Ohio field hockey coach Neil Macmillan recorded his 100th victory as an Ohio coach Saturday against Ball State, becoming only the second coach in program history to break the century mark.
But to Macmillan, the number of wins is just that — simply a number, and a reminder of what he’s built in Athens during the past eight seasons.
Macmillan began his collegiate coaching career as an associate head coach at Wake Forest in 1999. The program flourished during Macmillan’s six seasons in Winston-Salem, NC, as the Demon Deacons won three national titles and reached the national semifinals five times.
The opportunity to become a head coach was always something that appealed to Macmillan, but he said he wasn’t going to skip town for any job, as he was concerned about finding a family environment in which to settle down with his wife, Valda Vitolins.
“I felt Ohio had everything,” Macmillan said. “Everything from the pitch, to the other facilities like the weight room and training rooms. And the athletic department had the right strategy to move forward and wanted to be successful. So everything here was of my liking and I came in here feeling supported and I still do.”
Macmillan gave up free tickets to see current Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul and the Wake Forest basketball team face off with rival North Carolina to check out Athens before making the move — just to be safe. As it turned out, a long weekend in February was enough to make Macmillan fully comfortable with the switch.
“We came up and spent a couple of days around here and loved it from the start,” he said. “We just felt that everyone was very nice. There were students opening doors for us and asking us how we were doing. It was a great feel and still is.”
In his first year on the job, Macmillan said he felt fortunate that his new players, assistant coaches and administrators bought into the program he was trying to put in place.
Seven years later, Macmillan has led his teams to four Mid-American Conference championships, which trumps the program’s previous total of three before Macmillan took the reins for the Bobcats.
This year’s team, which had high expectations heading into this season following a MAC championship and NCAA tournament berth in 2011, has grown fond of the attitude that Macmillan brings to the pitch.
“He’s a lot of fun,” said senior Taylor Brown. “He definitely jokes around a ton and he’s so knowledgeable about the game, which is great for us.”
Before moving to the United States, Macmillan played field hockey for his alma mater Loughborough University (UK) and led the school to the 1995 British Universities Championship and played in the English National League’s Beeston Hockey Club and St. Albans Hockey Club.
Since Macmillan has seen success in the playing ranks, he has been able to bring on assistant coaches like Pam Spuehler and Brooke Edwards — both of whom have extensive playing experience. Senior Cathryn Altdoerffer said having a wealth of experienced talent on the sidelines was a chief reason she decided to pursue playing for the Bobcats.
“When I was a freshman, I was really excited that the coaches played with us, and that’s stuck all four years,” she said. “I think that’s important because they bring a different skill level.”
Macmillan’s team has become formidable in the MAC and has knocked off many ranked opponents during his tenure, but he is by no means satisfied, as he wants to build the program to a point that it is nationally ranked year in and year out.
“We want to be (ranked) on a regular basis,” he said. “And when I say, ‘We,’ I don’t just mean me. That’s for the team as well. That’s where they feel they should be. That’s what I want my impact to be, that the team and I have the same goal.”
ch203310@ohiou.edu
