2025 Empowerment Coaching Session Debuts with Impact

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Before the first pass was made at the High Performance Summit, something special was already unfolding in the classroom. USA Field Hockey’s inaugural Empowerment Coaching Session (ECS) brought together 25 coaches from across the country for a half-day experience focused on coaching athletes and sustaining the coach behind the whistle.

Designed specifically for women and high-performing leaders in the field hockey community, the ECS tackled essential topics like emotional intelligence, stress, hormone health, and long-term resilience. The program’s intimate setting fostered powerful conversation, reflection, and action—setting the tone for a new tradition in coach development.

The seminar kicked off with Cate Clark, who led an eye-opening session on The Power of EI (Emotional Intelligence). Through both personal stories and applied neuroscience, Clark helped coaches understand how their self-awareness and regulation directly impact team dynamics. One of the session’s standout ideas was the concept of the "pause"—creating a moment of intention between reaction and response.

“You can’t coach from a place of power if you haven’t done the internal work,” Clark explained. She encouraged attendees to view EI not as a soft skill, but as a competitive advantage—especially in high-stakes moments.

Next, Hannah Jaussen, physiotherapist for the U.S. Women’s National Team, dove into the science of hormone cycles, performance readiness, and the distinct needs of female athletes. Her session emphasized how coaching women through their menstrual phases—rather than around them—can create stronger, more responsive athletes.

“There’s a difference between being tough and being in tune,” Jaussen said.

Coaches left with a deeper understanding of the biological factors that affect performance and recovery, and tools to adjust training and communication accordingly.

The final session, led by Lisa Dunlap, a nurse practitioner and burnout coach, was a standout for its raw honesty and real-life strategies. Dunlap shared her personal journey from medical burnout to holistic wellness, weaving in practical insights on stress management, sleep hygiene, hormone changes across lifespan, and how to build simple rituals that nourish the mind and body.

“We’re all high performers in this room,” Dunlap said. “But if the coach goes down, the team goes down. We need to model what thriving looks like.”

The interactive session explored hormone cycles, perimenopause, and the challenges of managing health while juggling the demands of coaching, family, and identity. Coaches discussed openly how stress, travel, and high expectations compound—making tools like breathwork, nutrition, and intentional rest essential.

More than just a learning experience, the ECS sparked something deeper: a sense of shared experience and mutual uplift. Coaches discussed the pressures of the grind of recruitment seasons, the emotional labor of leadership, and the desire to sustain their passion for coaching long term.

“I felt empowered just being in this room,” one coach shared. “It’s a powerful thing that this organization is doing for us.”

With overwhelmingly positive feedback, the ECS has planted roots for an annual tradition. As USA Field Hockey continues to invest in not only high performance but holistic coach well-being, the ECS serves as a model for what happens when leadership, science, and humanity intersect.