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Randy Netsch: Coaching for the Kids, Coaching for His Community

Randy Netsch has been coaching from the time his children started playing sports. His father coached his Little League team and Randy knew that he wanted to coach his own children one day. Randy coached them in baseball, basketball, and softball while they grew up in Chester and he eventually earned his coaching certification. Now, he’s an assistant coach for both the field hockey and girls’ lacrosse squads at Valley Regional.

“I’d been coaching for a long time and wanted to get a better skill set,” says Randy, who played soccer and golf for the Warriors in high school. “I wanted to learn more about it and be able to move up to the high school program.”

That opportunity presented itself when Randy’s daughters reached high school and several of their friends approached him about coaching in the lacrosse program that they wanted to start. Although Randy had no experience with lacrosse, he agreed to be part of the program and soon began studying the game.

“They needed a certified coach to start. I had just done that. I read a lot, found as much information as I could, and watched some game film,” Randy says. “I liked the speed and the skill set required. When a team really knows how to play, it’s a fast, exciting, beautiful game to watch.”

The Valley girls’ lacrosse program started in conjunction with the Chester Parks and Recreation Department, where Randy’s wife Elizabeth is the director. The team’s athletes spent three years learning the sport before the Warriors worked their way up to varsity status at Valley Regional High School.

“It was great to be involved from the beginning and we are fortunate that the Region 4 athletic department are fantastic people to work for,” says Randy. “I’ve worked with great coaches over the years and it’s a privilege to work with the fantastic group of girls up there.”

Randy has been an assistant lacrosse coach at Valley for the past 14 years. For a few years, that squad was coached by current field hockey Head Coach Beth McCabe Powers, who Randy says is a “fantastic coach and a great teacher.” Three years ago, McCabe Powers told Randy that an assistant coaching position was opening up with the field hockey team. Randy had some experience with field hockey as one of his daughters had played for Valley. He was excited to apply for and accept the position, allowing him to coach in both the spring and the fall.

McCabe Powers is happy that Randy opted to join her coaching staff and says he has a great rapport with the girls on the team.

“Randy and I share a similar coaching philosophy, so he’s easy to work with and easygoing. He didn’t know much about field hockey when he started, but he’s done a million things to learn about the game and brought a strong foundation from lacrosse,” McCabe Powers says. “He’s literally one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He’s super dedicated, super patient, and he understands how to coach girls. The girls all adore him. We both believe in instilling confidence in our young ladies and we both pride ourselves on turning out wonderful, well-rounded young ladies out of our program.”

Randy’s three children are now grown and have graduated college. With one daughter living in Virginia and all three leading busy lives, Randy’s glad that he gets to spend time working with the girls on the Warriors’ field hockey and lacrosse squads.

“It’s such a pleasure to work with such a great group,” says Randy. “It’s almost like having my daughters around.”

Randy’s seen his teams reach varying degrees of success through the years. He’s proud to have been involved with the girls’ lacrosse program since its inception, but Randy feels most proud about seeing his athletes embrace the qualities that he and McCabe Powers emphasize. One of the highlights of Randy’s coaching career came when the 2015 field hockey team was presented the state’s Lucy Goodridge Sportsmanship Award.

“Winning is always great and, over the years, I’ve run across all kinds of coaches, but with Beth, it’s about making sure the athletes are a well-rounded individual who is mature, respectful, and driven to succeed,” he says.

Randy plans to continuing coaching for the next few years. Randy works for his father’s construction company and the job lends itself to being flexible for his coaching schedule. When Randy isn’t on the field or at work, he and his wife enjoy spending time with family, as well as doing outdoor activities like hiking and biking.

“My wife is fantastic. I couldn’t ask for a better wife. She’s very supportive. She also does a fantastic job in her career as she has a lot of responsibility,” says Randy. “We’ve always been about family and spending time together, making a cohesive family. We have a good, strong marriage, which is a great foundation for our children, and we are both involved with giving everything we can to the youth in the area.”