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E L I Z A B E T H PA R R Y ’ 7 9 H O N O R E D
Photo courtesy of Emma Willard School Photo credit: Michael Branscom
Alumna Makes an Indelible Mark on Girls Sports
When Liz Parry ’79 learned that the lower athletic field at Emma Willard School was going to be named in her honor, her initial reaction was ‘Wait, what are you doing?’” “It kind of scared me!” she said.
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Despite her humility, the accolade is well deserved: Parry is in her 39th year at the all-girls school in Troy, New York, where she serves as athletic director, head varsity field hockey and lacrosse coach, and health instructor and swimming and lifeguard instructor.
I loved playing the game and
competing, but it was also about the relationships I had with my teammates.
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BULLETIN Spring 2022
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Parry came to Emma Willard as a one-year physical education maternity leave replacement. She was hired fresh out of Ithaca College with a degree in physical education. “Emma Willard gave me a chance,” she says. Since that time, she’s brought her lifelong love for field hockey and lacrosse to scores of students. She was introduced to field hockey in sixth grade at Rumson Country Day School in New Jersey, where she also played basketball and softball, and ran track. She came to The Masters School as a sophomore in the fall of 1976 and was a three-season athlete, playing field hockey, basketball and lacrosse. Parry has fond memories of participating in athletics as a Dobbs girl. She laughs thinking about the field hockey and lacrosse outfits — their white polos and purple kilts were accentuated with purple and white stirrup socks. “We played field hockey on the field outside the dining hall and lacrosse
