By Melissa Moore-Randall
The 2023 RHS field hockey season brought two new faces to the sidelines. Alex Butler and Hanneliese Scheel, both teachers at the Susan B. Anthony Middle School, have taken over the program bringing with it extensive playing experience.
Butler grew up in Peabody, where she played field hockey and ran track in high school. After graduating from Assumption College, she became a teacher at Revere High School in 2017. For the past 7 years, she has been teaching 8th Grade Civics at SBA. Butler is very thankful for her new position.
“I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to coach field hockey at RHS. Ever since I first started teaching in Revere, I have been waiting for the field hockey coaching position to become available. When I played field hockey in high school, my dad came to every one of my games. Even now in my role as coach, my dad is such an active presence. He still manages to come and watch our games, and always debriefs the game with me. He has been such an important source of support for me in my first year of coaching.”
Butler went on to add, “Every player on the team has been so kind and welcoming, and they are an incredible team to coach. We have improved as a team throughout the season, and became stronger each game we played. No matter what happens on the field, our team always manages to laugh and have fun (which is the real goal of any sport). We have not only had fun practicing and playing games together, but have also done a lot of team bonding activities throughout the season.”
Butler looks to continue to build the field hockey program in Revere and increase interest in the sport. “I would also love to create a feeder program for field hockey in Revere, so players have experience before they come to the high school and join our team. I’m really excited for the future of field hockey in Revere, but am enjoying every moment of this season. “
Scheel grew up in Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia attending Central Bucks school district. In 2022, she graduated from Juniata College in central PA with dual degrees in Geology and Secondary Education.
A 7th grade Science teacher at SBA, Scheel is in her second year in Revere and in her teaching career.. She has played field hockey since 2nd grade, later joining a travel club team and then playing in middle school. She went on to play all four years in high school and was recruited to play in college and played all four years.
“Having come in with no expectations, the team has blown me away. While our record could use some improvement, I’m proud to coach such a great group of players. They really have great sportsmanship and have been showing significant growth on the field.”
The team will wrap up their season this week and look forward to an exciting and productive 2024 season.
