By Jason Ma ‘28 Sports Desk Editor, Ezra Blades ‘27 News Writing Manager and Matthew Dephillips ‘28 Staff Writer
A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Erik Enters, Field Hockey Head Coach, was selected from a hat of names to sing “Hold My Girl” by George Ezra. While many may have already known him as a counselor, singing as a bass is not the only place where Mr. Enters’ talents lie. On the field, he is also an accomplished field hockey player and coach.
Recently, Germantown Academy’s Athletic Department has named Mr. Enters as the new head coach of the Varsity Field Hockey program. Mr. Enters is no stranger to GA. He spent the 2025 fall season as an assistant coach to the field hockey program and served as an assistant coach to the girls lacrosse team in the 2026 spring season.
“I have connections with GA field hockey going back 10 years,” Mr. Enters said. “I coached a lot of girls at their top seasons, so I know what GA field hockey can be.”
Before arriving at GA, Mr. Enters served four seasons as head coach at Neumann University and 12 years as head coach at Perkiomen Valley High School, where he helped the team place in the top 20 in the state in his last three seasons there.
Furthermore, he has coached at the national level with the USA Junior Boys Indoor Team and the USA Women’s Indoor National Team, and continues to play himself on the USA Men’s Over 60 National Team.
“His background really does bring so much,” Cece Durkin ‘27, returning varsity captain, said. “He’ll play with us, which is so fun, and it pushes us to be better… it helps with the culture, and lets us have fun while working hard.”
Mr. Enters has always fostered inclusivity and the right for athletes to feel passion for the sport of field hockey, no matter the skill or experience.
“I want every kid that plays for me to walk away saying, ‘hey, this was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had as an athlete,’ and that’s still my philosophy to this day,” Mr. Enters said.
His fervor for off-field interaction and bonding is at the forefront of his team’s culture. For Mr. Enters, off-field time is equally as important as the on-field experience, and the off-field experience helps build these athletes into stronger people.
“Once you have developed relationships that aren’t hockey related, you’ll have your friends’ backs. You could see them connect off the field,” Mr. Enters said. “And it was this appreciation for every single person. If someone was down, I knew there’d be four girls over them, like, ‘hey, what’s going on? What happened today?’”
His emphasis on personal growth has not gone unnoticed by his athletes.
“I know that I’ve learned a lot from him as a coach, and he’s always giving us helpful coaching tips, while also being that perfect mix of compassionate,” Durkin said. “I think he is a very great balance as an amazing coach and also a great mentor and leader.”
As the academic year concludes, summer training will begin to ramp up for fall sports, including field hockey. Coach Enters has clearly set expectations for the season that he believes are achievable.
“I would love to be highly competitive in the Inter-Ac this year. If I say to these girls we have 10 Inter-Ac games, why can’t we go 0.500?” Coach Enters said. “And that means you’re shocking those top three teams, pulling off some big upsets.”
Coach Enters believes that the Patriots will be able to pull through next season, creating riptides in the Inter-Ac league. But most of all, he believes that his athletes’ passion and desire to win will set them apart.
“You have girls who are hungry to work. They’re constantly asking, What can I do? Where can I play? What’s our conditioning going to be like?” Coach Enters said. “So yeah, looks like we’re ready to kick it off.”