Feb. 6, 2008

BERKELEY - California field hockey head coach Shellie Onstead, who has previously worked with the U.S. men's national team programs, is now an assistant coach with the U.S. women's national team. The Golden Bears' 13th year head coach will help the U.S. women try to qualify for the Beijing Olympics this summer.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for me as a coach and for the Cal program in the big picture," Onstead said. "To be immersed in a pre-Olympic program is like continuing education for me. I credit Athletic Director Sandy Barbour with the vision to facilitate this as well as the support of my assistant coaches."

In recent weeks, Onstead has been commuting to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., spending two to three days a week with the national team. She spends the rest of the week with the Bears in Berkeley.

The six-time NorPac Conference Coach of the Year is still in charge of USA Field Hockey's High Performance Center for the West region. The ultimate goal of the nation's six High Performance Centers is to produce men's and women's athletes who move on to the U.S. national and junior national squads.

Onstead, who joined the women's national team on a recent trip to Argentina, will travel with the national team to Japan in March for its last tuneup before its Olympic qualifying tournament, which will be held April 19-26 in Kazan, Russia.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics open on Aug. 8.