NCAA Field Hockey

Wake Forest, Coach Averill Announces Addition of Coetzee-Turner to Coaching Staff

Wake Forest, Coach Averill Announces Addition of Coetzee-Turner to Coaching Staff


WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest field hockey head coach Jennifer Averill announced the addition of Pietie Coetzee-Turner to the program as an associate head coach. Coetzee-Turner will oversee the technical development of the student-athletes and assist in the recruitment of future Demon Deacons.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Pietie and her family to Wake Forest,” said Averill. “Pietie has the innate ability to use her illustrious playing experience to deliver a coaching methodology that is motivating and educational.  Her keen insight to developing young women coupled with her competitive nature makes her an ideal fit for our student athletes and the program.”

“If you are offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on” – Sheryl Sandberg.

“This quote was my exact thought when faced with the opportunity to join the Wake Forest program,” said Coetzee-Turner. “Thank you to my wife and family for the unconditional love and support in taking their seats on this ship. I look forward to sharing my experience, specialization and knowledge with the team. I know Wake Forest is on the verge of achieving ultimate, consistent success, yet again, and I want to be part of it. My humble beginnings taught me the only way to success is through hard work, discipline and extraordinary determination. Let us begin!”

Coetzee-Turner joins the Wake Forest field hockey program after a three-year stint as an assistant coach at UMass. The Minutewoman posted back-to-back double-digit win seasons in 2021 and 2022, highlighted by an Atlantic 10 Championship appearance last season. 

One of the most highly-regarded strikers in the world, Coetzee-Turner is a three-time Olympian, representing South Africa at the 2000 (Sydney), 2004 (Athens) and 2012 (London) Summer Games. She finished her career as the all-time female scoring leader, notching 287 goals over 289 matches in international play. 

Her international senior career began in 1995, when Coetzee-Turner represented South Africa at the Atlanta Challenge Cup and became the youngest player (16) to represent the nation on such a stage. The two-time South African Hockey Player of the Year (1997, 2002) went on to play in four World Cups. At the 2002 event in Perth, Australia, Coetzee-Turner was the tournament’s leading scorer.

In addition to serving in an assistant capacity at Indiana…

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