Hillary Fitts spent five seasons a W&M, including the final two as the program's associate head coach.
Fitts helped lead the Tribe to the 2023 CAA Field Hockey Championship, behind a 3-2 double overtime win over Monmouth. The Tribe finished the season at 12-9 overall and claimed the program's second NCAA Tournament win, knocking off Sacred Heart, 4-0, in the opening round.
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During her second season, Fitts helped the Tribe successfully navigated the challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Although the abbreviated spring slate featured just four regular season games, W&M posted a 3-1 record that was highlighted by a perfect 3-0 mark at home and a victory against No. 20 Delaware on Senior Day. Highlighting those who benefited from Fitts’ tutelage was Cara Menges, who earned first-team all-conference honors and second-team all-region distinction. Additionally, Tabbing Billingham and Sally Snead garnered second-team all-league honors, while Jayden Moon was tabbed to the CAA All-Rookie Team.
In 2019, the Tribe spent part of the season inside the national rankings and finished the year at 12-7 overall. W&M was 5-1 in the CAA, garnering the No. 2 seed in the league tournament. In total, four Tribe student-athletes earned All-CAA and all-region honors. Highlighting the individual honorees, Christie van de Kamp was named the CAA Defender of the Year and went on to earn a spot on the All-America third team.Â
Fitts came to W&M after four years at Fairfield University, first as a volunteer then as a full-time assistant for the last two years. She helped the Stags to a pair of MAAC Field Hockey Championships and appearances in the conference title game all four seasons. Fairfield players over that stretch won three of the four possible Defensive Players of the Year awards, as well as three Rookie of the Year honors. They also had three players be named first-team all-region and three more earn second-team accolades. In 2018, goalkeeper Zoe Rosen ranked fourth nationally in goals-against average and seventh in the nation in save percentage. Fairfield also achieved greatness off the field, average 8.5 NFHCA All-Academic selections each year and earning the highest team GPA in the entire athletic department during first season of 2015.
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Fitts has also been active in club coaching, most recently serving as an assistant coach and goalkeeping coach with the Field Hockey Club of Connecticut's U16 and U19 programs. She helped found and direct the Fairfield Youth Field Hockey program in 2017, helping introduce and teach the game to students in the 4th-8th grades, and Fitts has coached each spring and summer at numerous camps in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic as well.
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A 2014 graduate of Fairfield, Fitts played four years for the Stags as a midfielder and defender, helping to lead her team to its first two America East conference tournament appearances in 2012 and 2013. She was named second-team all-conference as a senior in 2013, and was also the co-President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Fitts finished her playing days having appeared in all but one of Fairfield's games, scoring 10 goals and nine assists, and was named to the America East Honor Roll as a junior. After graduating in 2014 with her degree in finance and marketing, Fitts spent three years in the corporate world before joining to the coaching ranks full time. She earned her MBA in Business Analytics from Fairfield in 2019.
