Amy Bernatchez returns in 2009 for her sixth season as head coach of the Colby field hockey team. In 2004, her first season as head coach, she led the Mules to a 9-7 record and the program’s first-ever trip to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) semifinals.

Bernatchez came to Colby after a successful high school coaching career. She won two state championships in nine years (1995-2003) at her alma mater, Messalonskee High School in Oakland, Maine. Bernatchez also won a state title in field hockey while coaching at Cony High School in Augusta, Maine, from 1991 to 1994. She was the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference (KVAC) Class A Coach of the Year in 1993, 1996, and 2000.

A 1992 University of Maine graduate and a 1997 inductee into the university’s Sports Hall of Fame, Bernatchez was a Division I Regional All-America selection in 1990. She made the 1991 United States Field Hockey squad and was a U.S. Olympic Festival participant in 1990 and 1991. In 2006 Bernatchez was inducted into the Maine Field Hockey Association Hall of Fame as a player.

Bernatchez was a three-sport varsity athlete in field hockey, basketball, and track at Messalonskee High School. She played on a state championship field hockey team in 1986 and was on a state champion basketball squad in 1987.

Besides coaching, Bernatchez also is a personal trainer certified by the National Endurance and Strength Training Association. She also is an assistant track and field coach at Colby.

Assistant Coaches

Brittany Chadbourne, a 2009 graduate of the University of Connecticut, is the new assistant coach for the Colby College field hockey team.

Chadbourne, a defender for UConn, played on teams with a 77-17 overall record, three Big East titles, and four straight NCAA Division I Tournament appearances. The Huskies finished 17-4 in 2008 and ended the year ranked fifth in the final National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll.

<!--[if gte mso 10]> <!-- [endif] -->Chadbourne was a counselor during the summer for the UConn Field Hockey Camp in her time at the school. She also was a National Field Hockey Festival official for the United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA) for three years during the month of November. Chadbourne also has experience as a USFHA assistant to the operations director at an Elite Olympic Developmental Camp at Wake Forest and spent two weeks in the summer of 2007 as a USFHA Regional Rumble coach for players ages 12 to 16 at a national tourney.

Chadbourne, a sociology major at UConn, was a first team all-state field hockey player for Gardiner Area High School during her junior and senior seasons. She was a three-time all-conference selection at Gardiner and was named to the Portland Press Herald All-Star Team.as a senior. A Wendy's High School Heisman nominee, Chadbourne also was a five-year member of the U.S. Field Hockey Futures Program. She also lettered in track and field while at Gardiner.