Shade Global

Harvard

Harvard field hockey head coach Tjerk van Herwaarden has announced the additions of Katie O’Donnell Bam and Marvin Bam to his staff as assistant coaches.

“It is a very exciting time for Harvard field hockey, as we are adding two phenomenal coaches to our staff,”stated van Herwaarden. “Harvard prides itself on attracting brilliant and fantastic people from around the world to Cambridge and with the addition of Katie and Marvin we did just that.”

O’Donnell is the most decorated field hockey player in the U.S. and is a current squad member of the USA 2016 Olympic team that has qualified to compete in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. She is an 11-year member of Team USA, 2012 Olympian and played in her 200th capped international game earlier this month, scoring two goals in an 8-1 triumph over Canada. In addition to her Olympic experience, O’Donnell helped Team USA win gold at the Pan American Games in 2011 and 2015, while taking fourth at the World Cup in 2014. She joined Team USA in 2005 at the age of 16, becoming the youngest athlete to earn an international cap for the U.S.

The 2010 USA Player of the Year and Women’s Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year, O’Donnell also had a remarkable career as a student-athlete at Maryland, leading the Terrapins to four NCAA Tournament berths and two NCAA national championships in 2008 and 2010. She remains the Maryland record holder in points (306), goals (99) and assists (108). Her 306 career points and 108 assists are also ACC records. Her accolades at Maryland include being named the 2010 and 2011 Honda Sports Award winner, two-time National Player of the Year and Offensive MVP by womensfieldhockey.com, four-time ACC Offensive Player of the Year and four-time All-America. She is a 2013 graduate of Maryland, while she earned a bachelor’s of science in family science.

O’Donnell got her first experience coaching as a student assistant in 2012 with Maryland. Her most recent collegiate coaching experience was at Millersville University where she assisted student-athletes in performance analysis, while also helping with opposition scouting. She is also the co-owner and coach of the K16 Field Hockey program. She is a certified Level 2 coach in the United States.

“Katie comes with a wealth of experience as a very successful college athlete and playing over 200 international games for Team USA, representing her country at the Olympics in London in 2012 and is currently part of the team on the road to Rio,” said van Herwaarden.

Bam brings over 20 years of experience as a player and a coach to Cambridge. He has served as an assistant coach at Millersville for each of the last two seasons, guiding the Marauders to a 38-6 record during that span, as well as two NCAA quarterfinal appearances and an NCAA Division II national championship in 2014. Millersville players were honored with nine All-America honors in that span. Prior to his stint at Millersville, Bam served as an assistant coach and technical director at Maryland 2012-13. On an international level, he has been an assistant coach for the USA Field Hockey Junior National U19 team since July. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Cheltenham Ladies College in England for four years. On a club level, Bam is the master coach and co-founder of K16 Field Hockey. He is a certified Level 2 coach in the United States and United Kingdom.

As a player, Bam earned 98 international caps, competing in over 30 international tournaments. A native of South Africa, Bam represented his home country in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, as well as at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, the African Cup Championship and the Commonwealth Games. He has also played on various club teams in South Africa and in the United Kingdom.

“Marvin comes from South Africa and has gained top level coaching experience in three different countries, represented his country during the 2008 Olympics and his tactical, technical and goalkeeping knowledge of the game will be a huge asset to our program,” explained van Herwaarden.

“I am extremely honored and excited to join the Harvard field hockey staff and have the opportunity to work alongside and learn from Tjerk van Herwaarden,” said Bam. “I can’t wait to get working with these amazing student-athletes and help assist in their development.”