NMHS Athletic Hall of Fame

The athletic acumen to be recognized as a state class player in field hockey, to earn distinction on the lacrosse field and to offer energy and competence to her basketball team…. all of those and more describe Kelsey Heaton Holub during her memorable sports career at New Milford High School.

 

En route to her graduation in 2011, Kelsey made her mark in Green Wave annals, in the process etching her path to the New Milford High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

 

Kelsey was at her best in field hockey. Twice a first-team all-stater and once earning second-team laurels, she also was first-team all-South-West Conference for each of her three varsity seasons.

 

Coach Dawn Hough’s squads built a cumulative 39-12-8 record and outscored their opponents, 105-33, with Kelsey contributing both defensive tenacity and strong offensive skills to the Green Wave’s efforts.

 

“Kelsey has excellent stick skills,” praised coach Hough. “She does a good job dribbling the ball up field and distributing it to our offensive players… she’s the kind of player who breaks other teams’ backs.”

 

It took no time at all for Kelsey to make an impact as a sophomore in varsity competition, playing a strong defensive game as the Green Wave deadlocked touted Pomperaug, 1-1, in her varsity debut. By season’s end, she had earned the team’s defensive MVP award while helping NMHS to the SWC playoff semifinals and the second round of the state class ‘L’ tournament.

 

Acting as a lynchpin on a stronger Green Wave as a junior, Kelsey highlighted her regular season by scoring the winning goal in a 1-0, overtime victory over New Fairfield. She then had a goal and an assist in a 6-0 rout of SWC playoff quarterfinal foe Bethel; registered the winning goal off a penalty corner to help beat Joel Barlow, 1-0, in the semifinals, and played a strong game to spark her team to a 3-1 title-match conquest of Pomperaug. For her efforts, Kelsey was honored as the SWC playoffs’ MVP.

 

Kelsey scored both of the Green Wave’s state tournament goals as coach Hough’s squad ousted Westport Staples, 1-0, before dropping a 2-1 decision to Farmington in the quarterfinals.

 

Her efforts for the 14-2-3 Green Wave earned her the team’s MVP laurels.

 

Kelsey and Co. took another stride forward in her senior season, posted a 16-3-2 record, outscoring rivals by a 42-7 count while playing their way to the SWC playoff title match and the state ‘L tournament semifinals. Only heartbreaking, 1-0 losses to Pomperaug in the SWC championship match and to state semifinal foe Glastonbury separated Kelsey and Co. from even greater levels of achievement.

 

Kelsey’s basketball experiences were less successful regarding the won-lost ledger, as the Green Wave posted a cumulative 9-31 record for her two varsity seasons. Yet even while battling for that occasional ‘W,’ she earned the respect of her coach, Bill Kersten, and her teammates to earn the team’s MVP honor as a junior and serving as co-captain both seasons.

 

Among her hardcourt highlights were 13 points as a junior to help rally the Green Wave from a 24-point deficit to beat Bethel, 51-46, and 10 points and 5 rebounds as a senior during a 49-32 win over the Wildcats as a senior.

 

When the calendar rolled around to springtime, Kelsey again rose to prominence as one of the SWC’s better players in lacrosse. She was the Green Wave’s defensive MVP as a sophomore, captured all-Colonial Division accolades as a junior and was first-team all-SWC and the Green Wave MVP as a senior.

 

Coach Bill Kersten’s stick side posted a cumulative 36-20-1 record over her three varsity seasons, advancing twice to the SWC playoff quarterfinals and once to the semifinals while in competition with some of the state’s top lacrosse programs.

 

“An athlete gifted with great speed and athletic abilities,” lauded coach Kersten, “Kelsey certainly maximized those talents. She was our shutdown defender, our leader in ground balls, and also our second leading scorer.”

 

As a sophomore, Kelsey played an integral role as the Green Wave traversed a memorable state Division II tournament path. Following a conquest of Sacred Heart Academy in the first round, Kelsey and her teammates outlasted Westport Staples, 10-8, before losing a 14-11 shootout to St. Bernard’s in the state semifinals.

 

During her junior year, the Green Wave had lost an 11-10, four-overtime decision to New Fairfield in the SWC playoff quarterfinals, but bounced back with Kelsey helping to show the way to 14-4 rout of state Division II tournament first-round opponent Norwalk. Kelsey scored twice and added an assist in the second round, but Westport Staples held off the Green Wave, 16-12.

 

Kelsey emerged as more of a scoring threat in her senior campaign, registering three goals during a 16-6 win over Trumbull during the regular season and offering a four-goal performance in defeat, 19-13, to Weston in the SWC playoff quarterfinals.

A 10-5 loss to Fairfield Ludlowe in the state ‘L’ tournament quietly closed Kelsey’s Green Wave athletic career.

 

She climaxed her Green Wave lacrosse efforts by scoring 24 goals and contributing 9 assists as a senior to total 37 goals and 13 assists for her three-year tenure.

 

Kelsey went on to play lacrosse for three seasons at Western Connecticut State University, accumulating 154 goals and 66 assists in 49 matches to rank sixth for the Colonials at that time in career points.

 

As coach Kersten reflected, “Kelsey is super competitive, and has a relentless work ethic.”

 

Not surprisingly, she soon employed those qualities as a coach, first assisting with the Green Wave field hockey program and then assuming the reins as the NMHS girls’ lacrosse head coach.