VICTORIA – The University of Victoria is pleased to announce long-time Vikes assistant coach Krista Thompson as its next women's field hockey head coach, effective immediately.

Thompson succeeds long-time head coach Lynne Beecroft who officially retired this month after 39 years at the helm. No stranger to the program, Thompson has been coaching alongside Beecroft for the past 26 years.

"I'm super excited for this opportunity; it was a goal I set for myself, and I've done my best to gain as much head coaching experience as possible outside of my assistant role to prepare for when the opportunity arose," said Thompson.

"I'm not naïve to think there won't be challenges, but I'm prepared to adapt and tweak when necessary while continuing forward with what's already been working. I feel well supported by the alumni and community to take on this role," she continued.  

Thompson, a former Canadian National Women's Field Hockey team member who holds a Master of Education in Coaching Studies from UVic, is no stranger to coaching at the highest level. With extensive experience coaching everything from local, provincial, NextGen and national teams, Thompson is easily one of the most decorated coaches in the country. 

"Krista has a tremendous history with the Vikes and a proven track record of being a world-class field hockey coach. Throughout the interview process, Krista demonstrated that her coaching success is based on a fundamental belief in focusing on the person first, athlete second. Her understanding of the modern student-athlete truly sets her apart. All this, combined with Krista's active involvement and experience across the entire sporting system, from the national team to grassroots, is the reason why she is by far the best person to lead our field hockey program," said Director of Varsity Performance Sport, Nick Clarke.

Beyond her experience coaching at the elite level, Thompson's ties to the Victoria community and grassroots field hockey run deep. Spearheading the Rising Stars field hockey program in 2003, she has coached hundreds of local athletes a year for the last 20 years. The successful program has also become somewhat of a feeder system for the national champion Vikes women's field hockey team.

Aside from her coaching duties, Thompson also sits on various volunteer committees including the Field Hockey Canada Coach Education Committee, Field Hockey Canada High Performance Consultative Committee, Field Hockey Canada/U SPORTS Committee, U SPORTS Field Hockey Coaches Association, and the Vancouver Island Ladies Field Hockey Association, to name a few. 

Over the past five seasons, Thompson started taking on a more prominent role with the UVic women's field hockey team, practice planning and leading recruitment efforts with Beecroft as her mentor. 

"The last few years have really prepared me for what's ahead and helped me build a succession plan which will be super beneficial," said Thompson.

While it's a new era for the Vikes women's field hockey program, there is no doubt it's in good hands.