Winter Club

Sarah Michaud

Director of Field Hockey

Hampton Site Director

U16 Elite Gold & U19 Elite Black

Sarah is a graduate of Rider University (2009) in New Jersey were she majored in Behavioral Neuroscience with a minor in Healthcare Administration.  While attending the school, she played defense on the successful Rider field hockey team and was a starter her junior and senior years. During her time at the University, she was the Vice President of a group called Student Athlete Mentors (SAM) and was very involved in coaching at several camps, both at Rider and also where she attended high school at Oyster River in Durham, NH. At Oyster River, Sarah was also a 4-year starter on the school varsity field hockey team.  In her senior year, she was honored to captain the team and earned 1st Team All-State honors as well as being named to the Foster’s Dream Team.

After graduating from Rider, Sarah worked as a clinical instructor at the Birchtree Center in Newington, NH.  Birchtree is a private school that provides direct 1:1 instruction to children with autism.  She is also an AFAA Certified Personal Trainer and as with many Seacoast United coaches, wants to work on all of our players being in great shape for Field Hockey and sport in general.  Sarah is also the Head Varsity Field Hockey Coach at Dover High School in Dover, NH.

Sarah has a long history with the Seacoast United Field Hockey program, where she has been a head coach since returning from Rider University in 2009.  She also has moved through the ranks as a former player, where she graced the turf from 2001-2005.  The opportunity to accept the position of Club Director is something that Sarah relishes. “After already being a coach at the Club for the last four years and as a former player, I am ready and eager to step into the role of Director.  I am honored and excited to be provided such an exciting opportunity. As a former member of the club I know what a positive experience the program had provided for me and I believe that playing here is what helped me reach my dreams of playing college field hockey. The opportunities that we offer our young athletes all across New England can help prepare them for the future. I am extremely excited to continue making an impact in the lives of our athletes while also sharing my knowledge and love for the game.”

Vice president Ian Burgess also added “Sarah was the obvious choice for the program.  Her passion, knowledge and dedication for driving the program forward is something we are truly excited for.  Her fresh ideas and infectious personality will definitely draw more players to the sport and also provide greater opportunities for field hockey players within our region of New England.  Behind the scenes, she has already begun to lay the groundwork for not only the near future, but identifying where we can take the club long-term.  We are very excited to bring Sarah into the Seacoast United family.”

Jessi Paul

Assistant Director of Field Hockey

Jessi is in her seventh year of coaching at Seacoast. She is a level 2 USA certified. She is a 2007 graduate of New England College where she played one year of field hockey before deciding to focus her college career in ice hockey. She was a 4 year starter for the women’s ice hockey team, still currently holds second for most games played with 107. Before college she attended Somersworth High School where she started playing field hockey as a sophomore playing all three years on Varsity and during her junior and senior years she captained. During her senior year she made First team All-State, Fosters Dream Team and NH Twin State Team.  Besides field hockey Jessi also played 4 years of Boys’ Varsity Hockey and during her senior year was the only female in the state to be named on an all-state team. She also played 3 years of Boys Varsity Lacrosse and was named second team all-state during her Junior year. She has a strong passion for the game of field hockey and continues to play it at Seacoast herself.  Outside of Seacoast coaching she is also the JV Field Hockey Coach at Dover High School in Dover, NH. She has 4 children in which one her oldest daughter is part of the U14 Elite Team.

Melissa Nawn

Event Director

Event Director
Goalkeeping Director
Recruiting Coordinator

Melissa, better known as Coach Mel, has been with the Seacoast Field Hockey club for ten seasons. A 2010 graduate of Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, NH – Mel was a 3 year varsity letter winner for the Warriors. She posted a 1.23 career goals against average with 25 shutouts in 47 games. In her first leg of her collegiate career, Melissa attended Manhattanville College where she started in net for the Valliants. She appeared in 18 games and posted a .773 save percentage. She was named Freedom Conference Goalie of the week and Manhattanville Athlete of the Week, twice. From this, Melissa earned a national ranking at 37^th (DIII) in saves per game. After Manhattanville, Melissa attended the University of New Hampshire where she completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology-Sport Studies. She coached for the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire University in the NE-10, and recently completed three years as Varsity Coach for the Timberlane Owls. In 2020, Mel was named NH Division I Coach of the Year by the NHFHCA, and prior to coming to Seacoast on a full time basis, she served NCSA as their Field Hockey recruiting coordinator for three years.

Currently, Mel hold multiple titles within the Seacoast organization. Most recently she was named the Director of Events, where she organizes and executes all internal and external tournaments through Seacoast and as a host for USA Field Hockey. In addition to this, Mel is our in-house college recruiting coordinator, where she assists our club athletes in their recruiting processes. Mel also still holds the title of Goalkeeping Director, and serves all Seacoast Field Hockey goalkeepers in their development and training through the winter and summer months.

Coach Mel is looking forward to another successful season in her roles at Seacoast Field Hockey.