April 17, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact:  Carole Grills
(413) 585-2703

 Strong and Feeley Retire From Smith Coaching Staff

Northampton, MA:  Field hockey coach Judy Strong and basketball coach Liz Feeley have announced that they are retiring from coaching to pursue different passions in their lives.

             Strong, a Hatfield, MA native, has been at Smith for twenty years coaching both field hockey and lacrosse for sixteen years and only field hockey for the past four years. A member of the 1980 and 1984 United States Olympic Field Hockey Teams where she brought home a bronze medal in ’84, Strong began her career teaching physical education in area high schools from 1984-86.  She was hired to coach at Elms College in ‘86 but left after one season to assume the interim lacrosse position at Smith left vacant by Jackie Blei who went on maternity leave. Once home with her baby, Blei decided not to return to coaching and Strong was hired to replace her and became just the third woman to coach field hockey since the program began in 1971. Highlights of her coaching career include her 1993 field hockey team going to the NCAA Division III National Championships; her lacrosse teams dominating conference competition in the early 1990’s and having players receive All Conference, All Region and All Academic honors. She has enjoyed watching her athletes grow as players and students on and off the field over the years and sharing in their joy as they have met the challenges presented to them including learning to play a turf game on our grass field!  To leave the coaching ranks was a difficult decision for Strong but feels the time is right to make a change. “I’ll still be involved with both sports but from the officiating standpoint. This past fall I was given the opportunity to break into a very elite group of Division I Field Hockey officials and I’m fortunate that this occurred early in my career while I’m still physically fit. It’s a great opportunity for me and I look forward to see how I do with this challenge.” Although Strong won’t be coaching at Smith, she’ll still be in contact with her colleagues working part-time in the Olin Fitness Center and fulfilling other administrative duties.

             Feeley, who spent the past seven years at Smith, has been coaching for twenty-one years. She began her career serving as an assistant coach at her alma mater Lehigh University then moved on to  Notre Dame, Cornell and Holy Cross. She took her first head coaching position at Colgate in 1992 and assumed the head job at Princeton in ‘95 before coming to Smith. She’s had her share of 1,000 point scorers, All Americans, All Conference selections and players who’ve turned professional but believes the time is right for her to follow her other passion of interior design. Feeley plans on employing what she has taught to her athletes over the years about teamwork, motivation, and goal setting in her new profession. “The move into interior design is a positive one for me; it’s something that I’ve done on the side for many years but to make it into a thriving business will be a challenge. Its time for me to put into play all the things I’ve taught my athletes.” One of her personal highlights while at Smith has been becoming good friends with Tom Tyler and winning the 2000 Tyler Memorial Tip-Off Tournament, named in memory of Tom’s daughter Kim.  Feeley will miss her peers here at Smith, in the conference as well as her athletes and she’s enjoyed coaching in a Division III setting. “I’ve actually enjoyed the practices more than the games because you have an opportunity to teach during practice. My career at Smith has been rewarding because on a Division III level, there is more interaction with the athletes, it’s more of an interactive collaboration and less of a business.”

          Director of Athletics Lynn Oberbillig is sorry to lose these two women. “Coaching is arduous, emotionally draining, yet fulfilling work.  Judy and Liz have spent those 20 years caring about their athletes and putting together game day strategies for hundreds of opponents.  It is difficult to think about Smith’s sidelines without these two intense, fiery coaches.  They enjoyed the highs and lows of coaching, always being the professional and a great role model for young women.  We celebrate their careers, cherish their time at Smith and wish them the best of luck as they pursue other professional interests.”