Trockenbrod brings success to MHS lax

Former TCNJ standout is new girls’ coach

By: Bob Nuse
   Tiffany Trockenbrod feels like she learned her lacrosse under the best possible teachers.
   Now that she’s a head coach, she plans to try to teach the game the same way it was taught to her.
   Trockenbrod enjoyed an outstanding college career at The College of New Jersey, where she was named the Division III National Player of the Year in lacrosse in 2001, when she led the nation in goals against average. And in 1999 was named the Division III National Player of the Year in field hockey. In fact, the 37 goals she scored during the 1999 season are the second highest season total in Division III history.
   Having learned under the guidance of TCNJ coach Sharon Pfluger, Trockenbrod hopes to bring that same level of commitment to her new job as head girls’ lacrosse coach at Montgomery High.
   "This is my first head coaching job, but I have done a lot of coaching," said Trockenbrod, who is a health and physical education teacher at MHS. "It’s different being a head coach. There are so many more things to think about. The girls this year have helped the whole situation 100 percent.
   "When we were at TCNJ, we were taught so well in all of the fundamentals and everything that it takes to be successful in sports. When we leave there, we feel like we have the knowledge and can break down the skills."
   If Trockenbrod is anywhere near as successful as a coach as she was as a player in college, the Cougars appear to be in good hands. On the field hockey field, she was one of the top attack players in the nation. On the lacrosse field, she played goalkeeper and was the best in Division III.
   "I don’t tend to talk about it too much," said Trockenbrod, who was a Division III All-America in both sports. "In the beginning when I first met the team, I told them that I played there and the positions I played. I think they heard more about it from other people. The old coach had sent out an email to everyone and had told them that I played at TCNJ. I think some of them researched it on their own."
   While she doesn’t like to talk much about her own success, Trockenbrod is hopeful she can bring the same kind of team success to Montgomery that she enjoyed at TCNJ, where the Lions have won nine Division III titles under Pfluger.
   Montgomery, meanwhile, is playing with its fourth head coach in four years.
   "I think one of the things they were looking to do was to get some stability in the program," said Trockenbrod, who is seventh on the Division III field hockey all-time scoring list with 225 points. "Hopefully we can do that. We have a whole new staff this year. Our varsity assistant, Barbara Whalley, was a graduate assistant at TCNJ as well. And the two other coaches we have in the program, Kelly Caulin and Jenny Honold, are also new. So it’s all brand new to the girls and they’re working real hard and trying to take in as much as they can.
   "We’ll work a lot on the fundamentals and learning the game. You need to be able to do those things in order to be successful."
   Trockenbrod knows that from first-hand experience. And now she’s looking to spread that same knowledge to her new team at Montgomery.