Alma Mater: Dickinson, 1996
Seasons: Sixth season
Rebecca Begley was named the second field hockey coach in Hendrix College history in March 2013. Begley also serves as the Senior Woman Administrator.
Begley served as the NCAA Division III Field Hockey National Chair and is the official spokesperson for DIII Field Hockey. She was also on the NFHCA Division III Coaching Staff of the Year selection committee.
In 2016, Hendrix ranked third in the nation in saves per game and 18th in defensive saves. She coached three All-Southern Athletic Association First Team selections, all of whom were named to the Longstreth/NFHCA All-Gret Lakes Region Teams.
In 2015, Begley's Warriors led the nation in saves per game, behind All-Southern Athletic Association First Team and NFHCA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team selection Gabryele Pochron, who led the nation with 18.71 per game. Hendrix also ranked 39th in the country in save percentage. Along with Pochron, Begley coached two other All-SAA First Team and a Second Team selection, as well as three total All-Great Lakes Region Second Team picks.
In 2014, Begley coached two All-Southern Athletic Association First Team selections and one second team pick. She also had two NFHCA All-Great Lakes Second Region Second Team honorees. Her Warriors ranked 11th in the nation in saves per game, 12th in the defensive saves and 22nd in save percentage.
In her first season, Begley coached the 2013 SAA Newcomer of the Year, Gabryele Pochron, who ranked second in the nation with 18.07 saves per game. Pochron, as well as defender Jennifer Koller were named All-SAA First Team. Koller ranked fourth in the country with 18 defensive saves. Both players were selected to the Longstreh/NFHCA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team. Nine Warriors were also named to the NFCHA DIII National Academic Squad.
In 2013, the Warriors led NCAA Division III with 20.29 saves per game and were 10th with 21 defensive saves.
Before coming to Hendrix, Begley spent the previous 13 seasons as the head coach at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. She also spent five years as the senior woman administrator and two as the assistant director of athletics.
Begley coached the Lyons to 113 victories in her tenure. She guided Wheaton to the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals four times and qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament on three occasions.
Begley also spent five seasons as the head coach of Wheaton’s women’s lacrosse team, guiding the Lyons to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, two NEWMAC Tournament championships and three regular season conference titles. In 2004, Wheaton set a school record for wins in a season with 15 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals. Begley was twice named NEWMAC Coach of the Year and went 59-26 while at the helm.
In addition to coaching at Wheaton, Begley served as the department’s compliance officer and was the college’s Title IX Coordinator. As the SWA, she supervised facilities, co-created the Lyons Athletic Club and helped write the constitution for the Hall of Fame.
Begley has served on the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee, National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-America committee and two NEWMAC committees.
Prior to Wheaton, Begley spent two seasons as the assistant field hockey and women’s lacrosse coach at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. While at Denison, the field hockey team captured consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference championships. In 1999, the field hockey team earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 16-4 record. The lacrosse squad also won consecutive NCAC titles with the 2000 team qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
Begley spent one year as the head field hockey coach at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where her 1997 team tied a school record most wins in a season at 14-6. Additionally, she was also responsible for assisting the head women’s lacrosse coach in the spring of 1998.
A native of Concord, N.H., Begley is a graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. She was a three-time all-region selection and four year letterwinner in field hockey. A former center midfielder, she is among the all-time assists leaders at Dickinson.
Begley graduated with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies with a concentration in Alaskan Native Studies in 1996.
