Jenni (Smith) Releford took over as the head field hockey coach at Lynchburg on January 1, 2024. She took over for legendary hall of fame head coach Enza Steele who retired at the end of 2023 after 45 seasons at the helm.Â
Releford joined the coaching staff at Lynchburg prior to the 2015 season as an assistant to head coach Enza Steele. In her time at Lynchburg, Releford has been a part of four Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships and four NCAA Division III tournament berths for the Hornets including two trips to the national quarterfinals in 2019 and 2023.Â
The Hornets won the ODAC in 2023 with a pair of All-American student-athletes in sophomore Marlou Wendriks and freshman Khanyisile Mzizi. Wendriks was named the conference’s offensive player of the year while Mzizi was the rookie of the year in the league. Altogether, Releford has helped coach 59 All-ODAC players and seven All-Americans.
Releford competed at Michigan State University for four seasons from 2011-14. She was tabbed as a Big Ten Player to watch as a senior. She started all games in her final three seasons, having played in all games as a freshman. As a junior, Releford was pivotal when the Spartans captured the Big Ten conference title and advanced to the NCAA tournament's Elite 8. Her junior campaign was her best statistically, with 21 assists and three goals, where she ranked second in the Big Ten in assists.
In the summer of 2022, Releford earned her USA Field Hockey Coaching Level 3 accreditation and coached at the Junior Field Hockey AAU Olympics at Wake Forest University.
A native of Kinross, Scotland, Releford was a member of the U16 and U18 Scotland hockey squad for four years, playing against other home nations in international competition. She also trained with the U21 Scotland indoor team. She played for Grove Menzieshill hockey team in the European Club Hockey Indoor Championships in Ukraine in February 2010 and at the European Club Hockey Outdoor Championships in Ireland in April 2011. In February 2014, she played in the European Club Indoor Hockey Trophy in Vienna, Austria, coming in fourth with Dundee Wanderers. Releford plays with the Scottish Indoor Champions, Dundee Wanderers, when she returns home during Christmas vacations. She was captain of her region, Midland, field hockey team at U16 & U18, both indoor and outdoor, as well as her school field hockey team for three years.
Releford coached field hockey summer camps at Michigan State, as well three years with USA Futures-Great Lakes. In Kinross, she also coached middle school children for five years while was in high school. As a leadup to the London Olympics, Releford was elected one of two Young Ambassador Representatives for Perth & Kinross to talk, encourage, demonstrate, and engage school children in leading an active and healthy lifestyle through participation in athletics and other activities.
She coached field hockey with Skoolsports in Pennsylvania during the summer of 2016 and also competed with Blue Ridge in the Virginia Commonwealth Games, taking the silver medal.
Releford graduated in the spring of 2015 from Michigan State with a degree in interdisciplinary studies with a minor in sociology. She completed her M.Ed. in educational leadership from Lynchburg in 2017.
