After two seasons of leading the Newtown High School field hockey team, Ellen Goyda is stepping down and John Savage is taking over. Savage is thrilled to take over a program with talented players.

“I instantly fell in love with the town and the kids,” Savage said of Newtown, where he and his wife, Barbara, relocated in 2015 after a life in New York that included decades of coaching (and playing) sports.

“It’s been a long journey. I really love it here in Newtown,” said Savage, 71.

Savage is not completely new to the Nighthawks’ program, having provided volunteer coaching instruction to players throughout recent years, simply for his passion for teaching the game, he says. He also helped out at the Newtown High School Field Hockey Camp, run by Goyda, at Treadwell Park in late June.

“I really love coaching these young ladies. I just like to help out and be around young people and hopefully have a positive impact on their lives,” said Savage, adding that he anticipates Newtown being a top team with which to contend. “If we care about each other the way I think we can we’ll be okay. I’ve seen wonderful things happen to average teams when they play for more than themselves,” Savage added.

Championship Success

In 26 years of field hockey coaching at Mamaroneck High in New York, Savage won a trio of state championships, took his teams to 17 Section 1 finals appearances (with a dozen Section 1 wins), and won 19 straight league titles.

“We benefit because you can’t beat his credentials and his expertise,” said Goyda, who will stay involved with town field hockey at the youth level; she is establishing a middle school program.

“I had a lot of help along the way,” said Savage, who attended showcase events and worked hard to learn the game when he first got his feet wet with field hockey. Savage began as a basketball coach and there was a need for a modified (grades 7 and 8) field hockey coach, which led to him ultimately instructing the varsity squad.

“I’ve learned that it’s a mental game as well as a physical game. It has to be a team game where personal glory is put aside for team success,” Savage said. “If you want to be a championship program you have to love each other.”

Savage has a competitive edge not only influenced by his field hockey-coaching success but also from a low point in his playing days. In his junior campaign in high school at Cardinal Hayes in the Bronx, the basketball team he played for was 0-18. “I vowed at that point in my life I would never be 0 and whatever in anything I did,” he said.

Fast forward through decades of playing and coaching a variety of sports, and Savage has always managed to get into the win column. He is aiming for a lot more with the Nighthawks — but it’s not all about victories.

“My definition of success is do the best you can. We want to compete every day,” said Savage, whose hope is for that effort to translate into success in the win-loss department on the field.

Different Coaching Style

The early-days Coach Savage was much different than today’s Coach Savage, he will tell you.

“I was too intense. I was coached by coaches that were intense back in the day,” explained Savage, who continued his playing career at Iona College before blowing out his knee. “Now I have my own style. I think Newtown’s going to get the best John Savage. It’s more teaching and practice, and letting the players learn.”

That said, Newtown’s new field hockey leader still comes with a high level of vigor.

“Most definitely intense,” affirms field hockey player Maddy Twitchell, who graduated from NHS this past spring; she and the Nighthawks also got to see Savage coach with Mamaroneck. In fact, his team visited NHS for a nonconference tilt last fall.

“He wants everybody moving and if you’re not moving you’re coming out for sure,” Twitchell said. “He’s definitely a great addition to the Newtown team.”

“I have a lot of energy and I hope the energy goes to them and they send that energy back to me,” said Savage, whose previous career was in financial services before turning his attention to coaching and teaching.

“I just love what sports did for me as far as who I am as a person,” Savage said.

Goyda Starts Middle School Team

Goyda, prior to coaching at NHS, led the town’s youth program for nearly a decade. The opportunity to step away from the high school team and back into the youth game seemed logical to her since her daughter, Katie, graduated from Newtown High in 2021 as the program’s scoring/points record holder in multiple categories and plays at Bryant College. Goyda wants the opportunity to watch her play.

“I realized I can always step back into this program but I can’t get back seeing her play,” said Goyda, whose older daughter, Megan, also went on to play collegiately and now coaches at Brookfield High.

The transition back to youth field hockey coaching gives Goyda more flexibility to travel and see Katie play, she noted.

And it helps fill what Goyda views as a void with Newtown High’s rival schools possessing middle school teams. She is starting a Newtown Middle School program to allow seventh and eighth graders more practice and game time together, apart from the existing youth program which, until now, has been for elementary and middle school players.

“I strongly believe you’re only going to be as successful as your feeder program is,” said Goyda, adding that this will give seventh and eighth graders a chance to really prepare for the high school game.

She will hold the Preseason Field Hockey Clinic for sixth-graders as well as incoming middle school students, August 22-24, at Treadwell Park. The clinic runs from 8:30 to 10:30 am each day. Cost is $75. Register through Newtown Parks and Recreation: https://www.newtown-ct.gov/parks-recreation.

“She’s doing amazing things with young kids. She makes it fun but she also is a great teacher of the game,” Savage said.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.