Caroline Nelson-Nichols (born December 15, 1984) is an American

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

player. She is a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team for Women’s Field Hockey and the 2012 US Olympic team. Before serving as the interi
head coach of the US Women's National Team
from January 2020 to June 2020, Nichols was the head coach of Columbia Field Hockey between 2015 and 2019. Nichols now is a performance coach on the staff of Saint Joseph's University's field hockey team.

Early life and education

Nichols was born in Hamilton, Bermuda. She grew up in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, playing both soccer and field hockey in school. She dropped soccer to concentrate on hockey before graduating from Salem High School in 2003. She graduated from

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

in 2007, with a major in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

.Old Dominioin Athletics, Caroline Nichols profile
, accessed July 1, 2008

Amateur athletic career

Nichols played varsity field hockey on the Lady Monarchs for four years at

. She was an

Academic All-American The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...

and First String All-American and a member of the Colonial Athletic Association championship team in 2005. On June 23, 2008,

USA Field Hockey USA Field Hockey is the national governing body for field hockey in the United States. USA Field Hockey is a member organization of the United States Olympic Committee and the International Hockey Federation. The USA Field Hockey Association is he ...

nominated Nichols to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team for Women’s Field Hockey.

Coaching

Nichols was the head coach of the Columbia Field Hockey Team from 2015 to 2019 where she amassed a win percentage of 0.4875. From January to June 2020, Nichols was the interim head coach of the

United States women's national field hockey team The United States women's national field hockey team, represents the United States in international field hockey. The team is currently coached by Anthony Farry. It made its first international appearance in 1920 when a touring team visited Engla ...

References

External links

*
Old Dominioin Athletics, Caroline Nichols profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Caroline 1984 births Living people American female field hockey players People from Hamilton, Bermuda Sportspeople from Virginia Beach, Virginia Old Dominion Monarchs field hockey players Field hockey players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 2011 Pan American Games Olympic field hockey players of the United States Field hockey players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in field hockey Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games