Our Coaches
Coaches
Jun Kentwell – Director of Coaching
Jun was a player on the Chinese National Team for 8 years and captained the Jaing Xi Provincial Team to 3 National Championships. As a 12 year old, Jun was selected to train in the residence program at the Jiang Xi Sports Training Center where she developed into a fast and skillful midfield player. As a 16 year old, she was selected to play for the Chinese Under 21 National Team before making her debut for the senior team at age 18.
Jun graduated from the Shanghai Sports University and returned to the Jaing Xi Training Center as a sports administrator and coach. When injury curtailed her playing career, she took up umpiring and again quickly rose to the top, achieving International Grade 1 level where she has officiated in three Asian Games, The European Cup, The Pan Am Games, The Junior World Cup, three Olympic Qualifying Tournaments and the World Cup. In 2004, Jun received the Golden Whistle from the International Hockey Federation to mark her 100th International match.
Before coming to the United States in 1999, Jun was the coach of the Chinese Under 21 National Team. Jun now coaches in the USFHA Futures Program in addition to her duties as Director of World Class Coaching Field Hockey Program and Head Coach of the WC Eagles.
Guy Cathro
Guy played a number of years on the Scotland Under 21 team and was part of the Scotland Men’s Squad before injury ended his playing career.
He quickly transitioned into coaching, serving as head coach for his Alma Mater Heriott Watt University from 1998-2001. A brief stint coaching Dundee University was followed by a return to the club team of his youth where he assumed the role of head coach of the Women’s Team and the entire Youth Section.
Guy moved to the US in 2007, joining Syracuse University as an assistant coach and helped them rise from 35th in the country to a #1 ranking, a Big East Championship and a Final 4 appearance in a little over a year. Two more Big East Championships, two Elite 8 appearances and two top 8 rankings followed before Guy moved to The University of North Carolina. In three seasons at UNC, Guy helped win two ACC Championships, reach three Final 4s (including two championship game appearances) and rank in the top 3 in the country every year. As Director of Player Development at Syracuse and UNC, Guy coached twenty players who were named All Americans (including ten 1st team).
Guy has also coached extensively in the USA Field Hockey system, assisting with Pennsylvania, New Jersey and South High Performance Squads, heading up Mid Atlantic High Performance in 2013 and working as a Head Coach in both Junior High Performance and Futures Elite Championships. Guy has coached several USAFH Junior National Camps, assisting with Under 17, Under 19 and Under 21 US Squads. In September 2013, Guy was named assistant coach for the US Women’s National Team who competed at the Pan-American Cup in Mendoza, Argentina, qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.
Shahid Ali Khan – Head Goalkeeper Coach
We are pleased to have Shahid, an outstanding international goalkeeping coach, as a full time member of our coaching staff.
Shahid was one of the world’s finest goalkeepers, winning Olympic Gold (1984) and Bronze (1992) medals, World Cup Gold (1982) and Silver (1990) medals, and two Asian Games Gold medal, during his playing career which spanned 10 years and135 International Matches.
Following his retirement as a player Shahid was appointed the Goalkeeper Coach for Pakistan World Cup and Olympic Teams and has also served as Goalkeeper Coach of the Malaysia National Team goalkeepers. In 2009/10 he was appointed as the Head Coach of Pakistan’s Men’s National Team.
Jaja Kentwell
JaJa has played 72 times for the USA National Team – 40 Outdoor ‘Caps’ and 32 Indoor ‘Caps’
He earned his first senior Indoor ‘Cap’ at the age of 16 in the Test Series against Canada and was a member of the historic USA Men’s Indoor National Team which beat Argentina, in Argentina, to win the Gold medal at the 2008 Pan Am Indoor Cup. This was the first time that a USA Men’s Team had beaten Argentina, either indoors or out! JaJa also won Silver medals at the 2010, 2014, and 2021 Pan Am Indoor Cups. In 2021 he was named to the Pan American Indoor Elite Team and in 2023 JaJa played for the USA in the Indoor World Cup in South Africa.
Having been selected to the USA Under 16 and Under 18 Outdoor Teams, JaJa played for the USA Under 21 Team on tours to New Zealand, Chile, and Canada, prior to playing in the Pan Am Under 21 Championships in Mexico in 2012.
In 2017 JaJa was selected to the USA Men’s National Team and has subsequently represented the USA on numerous tours to Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He played in the 2017 and 2022 Pan Am Cups, winning the Bronze Medal in 2017
In 2023 JaJa got valuable coaching experience when he played and coached at HTC Stuttgarter Kickers in Germany, Railway Union, in Ireland, and Freemantle Hockey Club in Australia.
Stuart Kentwell
Stuart got his first Junior International ‘Caps” at the age of 15, playing for the USA Under 21 in the Pan Am Under 21 Cup in London, Ontario.
Going to school and university in England, Stuart played Junior International hockey for the England Under 16, Under 18, and Under 21 National Teams. In 2019 he played in the European Under 18 Championships in Santander, Spain, and in 2022 the European Under 21 Championships in Ghent, Belgium. Having been selected to the Great Britain Development squad, Stuart played in Matches against Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Malaysia senior international teams.
At Repton School he won the England Schools Under 16 National Championships in 2015, and Under 18 National Championships in 2017 where he was voted the team’s MVP by his teammates. He was also a member of the England Schools Under 16 Indoor National Championship Team.
In 2023 Stuart was selected to play for the USA in the FIH Men’s Indoor World in South Africa, scoring a hat-trick in the 4-4 tie 3rd place game. He was also named Man of the Match Award in the win over Australia.
Later in 2023 Stuart played for USA Men’s Outdoor Team in the Pan American Games in Chile
Melissa McCarthy
A WC Eagles alumnae, Melissa joined our coaching staff in 2013.
Melissa has been the Head Coach at Widener University since 2019 having served as their Assistant Coach for four years. She led Widener to a MAC Commonwealth tournament berth in each season as Head Coach, coached MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year, 13 all-conference awardees, and three all-region players in her first three seasons (including WC Eagles alumnae Jesse Schlosser and Margaret Howe-Consiglio). In 2021 MAC Commonwealth Championships Runner Up 2021 and ECAC Championships Runner Up 2023.
Melissa graduated from Hofstra University where she received the Female Academic-Athlete of the Year Award and was also named an NFHCA Scholar Athlete in her Senior Year. A professor in the Physical Education Department at Widener, in 2023 she earned a Master’s in Organizational Development and Leadership from Widener University.
A Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach, and USAFH Level II Coach, Melissa is a Nexus and Senior Nexus High Performance Coach
Baljeet Singh
Baljeet is a two time Olympian having played for India in the 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney) Olympics, and the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. His distinguished International career spanned 10 years, also included winning Gold Medals in the 1998 Asian Games and 20023 Asia Cup. A strong and skillful defender, Baljeet captained the India team in 1998.
Prior to coming to the USA, Baljeet coached Indian National and Junior National Teams from 2011 to 2019. Notably, he coached the Indian Men’s National Team in 2013 at the Asian Champions Trophy, the India Under 21 Men’s Team at the Junior World Cup, and the India Women’s Under 21 teams at the 2018 Your Olympics, winning the Silver Medal. His Indian Junior Women’s Teams won numerous medals at International Tournaments in Asia, Australasia, and Europe
An FIH Elite High Performance Coach, Baljeet is a full time member of our coaching staff.
Baljeet also has a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting.
Courtney MacPherson
A WC Eagles alumnae 2005-2011 who played on our tour to Argentina in 2008, Courtney played her collegiate field hockey at American University before her playing career was cut short by a career ending injury in her freshman year.
Having graduated from American, Courtney returned home and started coaching at the High School level. She is currently the Head Coach at Downingtown West High School. In 2022 she won the 3A District Final and was runner up in 2023.
A USAFH Coach, Courtney is on the Nexus Coaching Staff