PCHS field dedicated to longtime coach Jordan

GUILFORD — Donna Jordan led the Piscataquis Community field hockey team for more than two decades from the late 1970s through 1999. During her coaching tenure Jordan not only got her players ready for game day, but taught them many lessons for off the field that they could carry with them long after putting their sticks down for the final time. To celebrate Jordan’s legacy and the 50th anniversary of the PCHS field hockey program, the field behind the high school was formally dedicated in her honor on Sept. 28.

At halftime of the 2024 Homecoming field hockey game between PCHS and John Bapst Memorial High School of Bangor, former PCHS player and head field hockey coach Trisha Moulton – who teaches grade 7-12 health and physical education at Piscataquis Community Secondary School — invited all former Pirate field hockey players to gather on the field with her. The several dozen joined players and coaches from both PCHS and John Bapst and the spectators on the other side of the fence for Moulton’s remarks.

“As you can see there are a lot of ladies here who are as passionate about field hockey as much as I am,” Moulton said. “I am truly wanting to let you know that I am very proud of all of them. I get the opportunity to actually announce that this fall marks a major milestone in our school’s history and that is 50 years of field hockey at PCHS.”

She said the sport began in 1974 at the SAD 4 secondary school and “throughout the years our field hockey teams have demonstrated incredible skill, determination, and heart. We have brought home championships, broken records, and most importantly forged lifelong friendships. Each player who has worn the PCHS jersey has added to the legacy of excellence that this program stands for. 

“There are over 250 female athletes who have the honor to say they wore a PCHS field hockey uniform. These former field hockey players and current players are joining me today because field hockey was or still is a huge part of their lives, they love the sport, the tradition, their teams, and their coaches. Field hockey was a huge part of all of their lives, playing the sport helped them to learn teamwork, discipline, hard work, resiliency, toughness, perseverance, goal setting, respect and confidence.”

Moulton said these traits tie into post-high school experiences in college, careers, relationships, and families.

“PCHS field hockey is a family,” Moulton said. “Coach Donna Jordan, who started coaching in 1977, was an integral part of our mental toughness. We knew that when we stepped on this field we had better be focused and give everything we had every day, but we also knew that she loved each and every one of us.”

“After coaching with Donna for three years my coaching style definitely resembled hers although I became more of a softy over the years,” Moulton said. “The field hockey sticks these former players used may have changed over the years but the heart and their passion for field hockey has not. Many of these former field hockey players are having or had a part in keeping the sport of field hockey alive. A bunch of these ladies have coached or officiated while many have encouraged their daughters or granddaughters to try the sport they love so much”

“To the youngest players here, thank you for continuing the tradition of playing field hockey and loving the sport,” Moulton said. “You make me as well as the other rec coaches proud that we are your coaches because you are always ready to learn, work, and have fun. To our current players and coach Emily Wilson, you are the spirit of the celebration. Your dedication, passion, and commitment will carry this program forward into the future. Honor the accomplishments of these PCHS field hockey players who came before you and continue to love the sport and inspire the next generation of PCHS field hockey players.”

She said that afternoon would be the induction of the 2024 PCHS Athletic Hall of Fame, made up of Bryce Gilbert, Karen Hersey Ward, Merle Gilbert, Tom Cyr, and the 1992 Class C champion field hockey team coached by Jordan. Jordan was part of the inaugural class in 2018 and she is a 3-time hall of famer with her 1987 Class C champion team inducted in 2021

The halftime ceremony celebrated a half century of PCHS field hockey and honored an “extraordinary individual who dedicated her heart and soul to PCHS field hockey for 20 years,” Moulton said about Jordan. She said her coach led the Pirates from 1977 to 1987, took a year off to have a baby, and then returned to the sideline from 1989 to 1999. 

“Coaching a sport definitely takes commitment, countless hours of planning practices and constant strategizing to beat the next opponent where your brain doesn’t stop thinking,” Moulton said. “But it also has a profound impact on the lives of countless athletes.”

“Coach Jordan you have not only shaped the skills of your PCHS field hockey players, but have also instilled in them the values of teamwork, perseverance, and integrity,” she said. “Your influence in our lives extends far beyond the field, you have been a mentor, a guide, a source of inspiration to everyone of us who had the privilege of learning from you. Under your leadership the program flourished, you nurtured talent, encouraged young athletes to push their boundaries and celebrated their successes both big and small. Your passion for the game and your dedication to your players is a legacy that is still felt by all of your former players today.”

A sign for the Donna Jordan Field was unveiled near the entrance. “This is to give testament to your hard work and love for the sport of field hockey, it will be a place where future athletes will gather to learn, compete, and grow,” Moulton said. “Coach, thank you for your incredible dedication, your relentless motivation, and the huge impact you have had on our lives and the sport of field hockey. Congratulations, this is well deserved.”