NORTH BRANFORD, CT — Since coming to North Branford High School in 1972, field hockey coach Babby Nuhn has earned just about every award imaginable. On Wednesday evening, she added yet another accolade to her incredible resume.
At the National High School Athletic Coaches Association National Coaches Convention in Bismarck, North Dakota, Nuhn was presented the national Coach of the Year award in the category of Special Sports. She was one of eight finalists for the award, with the others hailing from Nebraska, Minnesota, Florida, Mississippi, Wyoming, Louisiana and Illinois.
“To be included with Connecticut field hockey legends like Cookie Bromage, Dot Johnson, Linda Dirga and Cathy McGuirk is an incredible feeling,” Nuhn told Patch.
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The Thunderbirds won their third consecutive Class S field hockey title in November, capping a perfect 22-0 season with a 4-1 victory over Canton in the championship game. It was the program’s seventh state title since 1980, and extended Nuhn’s state record to 43 years between an inaugural championship and the most recent.
In 52 seasons at the helm, Nuhn has compiled a 579-209-103-7 record, for a .706 winning percentage. She has been inducted into three halls of fame: Connecticut High School Coaches Association (1998), National High School Athletic Coaches Association (2019) and National Field Hockey Coaches Association (2024). She has also earned numerous Coach of the Year honors, and in 2023, she was a recipient of the prestigious Gold Key Award from the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance, one of the highest honors in state sports.
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New Canaan football coach Lou Marinelli, also a Gold Key honoree, was the only other Connecticut coach to be honored at this year’s convention.
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