Mark Foster - Associate Head Coach - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Mark Foster

Title:
Associate Head Coach
Email:
Phone:
552-3410

Mark Foster joined Kelly Doton’s staff in February 2017 and enters his eighth season on the Eagles’ sideline.

Foster came to The Heights after two and a half years with one of the top club programs in the country, WC Eagles, based in Pottstown, Pa. With WC Eagles, Foster was part of the coaching staffs of five teams that won the USA National Club Championships: Under-14 (2015, 2016), Under-16 (2015, 2016) and Under-19 (2015).

He also spent two seasons as a staff member with USA Field Hockey's National Indoor Team. In both positions, Foster did extensive work developing players' season-long fitness regimes and providing video analysis to the teams and players.

At Durham, Foster captained the men's field hockey team, and was part of the squads that won the 2012 and 2014 Premier North division before advancing to the national tournament both seasons.

Before coming to the U.S., in 2014, Foster began his coaching career in England at his alma mater, Durham University. At Durham, he coached both the Women's Development and Performance teams."Mark's versatility in coaching is what sets him apart," Doton said. "He has the ability to coach offense, defense, backs and, specifically, goalkeeper. He was never a goalkeeper, so when the goalkeeping position opened, Mark took the lead on it. He educated himself and got better in that area, and that's one of the things that makes him brilliant."

A nation's individual success often gives rise to a natural, unique style, but the concept of American field hockey exists because of the mixture of different styles originating from several different nations. It never had the natural heights or cultural roots of other countries, but the aging of the sport infused its growth with European influence.

It's especially true in college field hockey, which is widely considered the top of the American pyramid. The best of the best represent their native countries at the international level, but the concept of playing for a particular club or franchise litters college rosters with players from the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Argentina, all countries that excel on the international stage.

In that respect, the notion of "American field hockey" absorbed pieces of every nation and instead twisted it into its own brand of game. At Boston College, bringing those international players onto a roster with the hard-nosed, tough Americans also fostered more appreciation for the newness of a nation that was willing to learn as much as it was offering to teach.

"I am a firm believer that there's more than one way to teach a skill," Doton said. "He may have learned skills differently from me, and there's no one way to teach it. That's what we tell our players. We want them to learn things differently, and every time Mark teaches a drill or technical skill, I listen to him because he's got a great background. He has that respect and admiration from our players, and they've developed and gotten better because of it."

It attained undeniable success through both overall wins and through the honors obtained by the individual athletes. Foster helped Doton turn BC into a national powerhouse, and goalkeeper Sarah Dwyer, a former backup, became a First Team All-America after his tutelage turned her into one of the best goalies in the nation. She single handedly backstopped the Eagles into both the Elite Eight and Final Four in 2019 with a particularly impressive run that saw her stop seven shots against No. 5 Louisville, the host institution for BC's regional in the tournament, with a dramatic, save-after-save performance that combined the gritty American mindset with the skills taught by Foster, her position coach.

BC, a program that never went to a Final Four before that season, finished the year No. 3 and produced several other All-America selections after that year ended. Fusine Govaert eventually won three honors, while Ymke Rose Gote and Frederique Haverhals, two Dutch imports, earned two awards. Margo Carlin joined them while also winning the ACC Freshman of the Year during that 2019 season.

To that degree, working at BC built on his years of experience within the American club and national systems that predated his arrival at Chestnut Hill. He coached in the United States' performance pathway as part of its Futures Program upon arriving in the country and spent time over three years with the Under-16 programs in New Jersey and New England and the Under-19 program in New England.

That grassroots level enabled him to develop strength and conditioning, and video analysis, for young athletes, and with his involvement in the U-16 and U-19 programs, he represented the United States as part of the staff for the United States National Indoor Team, success that helped continue the development of the American field hockey pyramid.

"Mark hadn't coached at the collegiate level but had experience at the most successful club program in the country," Doton said. "I spoke with him on the phone and brought him in for an interview, and I found that his knowledge of hockey and his vision for culture was exactly what I was looking for."

There's no questioning what's been installed in Chestnut Hill, and the build, though it continues, involves a championship expectation brought by a coaching staff that unquestionably has the capability to influence both the game and the overall sport for decades to come.

Updated July 15, 2024