Source: Potter new Blue Streaks field hockey coach

For the second time in three years, one of New Jersey's premier high school field hockey programs has a new leader.

Josie Potter

According to multiple sources, Josie Potter, a former star player and assistant coach for Warren Hills, is expected to be named the next Blue Streaks head coach -- the eighth in the program's 53-year history -- during a Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.

Potter succeeds Kate Rothman, whose two-year tenure ended abruptly in December, when athletic director Geri McKelvey informed Rothman that she would not be recommended for the job in 2017.
Rothman guided Warren Hills to an overall mark of 43-8, back-to-back North 1, Group 3 sectional titles and its second straight Group 3 title in 2015. Last season, the Streaks went 20-5 and earned a return trip to the championship game -- a 5-0 loss to nemesis Ocean City.

All fall coaching positions at the Warren County school, per its policy, were opened up at season's end and the appointments for 2017 will be made official on Tuesday.


Potter, 34, a Health and Physical Education teacher at Warren Hills, previously served as an assistant under former coach Laurie Kerr for 11 seasons from 2004-14. Potter resigned, along with Kerr, after the Streaks won their first Group 3 title in '14, the school's first state championship in any female sport.

Kerr, also a star player at Warren Hills and 1987 graduate, turned the program into a powerhouse during her 15 seasons at the helm. Her teams went 264-71-12 overall and won or shared six Skyland Conference Delaware or Raritan Division titles, while capturing four of their five county championships in 2009, '11, '13 and '14.

In addition, the Streaks claimed eight of their 14 sectional titles and appeared in the Group 3 finals seven times under Kerr, who surpassed her predecessor and coach Luanne Ferenci (226-101-41 from 1981-99) as the winningest coach in program history.

Potter, then known as Josie Schantzenbach, is a 2000 graduate and she played on Ferenci's teams from 1996-99, scoring 10 goals and earning MVP honors during her senior season in '99. The Blue Streaks lost a heartbreaker in the Group 3 final that year -- 2-1 in overtime to Ocean City on a controversial goal. The '96 team was the first to reach the state finals. She went on to play and graduate from East Stroudsburg University.

Going into its 53rd season, Washington/Warren Hills is 644-256-92 overall. The program has won at least 20 games in six straight season, including a school-best 23 wins in 2014 and '15.