Karen E. Perry, Maine – 1999
Karen E. Perry is an Athletic Administrator in the Gardiner, Maine, Area High School, a position she has held since 1966. Her advocacy involvement in women’s sports includes serving as varsity softball coach for 8 years from 1989-1996, assistant field hockey coach for 16 years from 1983-1998, and currently varsity assistant coach. She has been the assistant track coach for 3 years (1985-1987), assistant basketball coach for 3 years (1985-1988), field hockey official for fifteen years (1978-1993), and a softball umpire from 1981-1983.
Karen is affiliated with the Central Maine Field Hockey Association which she served as secretary/treasurer from 1983-1991; a member of the Maine Field Hockey Association for 17 years (1983 – present) and a member of the board of directors for six years (1994 – present); Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference swimming chairperson for 2 years (1996-1990) and field hockey chairperson for 2 years (1998- present); the Maine Principal’s Association Field Hockey Committee for 4 years (1996- present); and the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Committee from 1999 – present.
Lifetime team records posted by her teams include a JV field hockey record of 146-38-34 and a varsity softball record of 75-54. Karen has been a regular participant in field hockey and coaching clinics from 1983 to the present. For the past three years she has been coaching at field hockey youth clinics.
Her extensive participation in championship and post-season tournaments includes: assistant coach of the Kennebec Valley field hockey champions for 5 years; Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference runners-up for 5 years; Eastern Maine quarter finals for 2 years and the semifinals for 6 years and state champions in 1987. Her field hockey teams have participated in post season field hockey tournaments for 16 years. She was also the Varsity coach for the softball runners-up in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference for 2 years. Her softball teams made the quarter finals for 5 years, the semifinals one year, and the regional finals one year. She has been an official for the quarter-finals field hockey games for 3 years.
As an athlete, Karen played on the very first state schoolgirl basketball championship team in 1975. In college, she was a starter for 4 years on field hockey teams, co-captain in 1979; the college representative to the New England Field Hockey Association and, during her junior year, she led her team to a 9-3-2 record. She was a three-letter athlete during her collegiate career (field hockey, basketball and softball).
Karen was named the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Softball Coach of the Year in 1994, was inducted into the Norwich University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996, named a Northeast All-Star in 1978 (3-time New England College Field Hockey Association All-Star), earned 10 varsity letters in college, and was named Capital City Invitational Softball Tournament MVP in 1979.