By Ed Piper
There they were--the coach she always wanted, and the person who hired her.
The coach former LJHS Athletic Director Paula Conway always wanted turned out to be Amanda Combs Warford, head of the Viking program, who has, since her hire, now established teams at the middle school level as well as continuing the top high school program.
That way, stick skills and field hockey IQ are inculcated early enough to bear fruition at the high school level. Thus, the ability to compete with the Canyon Hillses and the Scripps Ranches of San Diego.
The person who hired Warford, Conway, never could spend enough time continuously with the Viking program in her LJHS days, because Conway was away working with the Olympic Development Program in Chula Vista, doubling as athletic director in addition to her coaching duties as varsity coach while teaching English and PE on campus.
The occasion for the encounter of hiree and hirer: Wednesday's (Sept. 25) match-up between La Jolla and Bishop's, where Conway moved to take the athletic director's job when Joel Allen left to coach football at Point Loma High in the whole COVID situation.
Meghan Carr has been the Knights' varsity coach, but Conway has stepped in to take over the varsity and coach her daughter, freshman Lola Conway, and the rest of the Knight lineup.
Conway maintains a fairly quiet sideline demeanor. Warford's voice carries a little more.
Amanda said previously about her placement at La Jolla, "I was waiting for the right situation." When the Viking job opened up, she submitted her application and interviewed with Conway.
In Wednesday's first half, senior standout Laine Jeffery scored with 7:44 left in the second quarter. The score stood at 1-0 at halftime.
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Paula Wagoner graduated from Ottawa Hills Junior/Senior High in Ohio in 1994. She participated in field hockey, basketball, track, and cheer. She was recognized in 2022 as a distinguished alumna by her high school. She earned 16 varsity letters as a prep student-athlete.
Wagoner played center midfield for the Green Bears in field hockey. The school won the Ohio state title in both 1993 and 1994, her junior and senior years. She edited The Arrowhead school newspaper and was named the Homecoming Queen.
She credited her two older brothers as inspirations for her own success in athletics. All three were named Ottawa Hills' "Athlete of the Year" in their senior years. Quite a Wagoner dynasty. Their father, Mark "Mick" Wagoner, Sr., served as football coach and coached several youth and Ottawa Hills teams.
Paula was awarded a scholarship to Providence College, a Division 1 school in Providence, Rhode Island. She was named an All-American and All-Big East three times. She was named the Offensive Player of the Year in the Big East Conference in 1998.
She married Nick Conway, who worked with the U.S. Men's National Team in field hockey. Paula Conway coached college teams, and later high school teams after she and her husband relocated to the San Diego area for his position with U.S. field hockey. She served as the coach at San Pasqual High.
Conway took a job teaching English and PE at La Jolla High. She also has a credential in Special Education. She coached the Vikings' field hockey team in 2010. She later became Athletic Director. At the time of becoming AD, she stated that she wanted to inspire girls who would be encouraged to aspire to anything they wanted to do.
She quickly reorganized the Athletic Director's duties to include a website that posted up-to-date information on each of the school's sports teams. She also was instrumental in starting the "Future Vikings Night" during football season to encourage elementary school students and those from area middle schools to think of LJHS as their future high school destination.
In 2021, with sports restricted due to the pandemic, she moved to Bishop's School to serve as the Athletic Director and head of the PE and Health Department. In Fall 2024, she has assumed the duties of varsity coach of field hockey.
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