garnering national attention on "The Today Show" and more.
According to the NFHS National High School Sports Record Book, her nearest competitor in overall victories has 839, by comparison.
On top of all that, Butz-Stavin boasts a win rate of just under 90% over her nearly 50 years as coach.
"People will talk and say, 'Hey, well, she's been around long enough, of course you're going to get that many wins,' and no, that's not true,“ said Rebecca George, athletic director in the East Penn School District.
“She hasn't even hit 100 losses yet. She's been here for going on 48 years at the start of the school year. So to me, it's not even the wins — it's the amount of losses. That to me is really a shocking number.”
Generational impact
The daughter of a physical education teacher herself and a William Allen High School grad, Butz-Stavin says she was always as a child taken along to sporting events. She joined the first field hockey program at her alma mater during her junior year in 1969; it was her introduction to the sport. She began coaching later while teaching abroad in Australia after her time at West Chester College (now West Chester University).
Butz-Stavin came to Emmaus as coach in 1976, only 16 years after the school's field hockey program was founded. She carried on the program with a motto that she has in many ways carried herself.
“And they had a motto, tradition of excellence, and I [would] just try to uphold those words,“ Butz-Stavin said.
And uphold that tradition she has.
In addition to more than a dozen state championship titles, Butz-Stavin also says multiple generations of alumni come back year after year to stay in touch with the program through alumni night. Many Christmas cards, too, arrive annually from former players who she's coached over the years.
“The journey that she is on is indescribable," George said, emphasizing the amount she has done over the years.
“When you're at alumni day, and you see the adults out here running around and you hear their stories about the times they played and what fields they played on, and the grass fields and the traveling they had to do and everything else,” George said. “Every team that has gone through here had their own and unique story. “
Butz-Stavin over the years has been able to coach the mothers of some players now. She's led different eras of the sport as teams moved from grass and dirt to the turf fields of today — and witnessed many rule changes over the seasons.
"It becomes a passion and most of the girls try to continue to play," Butz-Stavin said. "Whether they go on to play college, they play it on a club team or play on an adult league, they still are enjoying the sport and they try to share it with their own daughters that come along — which is really kind of cool when you get the those. And we might be on the verge of getting a granddaughter shortly in the program."
Life lessons retained
Players Rachel Herbine, Abby Burnett and Ava Zerfass — all seniors planning to play field hockey in college — spoke of the impact she has had not only on the team, but also on them as individuals.
"I think as a person she cares about every single one of us," Burnett said. "Like at some points she's screaming at you on the field, but then when you come off she truly cares about you and she just wants [you] to develop as a person and be successful in life in whatever you do, even if it's not in field hockey. She still wants us to be happy and successful.“
They commended the coach for her dedication. She's known for studying tape to note individual points of improvement for different players.
"Something that just stuck out to me about her as a person is she's gonna be honest with you," Zerfass said. "She's not here to be your friend. She's here to make us better. And not only better players, but better individuals as well.”
"It becomes a passion and most of the girls try to continue to play, whether they go on to play college, they play it on a club team or play on a adult League, they still are enjoying the sport and they try to share it with their own daughters that come along"Coach Sue Butz-Stavin
Butz-Stavin says that through adversity, you become a stronger person in the long run. That message has stuck with her players.
"I think I've grown so much from freshman year coming in," Zerfass said. "I was just this timid little freshman, and I didn't have much experience with anything. But throughout the four years I've been with her, she has taught me so much beyond just field hockey.
"I mean, yes, she built me to be a great player, but she also teaches you so many life lessons beyond that.”
Added Herbine: "And you can see with everyone that comes back and even like everyone on the team now, how much respect everyone gives her because of how great her coaching style is and her legacy.”
The seniors were present for championship titles, as well as Butz-Stavin reaching the 1,000-win benchmark. Each accomplishment only brought them closer.
“As we accomplish all those things together, I feel like it brought us closer as a team and we bonded well over it," Herbine said. "We knew that we couldn't do anything without each other and just really helped us on the field to be best friends.”
But even with all the achievements and records, Butz-Stavin says it's not over yet.
Her next goal?
“Another No. 1 on the board for this coming season," she said.
"Every year you just strive to fulfill their dreams. And whatever their goal is, I think that they have to learn how to finish a game, and that's going to be one of their mottos for the year — you have to play until the clock runs out."
