Michelle Roach Named MIAA Girls Hockey Coach of the Year

Michelle Roach of Lynn, head coach of the Peabody High School girls hockey team, has been selected as the MIAA Coach of the Year for the 2020-21 season.

“It’s quite the honor to receive,” Roach humbly told the Lynn Journal this week.

Roach is an alumna of St. Mary’s High School where she was the captain of the first-ever girls hockey team in the 2001-02 season. She also served as an assistant hockey coach at St. Mary’s and was inducted into the St. Mary’s Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2016.

Michelle Roach.

St. Mary’s Director of Athletics Jeff Newhall congratulated his fellow alumnus on receiving the esteemed statewide honor.

“We in the St. Mary’s community congratulate Michelle on receiving this prestigious award from the MIAA,” said Newhall. “Michelle was an outstanding player and assistant coach in our girls hockey program and continues to be a great role model for student-athletes. We wish her continued success in her professional career and coaching endeavors.”

Following her outstanding career at St. Mary’s, Roach went on to play three seasons in the St. Michael’s College women’s hockey program. She received her degree in Political Science from St. Michael’s and holds a master’s degree in Business and Human Resource Management from Harvard University.

Roach has enjoyed tremendous success at Peabody High School where her teams have been perennial state tournament participants. This year’s team is ranked in the Top 10 in Massachusetts.

 Michelle is the daughter of Bob and Diane Roach. Her brother, Stephen was the St. Mary’s High School Class of 2012 valedictorian and is a graduate of Boston College.

Following is the official announcement from the MIAA:

——-  Congratulations  ——-

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is pleased to announce the twenty-one coaches from MIAA member schools who were selected this year by a subcommittee of MIAA Coaches’ Education Instructors.

 The award seeks to recognize and honor “teacher coaches” who have had an impact on the lives of student-athletes, by encouraging them to succeed and by helping them develop self-confidence, ambition, a sound work ethic, and other skills or values necessary or helpful for success in their later lives. Award candidates should have a record of encouraging student-athletes to be well-rounded (i.e. displaying excellence in areas of scholarship, citizenship, fine arts, etc.), as well as a reputation, among their peers and the athletic community, for fair play, good sportsmanship, and the development of these attributes in their student-athletes.

 The 2020-21 honorees are the eleventh class of MIAA Coach of the Year Award recipients. Congratulations to the 2020-2021 MIAA Coach of the Year Recipients!

Ice Hockey (Girls)

Michelle Roach, Peabody Veterans Memorial High School: “Progress is a result of consistency, discipline and the relentless ability to adapt. The best way to teach adaptability is by emphasizing versatility both in playing style and in individual players who are trained to play multiple positions and fill different roles as team needs shift. Most importantly, I demand hard work without which progress would be stalled. We all have to be willing to work hard both off, and on the ice, every practice, every shift, every game.”

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