Field Hockey
Holland, Georgia
Georgia Holland
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
Georgia Holland joined the Northwestern staff as an assistant coach in January 2018 and was elevated to associate head coach in February of 2021.
Holland came to Evanston after spending the 2016 and 2017 seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan State.
The Wildcats began Holland’s first season as an assistant ranked No. 12 in the nation and earned a spot in every weekly poll that year, climbing as high as No. 9. She helped seniors Puck Pentenga and Eva van Agt both achieve All-Big Ten and NFHCA All-West honors while beating down three top-15 opponents.
Holland played a critical role in helping Bente Baekers break out as a redshirt first-year in 2019 after she missed her entire true first-year campaign with an injury. Under Holland’s guidance, Baekers scored 28 goals that year, the second most in a season in Northwestern history, and won Big Ten Freshman of the year as the Wildcats returned to the NCAA Tournament.
With COVID-19 pushing back the 2020 season, Holland was promoted to associate head coach in Feb. 2021 just before the start of the modified spring campaign. In her new role, Holland helped develop another breakout newcomer in Maddie Zimmer who won Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was named an All-American. Baekers and Kayla Blas also took home All-American honors that season en route to an NCAA Tournament berth and two wins over the No. 2 team in the nation.
Holland and the Wildcats lifted the first National Championship in program history in 2021, posting three shutouts and allowing just one goal during the run through the NCAA Tournament. Baekers and Zimmer both earned first-team All-American recognition while six Wildcats earned NFHCA All-West honors and three were named All-Big Ten. Holland also played a hand in the program’s first-ever win over a No. 1 opponent as the Wildcats beat top-ranked Iowa on the road.
Holland earned recognition as part of the NFHCA National Staff of the Year alongside Tracey Fuchs and Will Byrne for her efforts in 2021.
For the second straight year, Holland helped Northwestern back to the national title in 2022 after tying the program record for most wins in a season with 20. The Wildcats opened the season as the No. 1 team in the nation and won its first eight games, the longest win streak to start a season since 1985. They toppled 15 ranked opponents and posted a 7-1 record in overtime games, earning the “Cardiac ‘Cats” moniker, while also advancing to the Big Ten Tournament championship game. Baekers and Blas, who both started with Holland in 2018, took home major awards as Baekers winning NFHCA West Player of the Year and Blas winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. A program-record eight student-athletes were named to the NHCA All-West Team under Holland in 2022.
In addition to her work at the Division I level, Holland has worked extensively with USA Field Hockey. Since 2018, she has worked within the Olympic Developmental Program in coaching stints for both the U21 and U17 national teams. Holland helped lead the U21 USA team to a bronze medal finish at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. This medal secured the team’s invitation to the 2022 FIH Junior World Cup in South Africa. Prior to her work with the U21s, she served as an assistant coach for the U17 team from 2018- 2019 and accompanied them on their tour to Cologne, Germany. Every summer since 2016, Holland has coached regional select teams at USA Field Hockey’s National Futures Tournament and Nexus Championship.
Prior to beginning her coaching career, Holland enjoyed a standout collegiate career as a player, first at Yale and then at Wake Forest. She twice earned unanimous All-Ivy League honors (2011, 2013) at Yale and was the 2010 Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Year. A team captain, NFHCA Second Team All-Mideast Region and the ECAC Division I First Team in 2013, Holland earned Yale's Francis Gordon Brown Prize that annually recognizes the athlete who best represents leadership, scholarship and service for the university.
She went on to play her final season of eligibility at Wake Forest where she was named to the NFHCA All-American Third Team and was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-ACC pick. Holland’s second overall all-region selection of her career came as the NFHCA All-South Region first team.
A five-time NFHCA National Academic Squad selection, she played on both the U19 and U21 National Teams in stints from 2010-13, including competing for the USA at the 2013 FIH Junior World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany.
Holland earned her bachelor’s degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from Yale in 2014 and her master’s degree in Health and Exercise Science from Wake Forest in 2016. She is currently working toward her Master’s of Business Administration from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
Holland came to Evanston after spending the 2016 and 2017 seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan State.
The Wildcats began Holland’s first season as an assistant ranked No. 12 in the nation and earned a spot in every weekly poll that year, climbing as high as No. 9. She helped seniors Puck Pentenga and Eva van Agt both achieve All-Big Ten and NFHCA All-West honors while beating down three top-15 opponents.
Holland played a critical role in helping Bente Baekers break out as a redshirt first-year in 2019 after she missed her entire true first-year campaign with an injury. Under Holland’s guidance, Baekers scored 28 goals that year, the second most in a season in Northwestern history, and won Big Ten Freshman of the year as the Wildcats returned to the NCAA Tournament.
With COVID-19 pushing back the 2020 season, Holland was promoted to associate head coach in Feb. 2021 just before the start of the modified spring campaign. In her new role, Holland helped develop another breakout newcomer in Maddie Zimmer who won Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was named an All-American. Baekers and Kayla Blas also took home All-American honors that season en route to an NCAA Tournament berth and two wins over the No. 2 team in the nation.
Holland and the Wildcats lifted the first National Championship in program history in 2021, posting three shutouts and allowing just one goal during the run through the NCAA Tournament. Baekers and Zimmer both earned first-team All-American recognition while six Wildcats earned NFHCA All-West honors and three were named All-Big Ten. Holland also played a hand in the program’s first-ever win over a No. 1 opponent as the Wildcats beat top-ranked Iowa on the road.
Holland earned recognition as part of the NFHCA National Staff of the Year alongside Tracey Fuchs and Will Byrne for her efforts in 2021.
For the second straight year, Holland helped Northwestern back to the national title in 2022 after tying the program record for most wins in a season with 20. The Wildcats opened the season as the No. 1 team in the nation and won its first eight games, the longest win streak to start a season since 1985. They toppled 15 ranked opponents and posted a 7-1 record in overtime games, earning the “Cardiac ‘Cats” moniker, while also advancing to the Big Ten Tournament championship game. Baekers and Blas, who both started with Holland in 2018, took home major awards as Baekers winning NFHCA West Player of the Year and Blas winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. A program-record eight student-athletes were named to the NHCA All-West Team under Holland in 2022.
In addition to her work at the Division I level, Holland has worked extensively with USA Field Hockey. Since 2018, she has worked within the Olympic Developmental Program in coaching stints for both the U21 and U17 national teams. Holland helped lead the U21 USA team to a bronze medal finish at the 2021 Junior Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. This medal secured the team’s invitation to the 2022 FIH Junior World Cup in South Africa. Prior to her work with the U21s, she served as an assistant coach for the U17 team from 2018- 2019 and accompanied them on their tour to Cologne, Germany. Every summer since 2016, Holland has coached regional select teams at USA Field Hockey’s National Futures Tournament and Nexus Championship.
Prior to beginning her coaching career, Holland enjoyed a standout collegiate career as a player, first at Yale and then at Wake Forest. She twice earned unanimous All-Ivy League honors (2011, 2013) at Yale and was the 2010 Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Year. A team captain, NFHCA Second Team All-Mideast Region and the ECAC Division I First Team in 2013, Holland earned Yale's Francis Gordon Brown Prize that annually recognizes the athlete who best represents leadership, scholarship and service for the university.
She went on to play her final season of eligibility at Wake Forest where she was named to the NFHCA All-American Third Team and was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-ACC pick. Holland’s second overall all-region selection of her career came as the NFHCA All-South Region first team.
A five-time NFHCA National Academic Squad selection, she played on both the U19 and U21 National Teams in stints from 2010-13, including competing for the USA at the 2013 FIH Junior World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany.
Holland earned her bachelor’s degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from Yale in 2014 and her master’s degree in Health and Exercise Science from Wake Forest in 2016. She is currently working toward her Master’s of Business Administration from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
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