ASHLAND, Va. --- This summer, Randolph-Macon Field Hockey Head Coach Jessica Weiss added an international chapter to her coaching career, traveling to Belgium as an assistant coach and manager for the United States Women's Over-55 Masters team at the Masters Hockey World Cup.

The opportunity grew from her previous involvement with USA Field Hockey Masters, where she served as a selector, evaluating athletes competing for spots within their respective age groups. Through that work, she further developed a longstanding professional relationship and friendship with Caroline Nelson-Nichols, a former Olympian and Division I head coach.

When Nelson-Nichols was selected as head coach of the U.S. Women's Over-55 team, she reached out to Weiss about joining her staff.

"I remember how big my eyes got and I couldn't believe it," Weiss said. "While it was a truly humbling and overwhelming moment, I was filled with immense gratitude and pride."

The months leading up to the World Cup included multiple player trials, training weekends and team meetings. Coaches evaluated athletes at American University, Davidson College and the Virginia Beach Regional Training Center before selecting 16 field players and two goalkeepers for the tournament roster.

As an assistant coach and manager, Weiss played a key role both on and off the field. She helped coordinate logistics, communicated deadlines and schedules, worked with goalkeepers and offensive players during warmups and managed substitutions and sideline responsibilities during games.

"This is what I do every day as a Division III head coach, so it was truly the same!" she said.

What made the experience unique was the caliber and experience of the athletes. The roster featured former Olympians, national champions, coaches and longtime Masters players, yet Weiss said they approached the experience with the same desire to learn and improve as any group of athletes.

"They are still players who love the game and want to be coached," she said. "They were eager to learn and asked a lot of questions during practices and games, watched game film and wanted the scout of our opponents."

With players traveling from across the country, building chemistry was one of the team's biggest challenges. After working through the early stages of the tournament, however, the group found its rhythm and won three consecutive games.

For Weiss, the turning point came when the team scored its first goal.

"The start of crossovers was it," she said. "The team clicked and when we scored our first goal of the tournament, the absolute joy on everyone's face and how our coaching staff celebrated, is something I'll never forget."

Beyond the results, the tournament provided an opportunity to work alongside accomplished athletes and coaches and gain new perspectives on tactics, communication and preparation. Weiss has since brought elements of that experience back to Randolph-Macon, incorporating new ideas into pregame preparation, set pieces and terminology to help the Yellow Jackets better understand their style of play.

The experience has also reinforced the idea that field hockey can be a lifelong sport.

"It has also been inspirational to our student-athletes!" she said. "Field hockey isn't often thought of as a lifelong sport, but this has shown them they can play until they're over the age of 65!"

For Weiss, however, the tournament also offered an opportunity to reflect on her own path through the sport.

She began playing field hockey in middle school and high school before continuing her career at the Division III level. After college, she worked multiple jobs while pursuing her goal of coaching full time.

"I started working multiple jobs to support myself in pursuing this dream of coaching full time so I never could have imagined that girl almost 20 years ago, coaching at the Masters Hockey World Cup, representing the U.S.," said Weiss.

The experience also reinforced a philosophy that has guided her throughout her coaching career: "Be yourself — everyone else is taken."

For a coach who once dreamed of making coaching a career, the opportunity to represent the United States in Belgium was a milestone she never anticipated.

"I am so honored," Weiss said. "Having the opportunity of being a small part of their experience, is the best outcome I could've drawn up."

Her time at the Masters Hockey World Cup took her across the Atlantic, but the experience will continue to inform her coaching and the way she works with student-athletes at Randolph-Macon.