Maultsby returns to Fallbrook as Warriors' field hockey coach

Former Fallbrook High School field hockey player Melissa Maultsby is returning to the school as the Warriors' head coach.

The selection of Maultsby as the new Fallbrook coach was announced Feb. 5. "I'm really excited about returning to my alma mater," she said.

Maultsby had actually returned as the opposing coach when she was the Vista High School head coach in 2014 and 2015. "The position opened up at Fallbrook," she said. "I'm really excited about the opportunity."

Maultsby attended Zion Lutheran, Live Oak Elementary School, and Potter Junior High School prior to her four years at Fallbrook High School. She was on Fallbrook's junior varsity team as a freshman and sophomore and then played on Fallbrook's varsity in 2008 and 2009. The Avocado League coaches gave her honorable mention all-league honors for both of her varsity years.

The University of the Pacific field hockey program gave Maultsby a scholarship, and she played with the Tigers for four years. She was the starting forward for Pacific and was third on the Tigers' all-time list of leading scorers when she graduated. Maultsby intended to become a physical education teacher and field hockey coach and was a health, exercise, sports science, and pedagogy major at Pacific.

Peggy Haus became the Vista head coach after Gail Petty left Vista for La Costa Canyon. Haus was a substitute teacher at Vista High School when she was the Panthers' field hockey coach, but a full-time teaching job at Rancho Minerva Middle School led her to take a lesser role with Vista field hockey.

"I was working at summer camp and they needed a coach," Maultsby said. "I wanted to stay involved with field hockey."

Vista posted a 14-11 record, including a 6-4 mark in Avocado League competition, in 2014. The Panthers were 2-1 in a Serra Tournament game and two league matches against Fallbrook. In 2015, Vista's 10-14 overall record included a 5-5 figure in league competition with the Panthers and Warriors splitting their two league contests. Chelsee Brown, who played field hockey at Vista High School and planned to play for the University of California, Davis before an anterior cruciate ligament tear ended her playing career, was Maultsby's assistant coach. Maultsby hopes to utilize Brown as a Fallbrook assistant coach.

"We were able to kind of change the culture of their team," Maultsby said.

The team culture under Maultsby focused on enjoyment of the game. "You're supposed to have fun playing the sport," she said.

That attitude makes winning a by-product rather than the primary objective. "When they love what they're doing the winning will come with it," Maultsby said. "They'll work hard because they love what they're doing."

Fallbrook reached the CIF finals in Maultsby's senior year. "My plan right now is bringing back what as an alumni I believe Fallbrook field hockey represents," she said. "That's my goal, just kind of bring all that back and remind the kids what field hockey's all about."

Petty formed the Vista Hot Stix club when she was Vista's coach. She remains as the club's director of coaching, and Maultsby is now the Vista Hot Stix's head travel coach. Maultsby also coached the Roosevelt Middle School team during her Vista Unified School District career, and she is also the under-16 coach for the California region at national camps.

Jeremiah Fuller was Fallbrook's coach in 2014 and 2015 but chose not to return to the Warriors for 2016. "I decided to go back to my roots and Fallbrook has welcomed me with open arms," Maultsby said.

Maultsby is the second former Fallbrook player to become the Warriors' head coach. Kirstin Mueller, who coached Fallbrook's varsity in 2011 and 2012, was Kirstin Kuszmaul when she was on Fallbrook's junior varsity team in 1997 and 1998 and the Warriors' varsity in 1999 and 2000. Maultsby and Mueller both played for head coach Kathy Waite.

"Kathy was definitely my mentor and my model," Maultsby said. "I want to help kids the way she helped me."

Waite was the Warriors' varsity coach from 1982 to 2010. She retired after the 2010 season and Mueller took over as Fallbrook's coach while Waite remained with the team as a volunteer manager. Mueller's second child was born in July 2013 and she took a year of absence from the field hockey team. Waite agreed to coach the Warriors for the 2013 CIF season. Mueller coached the off-season Guac Girls squad in early 2014 and Fuller helped Mueller coach. Fuller led the Guac Girls during the April 2014 Play for Mila tournament and the May 2014 Cal Cup tournament. In June 2014, Mueller submitted her resignation to focus on her children and Fuller became the Warriors' head coach.

Waite, who retired as a Fallbrook High School teacher after the 2010-11 school year, has since stepped down as the Warriors' manager. "As far as I know, she's staying retired. I talk to her as a friend," Maultsby said.

The seven-on-seven Play for Mila tournament is hosted by Fallbrook High School. The tournament brings attention to the issue of suicide prevention and a portion of the proceeds are given to the Yellow Ribbon suicide prevention program. Mila Lee was a 2010 Fallbrook graduate who played field hockey for the Warriors and committed suicide in September 2011 when she was 19 and a student at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"Mila was actually my teammate in high school, so I have all intentions of keeping it around," Maultsby said. "It's definitely for a great cause."

When Petty was at Vista High School, she founded the Play for Pink tournament to raise money to fight breast cancer and to promote awareness of that disease. Petty still organizes the Play for Pink tournament, and Maultsby helped organize the tournament when she was the Panthers' coach. Maultsby has also organized seven-on-seven tournaments while at Pacific. "I've had experience organizing tournaments, so it shouldn't be much different compared to what I've done before," Maultsby said.

A coach and players can participate together in competition outside of the CIF season as long as the team does not officially represent the school. Without the ability to call themselves the Warriors, the Fallbrook program has adopted the name Guac Girls for out-of-season tournaments and the winter indoor league.

Play for Pink and Play for Mila are both spring tournaments, as is the Cal Cup. This spring's Guac Girls activity has not yet been determined; Maultsby plans to meet with the team including parents in April. "I can kind of see where they stand as a team," she said.

Maultsby hopes to return Fallbrook's team culture to what she experienced under Waite. Maultsby noted that changing a program's culture requires support from the participants. "It usually takes about five years to get a team where you want it to be," she said.

The culture Maultsby desires includes a primary emphasis on the player's interests. "I'm going to prepare them for what they want to do," she said. "I'm going to do what's best for the athlete and what's going to help them."

In some cases that translates into a college scholarship for the player. "Not everyone wants to be a Division I athlete, but they deserve a shot to do what they want to do," Maultsby said.

Those players seeking to compete in college will benefit from Maultsby's knowledge of the recruiting process. "I want to share it with them, all my experiences," she said.

Her position with the Vista Hot Stix will assist Fallbrook players who seek to travel to showcases. "If the kid wants to go, we're going to find a way to get them there," Maultsby said.

Maultsby noted that the person should be the top priority followed by the family, academics, and field hockey. "You yourself need to be stable," she said.

Waite also coached the Potter Junior High School team with assistance from her players. That allowed many girls to begin their field hockey careers in middle school and be knowledgeable about the game by the time they were in ninth grade. "When they come to Fallbrook they know what's going on," Maultsby said.

Roosevelt Middle School will need a new coach for next year as Maultsby plans to coach the Potter players.

Maultsby will also be a substitute teacher at Fallbrook High School in various departments.