If any coach in the Lehigh Valley could put together a plan to keep her team sharp in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, it would be Sue Butz-Stavin. While no coach could be completely prepared for how the fall sports season would be shaken up, Butz-Stavin is in her 45th season as the coach of the Hornets field hockey program and knows how to work through pretty much anything that comes her way.

After winning their 31st straight District 11 championship last season, the Hornets were probably the happiest of any team to hear that districts would be held following the regular season. The EPC has canceled its postseason meaning the Lady Hornets can’t repeat as conference champs, but after all, districts are the main focus of any team.

So, how did Butz-Stavin deal with having the obstacles of a pandemic put between her and getting her team ready for another season?

“We focused on conditioning, more conditioning and footwork early on. Then came stick skills and preaching fundamentals and more fundamentals,” said Butz-Stavin. “The team also stayed focused on what was part of the school district’s return to play plan.”

With the success that Emmaus has had over the years, it’s never been about rebuilding, but about just moving some players into new roles for the upcoming season and replacing any holes with another solid player.

This season the task was easier than in most seasons because Emmaus lost just three seniors to graduation. As Butz-Stavin usually does, she kept her eye out for younger players who could make the roster and contribute.

“We have a great nucleus of returning players from 2019 and a huge incoming freshmen crew,” said Butz-Stavin.

The roster configuration for this season has six seniors, eight juniors, three sophomores and one freshman. The rest of the incoming freshman class will open at the JV level.

One other disruption caused by the pandemic was for Sue Butz-Stavin’s quest for 1,000 career wins. She enters the season with a 971-82-35 record. In a normal season, teams generally play 28 games if they make it to the PIAA finals. When you do the math, Butz-Stavin could have finished the season with 999 wins had her team gone undefeated and won the state championship.

Instead, the regular season has been cut from 16 conference games to 10, with no postseason. The plan is for districts and states to be played out, which would add the potential for three more games in districts and four in states, giving each team in the EPC the opportunity for a total of 17 games this season. If Emmaus were to go undefeated, Butz-Stavin would stand at 988 wins. Assuming that the 2021 season won’t have any interruptions, Butz-Stavin would still reach the 1,000- win mark next season, just later in the year than she would have under normal circumstances.

In the end though, Butz-Stavin isn’t focusing on those numbers. As usual, it’s about getting her players prepared for a new season even if it’s nothing close to being normal. As Butz-Stavin put it, “We just look forward to playing and have some sort of season.