A familiar face from both the past and present will be at the softball field when the Newtown High School softball squad takes its first swings this spring.

Megan Goyda, a 2017 NHS graduate, former Nighthawk athlete, and current physical education teacher, field hockey head coach and basketball assistant at Newtown High, was named the head softball coach by NHS Athletic Director Matt Memoli in mid March. Goyda succeeds Joanna Closs who stepped down for family reasons.

Goyda was also an assistant coach with the softball team last spring and is thrilled to take over a program she played in during a win-filled high school career.

All of the assistants are back in the fold with Christina Wolf-Gallo, Kerry Iacomini (former player at Southern Connecticut State University), and Lin Hertberg now joined by Lauren Wilcox, a former teammate of Goyda’s at NHS from 2014-16. Wilcox, who went on to play at Western Connecticut State University, has also been coaching in the Newtown Thunder girls’ program. Goyda, who won South-West Conference titles as an infielder in 2015 and ‘16 and was part of the coaching staff of last year’s SWC champion squad, looks forward to working alongside each of the assistants and going for another title (or two).

“We’re a fun group of people. It’s one of those things — it’s not really a job because we love being around each other,” Goyda said.

The new head coach looks to carry on the winning tradition and not only try to repeat as conference champs but also go for a state title as well.

“We’re one of those teams that competes day in and day out,” Goyda said.

Goyda went to play for Springfield College in Springfield, Mass. but had her career cut short by a hand injury her freshman year and her fourth ACL tear in her sophomore campaign. The silver lining is it led to her passion for coaching. Goyda stuck around with the team to assist Head Coach Kate Bowen, a former NHS softball standout whose position at Springfield led Goyda to attend the college. Goyda looked up to Bowen and followed in her footsteps in various sports when she was growing up.

“When there was a chance to go play for her I wanted to,” she said.

Then there was an opportunity to manage the scorebook, help with statistic forms, recruiting, and scouting. Goyda began to learn there was more to coaching than ... coaching.

“It really enlightened me that there was a whole other complexity to it,” Goyda said.

“Newtown High School is getting a great coach but an even better person,” Bowen said during a break in the action while Springfield continued its spring training in Florida on March 11.

Bowen, a former Newtown Bee Newtown High School Athlete of the Year (2010, when she led the NHS softball team to the SWC title), went on to continue her strong playing career as a pitcher and second baseman at Manhattan College in the Bronx, N.Y., and played professionally for the Stratford Brakettes.

“Megan persevered through injury at Springfield College and stayed on as a student coach. She has a great knowledge and passion for the game. Her positive influence on and off the field greatly impacted the Springfield College program,” Bowen added. “I am excited to watch her make her mark as the next head coach of the Nighthawks.”

Goyda helped the Brookfield High field hockey program turn around and earned Connecticut High School Coaches Association Class M Coach of the Year accolades in 2022 before taking over the NHS field hockey team in 2023. She was a defender on the Newtown field hockey team that won the SWC championship in 2016.

Goyda earned a double major in physical education health and became a health teacher in the Fairfield school system before taking on a PE teaching role at NHS this school year.

“She’s an all-in coach and that’s what I think the players and I are most excited about,” Memoli said.

The Nighthawks are scheduled to begin the regular season Saturday, March 30, with a visit to Trumbull at noon.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.