When Cathy Phillips '77 arrived at Lyndon in September 1973, there was no women’s soccer team. She and a group of friends complained to the right people; needless to say a club sport was started that fall, followed by an intercollegiate women’s team the next year. Cathy played soccer all four years in the positions of striker and fullback. Because she graduated in December of her senior year, Cathy played basketball and softball for only three years. As a freshman, she was privileged to be on a basketball team that was so successful they were invited to the playoffs in Queens, N.Y. Cathy says softball was the sport in which she was most successful personally: in her junior she was team captain and was selected team MVP. She recalls practicing at the airport landing strip on Pudding Hill because of the field situation on campus. Her softball experience at LSC helped her tremendously when she was part of the New York State travelling team for two years. On different occasions she brought some of her New York teammates to play in weekend tournaments at LSC. Cathy remembers they had trouble walking up the steps in the theatre because their legs were so tired from playing so many games.
Cathy’s talents and energies stretched beyond the playing fields. She also managed to make the dean’s list and appeared on stage in a theatre production called The Diary of Adam and Eve. She claims to have been the first physical education major to get a part in a musical, causing quite a laugh among her PE major peers since she had tried out for the part so she wouldn’t have to write a play. She quipped: “The laugh was on me! I had a great time.”
After graduating in 1977 with a B.S. in Physical Education, Cathy worked as a secretary for a couple of years. In 1979, she was hired by the Peru Central School District to teach health and physical education; over the next 18 years, she coached varsity girls’ basketball, track and field hockey and junior varsity girls’ softball, field hockey and soccer. Cathy was also responsible for the development of several initiatives for the Peru Central School District, including the District’s referral program, policy and procedure for the drug program, athletic code of conduct, athletic drug and alcohol policy, the student leadership class (grades 8-12) and the “Open Gym” program (grades 7-12).
Cathy continued her education at Plattsburgh State University, from which she earned an M.S. in Liberal Studies in 1980 and a C.A.S. in Administration and Supervision in 1997. In 1997, she was promoted to her current position as Director of Health, Physical Education and Athletics for the same district. Her involvement doesn’t stop there; she is involved in a number of state and local organizations, such as New York State Athletic Administrator’s Association Awards Committee, NYSPHSAA Chemical Awareness Standing Committee, Clinton County Task Force on Violence, Woman Leadership Trainer for NEA/NY, and many, many others.
Her achievements have not gone unnoticed either. In 1992, Cathy was named Peru Central School District Teacher of the Year and was selected for the Ray Holmes Champlain Valley Athletic Conference (CVAC) Coach’s Sportsmanship Award in 1992. She was named Coach of the Year in Soccer in 1984 and Coach of the Year in Basketball in 1982 (CVAC). And the list goes on . . .
Cathy is also very active in her church, volunteering time to lead mission trips to Washington, D.C., and Jamaica. In 1997, she was named “Peru Person of the Year” by the Peru Community Church Official Board. She has served her church as a lay leader, senior high youth advisor, coordinator of Peru Summer Youth Program, and Sunday School teacher. In her “spare” time, Cathy enjoys cross-country skiing, computers, traveling, reading and walking.
A member of the LSC Alumni Council for several years, Cathy is currently serving as Past President of the Council. During her presidency, the Council established the Faculty and Staff Recognition Award. Cathy is one of those people who always puts others first. Now it is Lyndon’s turn to honor such a remarkable and selfless person. We are proud to have such a fine educator and coach in the field and as a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame.
