University of Victoria Athletics

Lynne “Buzz” Beecroft enters her 39th year as the head coach of the Vikes women’s field hockey program in 2022-23.

2021 marked the Vikes’ 34th appearance at nationals under Beecroft, resulting in her 14th national title. In addition to hoisting 14 McCrae Cups (1984, ‘87, ‘89, ‘91, ‘92, ‘94, ‘95, ‘97, ‘00, ‘02, ‘08, '18, '19, ‘21), as well as earned nine silver medals and seven bronzes. In addition to success on the national stage, Beecroft’s teams have captured 16 Canada West conference championship banners, most recently following an unbeaten 7-0-1 season in 2021.

The Vikes went nine seasons without a national title, but they ended the longest drought in Beecroft's tenure in 2018 when they defeated the York Lions in the first two games of a best-of-three championship. The 2018 kicked off a three-year win streak for UVic, who completed the national title “three-peat” in 2021.
 
Beecroft has been awarded Canada West Coach of the Year five times (1990, 1994, 2002, 2014, 2015). In 2000, she was named Canadian Field Hockey 3M Elite Coach of the Year. She has twice been recognized by the City of Victoria, as she was named Sportswoman of the Year in 1995 and Coach of the Year in 2000. Beecroft was also inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame in the fall of 2014.

In 2015, Beecroft was named the CIS Coach of the Year for the first time in her career after guiding the Vikes to a 7-0-1 record in Canada West play to capture the Vikes' 17th conference title and silver medal at the U SPORTS (formerly CIS) championship.
 
Prior to coaching, Beecroft was an accomplished player and Olympian. She played at UVic from 1975-79 and as a member of the Canadian national team from 1977-85. Highlights of her competitive career included a bronze at the 1981 European indoor championships, silver at the 1983 world championships and a fifth-place finish at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

During Beecroft’s illustrious coaching career at UVic, the Vikes have produced 63 CIS All-Canadians, six CIS Player of the Years, four CIS Championship Most Valuable Players, three CIS Gail Wilson Award Recipients, two CIS Rookie of the Year awards, seven Canada West Player of the Years, six Canada West Rookie of the Years, one Canada West Goalkeeper of the Year, six Canada West Gail Wilson Award Recipients and over 125 Canada West All-Stars. Beecroft has also spent time coaching at the regional and national level.

In 2002, she was the Vancouver Island Regional coach for the National women’s field hockey program. Later that year, she was appointed as an assistant coach for the National team during a tour to Australia. Beecroft has also coached numerous different BC teams, ranging from U16 to Canada Summer Games. Beecroft is a level four graduate of the National Coaching Certification Program.

Beecroft graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor Human Performance. She later earned her Master of Coaching Studies from UVic, along with her Masters in Coaching from the National Coaching Institute.