Granby Park and Recreation Department’s Recreation Supervisor Terri Ziemnicki is the 2024 recipient of the Thomas R. Monahan Award, one of the highest awards given by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association.
The award honors Ziemnicki’s nearly 40-year career as a girls’ lacrosse, field hockey and softball coach for the towns of Avon and Granby. During this time, the Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) notes that Terri has made “outstanding contributions … on behalf of the student athletes in our state as well as supporting coaches and all athletes in a very high-profile, first-class manner.”
Indeed, Ziemnicki’s long list of awards demonstrates her far-reaching impact in the world of high school sports, and her importance to Granby. She has been named Coach of the Year by CHSCA three times: 1991 (Field Hockey, Class S), 2009 (Field Hockey, Class M), and 2015 (Girls Lacrosse, Class S). Her commitment to coaching was recognized by the CHSCA in 2004-05 when she was named an Outstanding Coach of Field Hockey.
In addition to being a founding member of the Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame, she herself was Hall of Fame inductee in 2019. In fact, she is also an inductee of two other Halls of Fame: New Agenda Northeast Women’s Hall of Fame (1998), and CT High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2013).
In Ziemnicki’s position as Recreation Supervisor, she brings all this experience to bear as she designs youth and sports programming for Granby. “Not a lot of park and recreation departments have someone with that type of experience, and with that wealth of knowledge,” notes Kristine Vincent, Director of the Granby Park and Recreation Department, “Granby is very lucky.”
Ziemnicki, who has worked with the Granby Park and Recreation Department for five years, organizes Granby youth sports including soccer and basketball as well as after-school sports programming and summer camps.
A 26-year resident of Granby, Ziemnicki is originally from Avon where she attended Avon High School and was a three-sport athlete, playing field hockey, basketball and softball. In 1985, after graduating from Ithaca College with a major in recreation and a minor in social work, she was hired as a junior varsity coach at Avon High School. Four years later, she became the varsity coach, a position that she has held ever since.
Over the past 40 years, Ziemnicki’s coaching style has embraced her capacity to be a role model for her players. “You’re there to teach the sport, but you’re also there to teach these women to grow up to be strong women. You instill a lot of life values and morals and discipline through athletics,” Ziemnicki reflects. “That’s my biggest goal: being able to use field hockey and lacrosse as means for the girls to learn about discipline, teamwork and challenges.” Throughout the course of a season, Ziemnicki watches her players grow not only in athletic ability and skills, but also in confidence, resilience and time-management skills. By the time her first-year players become seniors, they’re transformed into confident young women who can self-advocate.
One of the most emotional experiences Ziemnicki has had in four decades of coaching came in October 2022. In a now-viral video posted by CIAC Sports, Ziemnicki describes how one of her first-year Avon field hockey players, Kaylie, who is autistic, scored a goal in the third quarter of a game against East Catholic. The moment the East Catholic goalie, Bree Upton, stepped to the side so that Kaylie could score, triggered both sides to erupt in cheers, and was “life-changing” for Ziemnicki. “[Kaylie] has brought more joy to the team, to my life, than I never expected. She’s been a gift,” shares Ziemnicki.
Knowing that she is making an impact on her players is what keeps Coach Ziemnicki going. “As long as I can make a difference, I want to keep coaching,” Ziemnicki declares, “I don’t think I’ll ever lose a passion for it.” Topping 400 field hockey wins last year, Ziemnicki has chosen to focus on the moments, rather than exclusively chasing wins and achievement. She encourages her players to appreciate the special moments and the people who make them happen. Whenever a player receives a compliment, Ziemnicki expects them to stop and say thank you, pointing to studies where people only internalize negative comments. Above all, Ziemnicki preaches gratitude. “I can’t reiterate enough that it’s the people that I’ve been blessed to have in my life that have made me better,” Ziemnicki muses. One of her team’s requirements is a handwritten gratitude letter that players send to someone impactful in their lives. “When you give someone a piece of your time, you’re giving them a portion of your life you’re not getting back,” notes Ziemnicki. She emphasizes to her players how incredibly important it is to be grateful for those who have supported them, even in minor ways.
As for the people who have supported Terri Ziemnicki in her life, she highlights her assistant coaches, mentors and coworkers, as well as her husband, two sons and friends. “I have a husband and two kids who have been so supportive,” says Ziemnicki, “without them, I wouldn’t be able to coach.” She adds, “It takes a village.”
Coach Terri A. Ziemnicki will be honored by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association and presented the Thomas R. Monahan award at the annual Hall of Fame banquet on May 9, at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.