When Assistant Coach Mimi Smith (B.S. ’99) and the Old Dominion University Field Hockey team stepped off the bus at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex around 10 p.m. Sunday night, a roaring crowd and the unexpected sound of ODU’s fight song were waiting to greet them.
Fresh off a gritty 2-1 victory over top-seeded University of Connecticut in Philadelphia, the newly crowned Big East champions were met by the ODU Marching Band, who swarmed the parking lot with brass instruments blaring, drums rolling and cheers echoing across campus. Midfielders and defenders hoisted the championship trophy into the cool night air, jumping, dancing and singing alongside teammates and supporters who had gathered to bring the Monarchs home.
That unbridled joy isn't just a post-game celebration. For Coach Smith and the Monarchs, it is part of the secret recipe that propelled ODU back to the national stage.
The Spark: Turning Pressure into Joy
Getting back to championship caliber required both tactical and mental adjustments following a mid-season setback against Providence College. The Monarchs sharpened their offensive corner execution, developed greater forward-line scoring depth, and strengthened unshakable team chemistry.
Part of that chemistry comes from a unique halftime tradition. Before the Monarchs return to the field for second-half adjustments, they don’t just talk strategy — they jump into a game of "Zoomie Zoomie" and complete 20 jumping jacks with their mental performance coach.
For Assistant Coach Smith, a legendary defender on ODU’s 1998 national championship squad, that blend of rigor and fun is the secret ingredient driving the team’s postseason run.
“It’s such a fun game, you can’t help but get excited and laugh,” Assistant Coach Smith said. “It really works because it takes the shift off this being so serious and pressure-filled so that you enjoy, you laugh, and you celebrate with the person next to you.”
The Monarchs will face Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday, Nov. 13 at noon, in the first round of the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Tournament. The win over nationally ranked #2 UConn secured ODU’s first conference title since 2023 and propelled their return to the national stage.
“I kept saying I hope we can have a chance, we’re such a good team,” Assistant Coach Smith said. “If we get the opportunity, we won’t take it for granted.”
Returning to the NCAA tournament is a homecoming for ODU Field Hockey. Old Dominion boasts nine national championships — the second-most in collegiate field hockey history behind North Carolina, and the second-most across all ODU athletic programs behind sailing.
A Storied Legacy: Coming Full Circle on the Sideline
Assistant Coach Smith understands the standard of excellence set for ODU Field Hockey better than most. As a star player for the Monarchs, she helped lead the program to a national title in 1998 and earned the 1999 Honda Sports Award as the nation’s top collegiate field hockey player. She was inducted into ODU’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
Her return to Norfolk was no accident. In April 2025, Head Coach Andrew Griffiths brought Smith back to her alma mater from William & Mary, where she had spent a season as an assistant on the Tribe’s staff. Her coaching résumé already included back-to-back IAAM A Conference championships at Baltimore’s Garrison Forest School and service on the National Field Hockey Coaches Association’s executive board. Griffiths saw the hire as a win for the program on several fronts: a seasoned coach, a respected link to ODU’s large alumnae network, and, as he put it at the time, “a fantastic role model for the young women in our program.”
Now back for her second season on the coaching staff at her alma mater, she is helping guide a new generation of Monarchs back to the pinnacle she reached as a student-athlete.
“Coming in as a freshman, we were expected to win,” Smith said. “You knew you had to perform. You came to ODU because you wanted to win. We just expected that we were going to do well.”
Meeting the Moment
As the Monarchs gear up for Friday’s first-round matchup against Harvard, Assistant Coach Smith emphasizes that the focus remains on execution rather than expectations.
“The players understand the importance,” she said. “We just understand that we have to take care of business and this is the next step to getting to the step after. I remind them that if we do these things, the process will take care of the outcome.”
Returning to the sidelines for such a high-achieving team gives Assistant Coach Smith a different experience than when she played.
“As a player, you are in the moment, and you are happy and excited and sometimes you forget,” she said. “As a coach, it’s been really wonderful to sit back and watch and observe, take in every detail and moment. The celebration for me is watching them be excited.”