MEET MICHELYNE
Michelyne Pinard's coaching and leadership philosophy stemmed both from her lived experience as a First Generation College Student-Athlete and her academic background in education and counseling, first at Dartmouth and then at the University of Pennsylvania School of Education.
As a restless, athletic and uber competitive kid growing up in rural New York state from a poor, working-class background, she realized that sports could offer opportunities beyond her small town roots, thus setting loose her competitive energies and fostering her interest in the nuances and intricacies of how high performing and inspiring teams are created - the passions and hallmarks of her professional life.
Her first coaching role was for two years at Middlebury College as the Assistant Coach for the Women’s Soccer and Ice Hockey Teams. From there she moved to the University of Pennsylvania to be the Assistant Women's Soccer Coach for two years, before landing at Williams College as the Head Coach of Women’s Soccer at Williams College, an auspicious starting point for someone just 25.
After navigating the expected twists and turns of a steep learning curve, she went on to build one of the most successful programs, on and off the field, in Williams College and Division III history, winning 3 National Championships in 4 years (2015, 2017, 2018) and appearing in the NCAA finals two other times (2008 and 2014); her teams reached the Elite Eight, 9 times between 2008 and 2019.
She began her transition to administrative roles at Williams and continued it at The Thacher School where she wore two hats, the Director of Athletics and the Director of Signature Programs. Today, she continues on at Thacher as the Consultant for Athletics and Signature Programs, has added a professional credential to her resume as an Executive Coach for Coaches, and now launches the Anacapa Consulting Group initiative to fulfill a personal goal of giving back to the sports community that so profoundly shaped her life.
She continues to grow and stretch as the world around her grapples with how our individual biases and cultural lenses impact leadership. Like many educators, she has had to unlearn many of the perspectives and preconceived assumptions she had subconsciously adopted as she continues to learn how best to create inspiring, high-performing and inclusive teams which value diversity, equity and inclusion above all else.
