Always looking for new ways to grow, Lynn Coutts has never stopped pursuing her dreams. She jumped at every opportunity that presented itself and went from looking up to her coaches to being the mentor that helped everyone else. Through many moves and numerous achievements, she has been honoured as . . .
a master athlete and coach in Pontiac High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
She is among the 13 athletes who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, which was established in February by PHS phys. ed. teachers Darcy Findlay and Chad Davis.
“First of all, I want to make sure that I congratulate everybody. What a wonderful class to be the first one in for the Hall of Fame. I’m obviously quite honored to be recognized,” she said. “We don’t set out looking to be recognized for things like this. It’s just part of our journey and knowing that we had a little bit of an impact on the town, in the school, feels very good.”
Coutts was born in Rochester, New York, along with her two siblings, where she was raised until she was nine. Her parents were both from the Pontiac, being members of the Hearty and Murray families, but they had moved to the States for work. Though she spent her early years south of the border, she fondly recalled visiting family in Shawville for Christmas every year.
When she and her family made the move up to the region, Coutts said the transition from city life to rural living wasn’t an issue thanks to the frequent visits. In fact, she was excited to start her journey in Shawville, a place she said she loved growing up in.
Coming from a dancing background, she wanted to keep active and jumped into any sport she could, following the path most Hall of Fame inductees did by competing in multiple activities.
“The great part about Shawville was if it was basketball season it was basketball season. If it was volleyball season it was volleyball season … I am grateful I grew up in a time where you could play any sport that you wanted to,” she said. “The independence that that taught us about just being able to do what you want to do and join a team, they sponsored that and I think that really helps you grow as an athlete, and as a person because you get to play with different people.”
As much as she loved Shawville, she decided she wanted to chase her dreams and visit new horizons. After 10th grade, she reached out to her uncle Bryan Murray — who at the time was the general manager of the NHL’s Washington Capitals — and asked if she could come to live with him and his family. She moved to America’s capital city soon after and completed grades 11 and 12 while there, from which she was recognized in the school’s sports Hall of Fame years later in 1995.
“I knew I had to change my path. Because I dream a lot and I want to achieve things. And obviously they allowed me to do that. And I lived with them for a couple of years. And from that point, I ended up with a scholarship offer to play softball at the University of Maine.”
Coutts and her softball team ended up being crowned champions in the 1984 NCAA Eastern College Athletic Conference and again in 1987. She was named an NCAA Northeast All-American in the same year and in 1993 she was inducted into the university’s sports Hall of Fame.
After her school days were over, she met her husband, Mike, who was a baseball coach. She also took up the mantle of coach and taught softball for a number of years, becoming the school’s head softball coach from 2013 – 2015 and associate athletic director from 2015 – 2019.
Her husband is currently coaching baseball at Coutts’s alma mater, but Coutts herself found yet another path to travel down. After finishing her stint as athletic director, she left her home in Maine to start her current position at the University of Denver’s NCAA Division 1 as deputy director of athletics.
“We made a decision that in order for me to grow more … I needed to take this opportunity. And it’s been okay, obviously with COVID we haven’t been able to see each other,” she explained. “But he’s coaching and loves what he does. Obviously, at some point we’re going to be back together. This is maybe not for everyone but we certainly make things work and we’re adventurous.”
Now that Coutts has worked in an athletic administrative role, she has a new perspective on the encouragement the teachers at PHS had given her and other student athletes. However, it never went unnoticed for her, as their support is something that Coutts cherishes to this day.
“I just remember it always being a very supportive, fun place to be. And I don’t know if everyone can say that about school, but we had the most incredible teachers who had greatly impacted many people,” she said. “Not just from the sports side, our phys. ed. teachers with Mrs. Alexander, Mr. Holmes, Mr. Petty, English teachers, math teachers, Mrs. Conrod. There were so many people that invested in us, all of us. It was just one big group; from friends and teachers, and the support that I felt as a person was amazing.”
Now, she hopes she can use her journey and accomplishments to encourage young athletes that it is possible to get to where you want to be.
“Do things that are not always easy. Get out of your comfort zone. Learn to be comfortable when you’re uncomfortable and know that failure and adversity are part of the journey. If you don’t have it, you’re not going to win,” she said. “I think kids these days try to avoid hard things. Find your own path. Don’t be a follower, be different.”
