We’re lucky to work with some incredible, talented individuals who not only provide invaluable content for Hiveclass, but also inspire and teach us so much outside of their respective sport.
You’ve seen them on our social pages, you’ve taken their classes on our app, but here’s an intimate peek into who they are outside of Hiveclass and how they kicked off their athletic career(s). Without further ado, it’s our pleasure to introduce you to Kellie Stigas!
Hi! I’m Kellie Stigas, or coach Kell, your resident field hockey coach. Growing up I tried out and played all kinds of sports – basketball, softball, tennis, golf, soccer, hockey, track – you name it and I’ve probably tried it. Even though I was able to experience so many different sports, my favorite was always field hockey.
I started playing in the fourth grade and it had a special place in my heart. I’m not sure what made my connection to field hockey so strong – maybe it was because my older sister played it, or maybe because it was unique, challenging and so different from the other sports I experienced. From a very young age I made the decision that I was going to play field hockey in college. My sister, who is eight years older than me, went on to play Division 1 field hockey – and I turned her reality into a personal goal for myself – a dream I worked very hard for and set out to achieve. I feel so lucky that my sister was a strong role model in my life and someone I looked up to and aspired to be like. I think when you have someone like that at a young age it inspires you and makes it easy to set goals and work hard towards achieving them.
I started playing field hockey in the fourth grade, joined a club team and went to my first National Tournament in fifth grade. I worked hard to make the varsity team as a freshman and officially kicked off my athletic career. After countless tournaments, games, practices, club teams, training and conditioning sessions and endless hours of personal time spent on bettering myself – all the hard work paid off! I received a scholarship to play field hockey at Northeastern University.
When my playing career was coming to an end, I found that I couldn’t picture my life without field hockey – a sport that was a part of my life since I was a little girl. It couldn’t be the end for me, at least not yet. If my playing career had to end, I decided that I wanted to still have field hockey in my life in some capacity. After graduating from college, I pursued the dream of becoming a Division 1 coach. And now this new dream has also become a reality – today I coach and am an assistant coach at the Division 1 level.
Sports teach you perseverance, hard work and determination, and these are all skills I used on and off the playing field to determine my goals and achieve my dreams. Set goals for yourself, work your hardest to achieve them – and don’t stop until you’re proud of yourself!