The Outstanding Female Athlete in her Cortland class, Joanne St. George '56 was a revered role model and a women's athletics pioneer while creating and coaching a scholastic field hockey dynasty at Fox Lane High School.
A lifelong resident of Mount Kisco, N.Y., St. George earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Cortland and a master's degree in physical education from Bridgeport (Conn.) University. In the pre-intercollegiate athletics days at Cortland, St. George played field hockey, basketball and swam in the Sports Day events. A member of the Marlin Swimming Club, she competed in intramurals and served as president and publicity manager of the Women's Athletic Association. She was a Red Cross swimming instructor and a Raquette Lake waterfront assistant. St. George was active with the Newman Club, Nu Sigma Chi sorority and the Women's Residence Organization.
St. George taught physical education and coached intramurals and honor squads at South Glens Falls (N.Y.) Central Schools, Somers (N.Y.) Central Schools and Bethpage (N.Y.) Elementary School. In 1965-66, she taught in Rhine Meine, Germany, at the U.S. Department of Defense Schools. In 1966, she joined the physical education staff in the Bedford (N.Y.) Public Schools, where she remained until her retirement in 1993.
St. George coached basketball, bowling, cheerleading, co-ed volleyball, lacrosse, softball, tennis and volleyball. But it was as field hockey coach that St. George excelled. Between 1971-85, her Fox Lane High teams captured 10 league titles, seven sectional crowns and a state regional championship. She was voted the 1975 Westchester Coach of the Year, the 1978 Westchester/Putnam Coach of the Year, and the 1978 Conference "A" Coach of the Year. For her accomplishments, St. George appeared in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" in 1980. Fox Lane High School presented her with its 1993 Dedicated Teacher/Coach Award and inducted her into its Hall of Fame in 1995.
From 1972-93, St. George served her alma mater, SUNY Cortland, as a "master teacher." She is a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma, Alpha Pi Chapter Educational Society. St. George is a former National Archery Association instructor at the World Archery Center.
