Jean Field Retires as IC Catholic Prep Volleyball Coach After 39 Years

Source: IC Catholic Prep

Jean Field, the sixth-winningest volleyball coach in Illinois high school history, has retired as the head coach at IC Catholic Prep after her 39th season.  Field announced her retirement Tuesday night at the Knights' Volleyball Awards dinner.

Just two months ago, Field won her third state title when IC Catholic Prep defeated Albion (Edwards County) 25-15, 25-19 in the Class 2A state final at Redbird Arena in Normal. She amassed 885 wins while at the helm for the Knights, 36 of them added in her final season. 

"I have been thinking about retiring for a while now," she said. "The timing was right.

“The thing I will remember most about the past 39 years are the wonderful players and people that I have worked with. All of the accomplishments and the wins are nice, but it has really been the people that have kept me around this long.” 

In addition to her three state titles, Field’s teams also finished second (three times), third (once) and made it to the Elite Eight 12 times. She also won six conference titles, 23 regional championships and 15 sectional titles.  Through the years, she has seen over 35 of her players go on to play at the collegiate level. While she has stepped down as the volleyball coach, Field will continue as guidance counselor at ICCP.

“The job of a coach and educator is to help each student reach their God-given potential.  No one does that better than Jean Field,” said ICCP President and Principal Pamela Levar.  “Jean Field loved coaching. How blessed our young people were to have had her as their coach and mentor”.

Taking over for Field will be assistant coach Nancy Kerrigan D’Amore. A 1985 graduate of ICCP, she went on to play volleyball at Marquette University, graduating with a degree in Business Administration in 1989.  D’Amore works in the ICCP Development Office, specializing in public relations and communications.

"IC Catholic Prep is very excited that Nancy D'Amore will be the next head coach of our girls volleyball program,” adds Tom Schergen, athletic director. “She was a captain of the 1984 state championship team and returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach for the past 11 years under the retiring Jean Field. Nancy's extensive volleyball experience and her familiarity with the ICCP community will allow for a smooth transition and the continued growth of the volleyball program."