All you need to know about the athletic ability of Maggie Kennedy '05 is that, despite not playing golf in high school and college, she finished second in the Connecticut Women’s Amateur golf tournament in 2012 and tied for second in 2013. She likely would have been a star in golf at the interscholastic and intercollegiate levels. It’s just that during high school Maggie was busy playing soccer, hockey, and softball, excelling in each. And then busy in college becoming one of the all-time scoring leaders for Dartmouth College in women’s hockey.  

Maggie is one of seven former Loomis Chaffee athletes and coaches honored by the Athletics Department in a Women’s History Month display in the Scanlan Center in March. The others are athletes Jennifer Carbone ’93, Brooke Diamond-O'Brien ’99, Ariel Williams ’06, and Ally Hammel ’15 and coaches Chuck Vernon and Betsy Conger.  

Maggie’s list of accomplishments in athletics on the Island is as long as a par-5 hole. She was the recipient of the Outstanding Junior Female Athlete Award. As a senior she earned the Barbara Erickson Outstanding Athlete Award. She captained the Founders League champion girls hockey team as a senior and had 47 goals and 48 assists in 66 career games. She was named all-New England in girls soccer and helped her team win the New England championship as a senior. The softball team won a New England Class A title when she was a sophomore, and she was a team captain as a senior.  

“There were so many things that I took from each sport, both mentally and physically that helped me in my next season, and in my career as an athlete in general. I had amazing coaches that all had different styles, so the amount that I learned was incredible,” Maggie said. “I learned so much about balance, dedication, commitment, joy, and more. Physically, playing different sports and not overusing my body in one area was also … crucial for my longevity as an athlete all the way through college. In general, really understanding what it meant to play for something bigger than myself in each sport was the biggest takeaway from my athletic experience at Loomis.” 

 

After Loomis, Maggie played for four years for the nationally ranked Dartmouth women’s ice hockey team, finishing with 119 points in 130 career games and graduating in 2009. She is ninth all-time in career assists at Dartmouth and tied for seventh all-time in career power-play goals, and she helped lead the team to three NCAA Elite Eight appearances. 

One thing that still strikes her today about her time at Dartmouth is the quality of athletes on the team. 

“I had Olympians as teammates and the best players from their respective teams, and those first couple weeks as a freshman were pretty humbling.” Maggie said. “I got knocked over a lot. But being able to see the growth and the strength I developed was pretty cool. I think the most striking thing about my career at Dartmouth is how much love I had for the game. As a Division I athlete, they ask a lot of us, and it’s easy to see why burnout happens. But there was never any moment that I didn’t want to be playing or practicing or lifting or working in some way to get better. No matter what stress was going on in my life, the rink was always my sanctuary. I used the game to let go of everything I couldn’t control and just enjoy every moment. Looking back on it, that passion and joy still amazes me given all that’s asked of a Division I student athlete.” 

In 2012 Maggie coached the Connecticut Polar Bears U16 Tier II girls ice hockey team to a national age group championship. She was a former player for the Polar Bears, the first all-girls hockey program in Connecticut. Maggie helped the team to a U-19 national title her senior year in high school.  

Sports are a big deal in Maggie’s family.  

“I am definitely lucky to come from an athletic family, both on my mom and dad’s side,” Maggie said. Her uncle Matt Sinatro played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball.  

“I was also a very active kid,” she added. “so certainly developed some athletic skill from just playing anything and everything that I was able to. I worked hard with any sport because I genuinely had fun doing so. When I started taking my sports more seriously, wanting to be the best that I could be and working toward improvement is really what drove me to work so hard every day. Golf, for example, I picked up after I finished my college hockey career. I needed something to work toward and fill that void that hockey left, so I dedicated so much time and effort to getting better each day. That’s the mentality that drove me for my athletic career in general, no matter the sport.”   

Maggie worked at Loomis from 2011 to 2015, overseeing the wellness program and serving as head coach of the varsity softball team, an assistant coach for varsity girls ice hockey, and head coach of junior varsity girls soccer. She came back to the school in 2021 and works in the Office of Admission, coaches the girls golf team, and is an in-dorm faculty member. 

“Being a former student and a former athlete here has helped in my role as an associate director of admission quite a bit in the interview process.” Maggie said. “I get to talk to prospective families about my experiences and all the things I love about Loomis. Loomis was transformational for me, and to be able to share that with families who are contemplating their next step is pretty special.” 

These days Maggie isn’t scrambling for the puck or chasing that little white ball around the course too much. More often, she’s chasing her children. Maggie and her wife, Lindsay, have three kids, a 4-year-old and twins who are almost 2.  

The children’s interests range from art, music, and books to golf, soccer, and hockey.  

“We try to take their lead on what they want to do or what books they want to read, so it’s been so fun to see what interests are unfolding,” Maggie said. 

Occasionally Maggie plays golf with her father and brother, and she recently got back on the ice.  

“We had our alumni hockey event at Dartmouth in January, and there was an alumni game that I played in,” Maggie said. “I realized that I hadn’t suited up to play in years before that moment, and I loved every minute of being out there again.”  

The others honored by the Athletic Department exhibit:  

Jennifer Carbone ’93: Played soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse at Loomis and Middlebury College; was on back-to-back ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) championship teams in hockey and went to two Final Fours in lacrosse at Middlebury. Scored 76 career points in soccer.  

Brooke Diamond-O'Brien ’99: Three-sport athlete at Loomis and Amherst College, where she earned 12 varsity letters in soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. Is in her third season as Amherst women’s lacrosse head coach after 15 seasons as Washington & Lee head coach).  

Ariel Williams ’06: Competed in cross country and track & field at Loomis and Williams College. Currently a Loomis Chaffee Trustee. At Loomis, earned All-New England honors in track as a junior and senior and won the individual title at the New England cross country championship her senior year. As a sophomore she helped Williams College to second place in the Division III cross country championships.  

Ally Hammel ’15: Played field hockey at Loomis and Boston University and was on the 2024 Olympic team. Was first BU field hockey player to be named a two-time first team All-American by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.  

The two coaches honored in the Women’s History Month exhibit both were longtime coaches of female athletes at Loomis. Sadly, both died in 2024. 

Chuck Vernon: Coached various sports at Loomis for 50 years, including girls hockey. New England Prep School Athletic Conference named the Elite Division girls hockey championship tournament in his honor in 2020. Loomis won this championship earlier this month.  

Betsy Conger: Spent 38 years at Loomis as an educator and coach. Co-founded the girls varsity softball program and coached the team for 32 years. Played four sports in high school and was an outstanding athlete at Middlebury College.