Bonny Brown-Denico’s office is littered with mementos of past triumphs. Field hockey trophies sit next to game softballs from years past, photo collages of old teams adorn the walls, but sprinkled ever so carefully around the room are Brown-Denico’s most prized possession: pictures of her children.
She points to a button of her son in ice hockey gear near the door.
“He wants to be a professional hockey player,” she tells me. “But it changes with the season. In the spring he wants to play professional baseball.”
The balance of the room’s décor is a microcosm of her life. As the head softball and field hockey coach, Brown-Denico’s days are spent trying to balance professional and personal demands. But yet people still ask, much to her amusement, what she does besides just coach.
Now in her fourteenth year with the University, Brown-Denico manages to remain one of the few coaches in the country working double-duty. And the lifestyle is not for the faint of heart. Melding the responsibilities inherent to two varsity sports is no small task.
Just before I met her in her office, Brown-Denico had gotten her kids, six-year old Aubrey and eight-year old Sadie, ready and off to school.
When I left, it would be time for her to respond to her “bazillion” e-mails from various people including players and recruits.
Later, it will be time to plan and conduct field hockey practice before moving on to fall softball training.
And on some nights, if time permits, she’ll be off to a high school field hockey game somewhere, trying to find the school’s next star.
The regimen of recruiting and coaching isn’t all she has to handle though. In addition to her two children and two teams, Brown-Denico also teaches two coaching classes.
And just how many hours a week does she spend with her various responsibilities?
“All of them,” she jokes.
But she’ll be the first to tell you she can’t do it alone.
“My husband is awesome,” she says. “He is really supportive. He takes the kids to karate and softball and hockey and we’ve got a great baby-sitter, too.”
Brown-Denico’s job is a year-round commitment. Even when her teams are not in season she’s got work to do. She chases showcases around New England and works hard to maintain her status as one of the most accomplished coaches, of either sport, in the area.
“We’ve got a lot of stress in our life,” she says.
Despite all of this stress, though, Brown-Denico sees nothing changing.
“I don’t see myself stopping this. My husband might, but I don’t,” she says with a laugh.
But what could possible be so attractive about this lifestyle?
For Brown-Denico it’s the differences in the two sports. Field hockey, she explains, is a more team-oriented sport where the outcome is contingent upon the squad firing on all cylinders. Whereas softball is more individualistic, the outstanding play of one or two players can spark a team to victory.
Junior India Lowe (Gloucester, MA) plays for Brown-Denico in both softball and field hockey. The way she sees it, her coach just adapts to the inherent differences in the sports.
“In field hockey she’s much more involved with the team. But in softball everyone’s got a different position and it’s less of a team thing,” Lowe says.
Brown-Denico has a rich history in both sports, which doesn’t hurt either.
She began playing field hockey in second or third grade when her older sisters cut a stick down for her. Playing both sports through school, Brown-Denico became a two-sport standout at USM. During her time on the field she garnered All-American honors in field hockey and ranks among the all-time leaders in ten statistical categories in softball.
So if you e-mail Brown-Denico and don’t hear back, don’t be offended. She’ll get to you.
Just don’t make the mistake of asking her what she does besides coach.