PEABODY — You could say, there haven’t been many more successful coaches in Massachusetts than Peabody’s Michelle Roach. As coach of both the Peabody-Lynnfield-North Reading girls hockey team and Peabody High’s girls lacrosse team, Roach has won seven conference titles across the last 10 years.
She recently completed her 10th season with PLNR and fourth leading the lacrosse team. Over the past two years, Roach’s teams have captured four league titles, going back-to-back across the winter and spring.
But for Roach, a former hockey star at St. Mary’s in Lynn, building a successful program begins with culture – something she believes has fueled her teams’ recent success.
“When I took over the hockey team 10 years ago, they were winning three or four games a year. They never qualified for the tournament and never won the league,” she said. “When I think about both hockey and lacrosse, I think it comes down to the culture. I’ve been in Peabody for 10 years and that consistency has been a huge part of our success. It’s given us time and space to build something that lasts.”
Roach’s recipe isn’t complicated, either: “No individual player is bigger than the team.
“I think I create the culture through consistency and relationship standards,” she said. “Over time, it becomes who we are – not just what we do.”
Although hockey and lacrosse are different sports, Roach applies many of the same coaching principles to both. She adapts based on each team’s needs.
“It’s much the same. There’s a part of having to understand the X’s and O’s, which may change, but coaching, in general, is developing people and that stays the same. My approach does shift depending on the team and the sport,” she said. “What I do is try to meet them where they are.”
Despite the success and frequent team-to-beat status, Roach and her staff have still faced challenges.
“I think the biggest challenge has been making sure that I’m getting everyone the recognition and support they deserve. They all are doing such incredibly awesome things, whether it’s on the ice or on the field, but they’re also doing incredible things outside of their sport. I have an athlete from North Reading (Vanessa Steinmeyer) who’s an incredible artist,” Roach said. “These kids are doing so many things in their lives and doing them so well, and we try to give them all the support we can.”
Across both sports, Roach holds a combined record of 196-79-13 (50-27 in lacrosse and 139-59-13 in hockey).
She’s coached some memorable teams, but a few stand out.
“The two classes I’ve just had have been hugely impactful. It’s this lacrosse team – the way these seniors have grown up in the program and brought me along with them in the program as a new coach to the sport. They worked so hard to showcase what the program is all about,” Roach said. “For hockey, having 11 seniors who have worked so hard to push the program, and they pushed the bar higher and higher each year. To have 11 of them, that’s a big chunk of your program. That’s a big part of our culture and personality. The third team I think of is the one where my assistant coach, Abby Buckley, her senior year, was a really pivotal turning point for the program. That year was the year we played St. Mary’s in the tournament and we beat them, 4-0. That was when we were on our upward trajectory.”
