Kristen Hall McHugh

Meet Kristen Hall McHugh, my high school lacrosse coach! With two decades of teaching experience, Kristen has dedicated her career to education, currently serving as an elementary guidance counselor in Ocean Township, NJ. Her commitment to fostering a positive and supportive environment has earned her the title of Educator of the Year, and NBC recognized her dedication to kindness by naming her a Kindness Ambassador.

In the realm of sports, Kristen brings a wealth of experience. She coached freshman and JV teams at Long Branch for a year, followed by a two-year stint as the JV coach at Ocean. Her coaching journey continued with a three-year run as the Varsity coach.

Kristen’s passion for lacrosse traces back to her four years as a player at Monmouth University. During her time, the team became conference champions in 2001 and secured the first-ever bid to the NCAA championship in the same year. As a junior and senior, Kristen proudly served as captain. During her time at Monmouth she also earned All-Conference honors.

Kristen’s athletic journey began at Ward Melville High School as a three-sport athlete, captaining the teams and securing All-Conference honors in each sport. Through both her teaching career and sports involvement, Kristen is driven by a commitment to excellence, leadership, and a passion for fostering positive growth and development.

Kristen is still actively involved in her son’s sports programs, by volunteering in various roles and supporting the team in any way she can. She is also still very active, walking or running as much as she can between working in school and being a sports mom! She still loves throwing the ball around with her son and bonding over their love of lacrosse. Kristen’s dedication to being a guidance counselor, a role model for her son, and keeping active is inspiring. Let’s get to know her!

Kristen coaching Ocean Township’s lacrosse team

Q: What sports did you play growing up?

I played many sports over the course of my life such as soccer, lacrosse, winter track, softball, volleyball, basketball.

Q:Was there anything that made you hesitant about starting your sport(s)?

I was very late in the game to start playing lacrosse as a freshman at Ward Melville High School on Long Island. Most of my peers began playing years before me at a young age. I played softball until 8th grade. My PE teacher convinced and supported me to try lacrosse which she believed I would excel in. It was very hard to take the risk especially since I wasn’t all that confident in myself in middle school. Thank goodness I listened to her because lacrosse was and still is an integral part of my life.

Q: What female athletes did you look up to?

Mia Hamm!!

Q: What is your favorite memory associated with sports?

My favorite memory was when we had the NEC Conference at Monmouth and earned the first ever bid to the NCAA tournament in Monmouth History. We played the number one team in the country, Maryland, and we were winning at halftime. Then we got blown out 23-9.

Q: How has playing sports helped shape your life?

Sports has shaped my life in many ways. It taught me work ethic, time management, teamwork mentality, motivation, and the need to keep busy!

Lastly, the bonds formed with teammates have resulted in lifelong friendships and connections, creating a supportive network that extends beyond the playing field and have enriched my personal and social life. I have an extremely close bond with some of my college teammates to this day. We make yearly attempts to get together with and without our kids. We are still involved with the Monmouth lax program. We text constantly to support, cheer up, vent and joke with one another daily. Lifelong friendships have stayed, regardless where we live.

Kristen with Monmouth University Lacrosse alumni

Q: What advice would you give to young girls who is just starting off in sports?

Sports open up so many opportunities to challenge yourself. There were many times I was out of my comfort zone and sports always provided me with an environment and support system to take risks!