Hard work and a competitive fire got Kelly Doton to Boston College.
But in order to sustain success at the Division I level, the Greenfield native has learned another important attribute: patience.
After five years as the head field hockey coach at BC, Doton has begun to make her imprint on a program fresh off a breakthrough season. The Eagles went 15-8 last fall, reaching the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time in their history before falling to eventual national champion North Carolina in the semifinal round. It was the most successful season the program has had under Doton, who was promoted to the head spot in 2015 after three seasons serving as the associate head coach there. For her efforts, Doton was named the ACC Coach of the Year.
“Patience is the big word,” began Doton. “I’ve had a lot of great mentors in my life who have taught me so much. But I’ve had no bigger lesson than my first head coaching experience and what I’ve learned from that. I’ve always been an impatient, competitive person which can help in a lot of ways but also hinder you. I’m still learning, keeping it in perspective, but I’ve learned that to be successful in a job like this, you have to be patient, first and foremost.”
Doton, who led Greenfield High School to the 1999 state field hockey title, went on to star at Wake Forest, where she was the Honda Sports Award National Player of the Year in 2003 and led the Demon Deacons to back-to-back national titles in 2002 and 2003.
She said that team culture is an important aspect to any program’s success. That was the case in her days at Greenfield High School playing for Donna Woodcock, and continued on to Wake Forest. She’s tried to make culture a priority in Chestnut Hill.
“We were fortunate to have the best season in BC history and culture has a lot to do with that,” she said. “For young coaches, culture is something you work at every day and you have to create.”
Part of that culture comes from Doton’s approach to her student-athletes. She said she makes sure to be up front with recruits, and doesn’t want them to be surprised with the level of commitment expected when they walk on campus.
“I’m a very honest coach,” she said. “I don’t know anything else than to tell players exactly what I’m thinking. I try and give them as much info, the good and the bad. If they know they can trust me and I’ll be honest with them no matter what, that’s all I can ask.
“I don’t care what your background is, you have to work hard here,” she continued. “This is the ACC, the best field hockey conference in the country. So everyone is going after the best international kids, the best domestic kids. But my motto is, you can be the best field hockey player in the country but if you aren’t the person that fits our culture, I’m not going to recruit you.”
Doton has turned BC into a bit of a home away from home. Fellow Greenfield native and former Division I standout Jill (Putnam) Gambino, who played at Northwestern, is on the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant.
“I think it’s pretty unique and special to have Jill on staff being that we both grew up in Greenfield,” Doton said. “I’ve known Jill her whole life and her sister Kate was a great field hockey player who was five years older than me. Small town field hockey players who played Division I at the highest level, and knowing Jill shares the same Western Mass. experiences with me is something I don’t take for granted. We never forget where we came from.”
While Doton is adept at handling the culture surrounding her program, she said the past few months have tested her and everyone else at BC. With the coronavirus pandemic slowing the sporting world, and halting collegiate sports for the time being, she said her focus has been on the well-being of her team.
“In the last nine or 10 weeks, the welfare and health of our student-athletes has been the sole focus, more so than any time I can ever remember,” she began. “In the past, this time of year has always been very hands-off, doing their own thing. As a coach I love that, I’m a huge proponent of that balance in life.
“This is different,” she continued. “I’ve been on more Zoom calls than you can even imagine. Just checking in a lot, making sure they’re OK mentally because they’re going through something they never expected. I try and put myself in their shoes every time I talk to one of the players. What are they feeling? If I was a freshman or a senior and was told to leave Wake Forest 10 weeks early and go live at home, it would be very difficult mentally.”
She said the key has been staying engaged, without putting an emphasis on offseason workout regimes and handing out packets of information.
“Instead of me being field hockey coach Kelly, you go into almost as a check-in Kelly to make sure everyone is OK,” Doton said. “I haven’t even asked my players to pick up their sticks at all. Would I want a coach telling me to go out and do X-Y-Z hockey drills that they sent us? No. That’s not going to make us better as a field hockey program right now.”
The Eagles have done their share of team-building games and exercises over Zoom, mixing in trivia and other challenges to serve as a welcomed distraction to day-to-day life.
“Trying to engage in the social aspect that they were missing while not being face to face on campus,” said Doton. “We aren’t used to being home. I’m never in my apartment this long — I’m either at the field, office, traveling, whatever. So it’s an adjustment for all of us but we’re all going through this right now. It’s about doing what’s best for our well-being.”
As for the upcoming fall season? Doton has been in contact with BC and the ACC throughout the spring, and said while there are no guarantees, she is hopeful that the Eagles will get another crack at a Final Four return trip in 2020.
“I’m confident that we’re going to play in the fall but this situation is fluid,” she offered. “You can talk about all the scenarios you want until you’re blue in the face but no one knows exactly how it’s going to go right now.”
Until then, Doton will to have to rely on one of the biggest lessons she’s learned during her tenure as head coach at Boston College: patience.