Youngest NCAA Division I coach leads Tar Heels to field hockey national championship

Nick Schifrin:

The youngest coach in NCAA Division I sports this year just took home a national championship.

Amna Nawaz spoke earlier this week with the rookie head coach of the Tar Heels field hockey team about the victory that redefines what a player-turned-coach can achieve.

Amna Nawaz:

As a player on the University of North Carolina's field hockey team, Erin Matson made history. She was a three-time national player of the year and a four-time national champion. Then, two months after graduating in 2022, Matson was named head coach of that same team.

Now 23 years old, in her first season at the helm, the NCAA's youngest Division I coach led the Tar Heels to yet another national title, defeating Northwestern in double overtime.

And coach Erin Matson joins me now.

Coach, welcome to the "NewsHour," and congratulations.

Erin Matson, Head Coach, University of North Carolina Field Hockey Team: Thank you. Thank you. I love any excuse to brag about this program in place, so I'm happy to be here.

Amna Nawaz:

So we believe you are now the youngest championship-winning coach in NCAA Division I history. How does that feel?

Erin Matson:

Insane. It still does not feel real. I was talking, obviously, with the staff today, with the girls. Everyone is still in just utter disbelief.

And it's just been a blur, a whirlwind, but a beautiful one. So proud. It's been quite the season, and there's no group that's more deserving. So, it's, yes, hard to put it into words.

Amna Nawaz:

Fair to say it was a bit of a nail-biter at the end there, went into double overtime, came down to penalty shoot-out, basically.

How different was it to be a coach on the sidelines in that moment, as opposed to a player on the field?

Erin Matson:

Oh, my goodness. Yes, I used to never get nervous as a player. I would just get anxious and wanted to get going and let's start the game. Let's go.

And now you're giving the control away. I can motivate and prepare them, but once that whistle blows, they're the ones doing it. And we have total belief in them every single day, every single game. But, yes, the nail-biters are definitely a lot more intense and the emotions are way higher.

Amna Nawaz:

But do you have to keep yourself from, like, running out onto the field at certain moments?

Erin Matson:

Yes.

And the team jokes about it. They're like, we know you want to put a uniform on. How about a wig? Our coach is allowed to play this time. There's all the jokes. They know it's hard for me. But at the same time, it's — I had my time. I had my fun. And I'm lucky I get to do it in a different way and help them.

But they make it a good time.

Amna Nawaz:

So, when you got this job, it meant you were taking over a field hockey dynasty, basically, right? You helped lead the team as a player to four consecutive national titles.

Some say, just like Michael Jordan is the GOAT of basketball, that Erin Matson is the field hockey GOAT. There are these great pictures comparing the two of you side by side. But it also meant that you would be coaching athletes you had been playing with just last season, people you had lived with.

What was that adjustment like? What was the hardest part?

Erin Matson:

It's different.

The first talk I had with the team, I was like, look, we're not going to pretend like this isn't happening, this isn't weird, this isn't unique. It's part of it. But from the start, it was, one, naming it. And I was fortunate to have their support throughout the interview process and applying and everything.

So it's not like it was — it totally caught them off guard. But it's obviously different, yes, when your former teammate walks in the room and announced as your head coach.

From the beginning, we were transparent about it. We over-communicated. I believe in the power of communication. They knew my standards and expectations. They knew how I was as a player and as a captain as a teammate. And I'm not any different now. So it really was a team effort this season and that's the only way it worked.

Amna Nawaz:

I should also mention, I believe you're also the only NCAA head coach to have lived through the name, image and likeness era as a player, otherwise known as NIL.

How has that changed how you advocate for your players, how you view recruiting, I mean, especially when you look at the opportunities that women athletes get these days, as compared to some of the bigger money sports that men usually play?

Erin Matson:

Right, yes, definitely.

I mean, NIL is different depending on each program, each sport. It varies. And we're not out here like football players and basketball players and everything you see all over the place. But it's definitely an added layer to everything that goes into college athletics.

And it's a tool that I will lean on and say, yes, I have experience in, and as a player. And coaches can understand the rules, but they didn't go through it. They didn't juggle the time management. They didn't go — have to go over contracts and have the conversations while turning in a paper at the same — the same night.

So, to say that I have experience with it and can help with it, it definitely helps with recruiting and the confidence in the girls now when they enter those opportunities. So that is ever changing, as well. No one knows. Tomorrow, NIL is going to look different than it did today. And it's just the world we live in right now in college sports.

Amna Nawaz:

Erin, as you know, there are a lot of coaches out there, not just field hockey, but basketball, football, soccer and so on, who go their whole careers without ever winning a national title.

You have now done it in your very first season as head coach. Any advice you want to share for other coaches out there?

Erin Matson:

Oh, man.

A big part of what made it happen this season wasn't the X's and O's and the practice planning and all of that. Every coach is hired because they know how to do that. It's more the motivation and the trust you can instill in your players, while holding them to high standards and expecting a lot, but also just doing everything you can to create a very stable, secure team atmosphere and culture.

And I think we found that balance this season of, they trusted me, but I made sure they felt that confidence and self-belief and bravery in themselves too.

Amna Nawaz:

That is coach Erin Matson, head coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels field hockey team, this year's national champions.

Coach, congratulations. Thanks again for joining us.

Erin Matson:

Thank you so much.