VERMONT SPORTS HALL OF FAME

Courtesy: Jette Family

Middlebury

Coach- Field Hockey/Tennis

Inducted 2024

In 37 years as coach of the Middlebury Union High School field hockey team, Gail Jette went from trailblazer to icon to legend as her Tigers — and their famous, winged headbands — piled up wins and championships.

Jette coached at Middlebury from the pre-Title IX era, launching the program in 1964, to the dawn of the 21st century. She built the field hockey program into a bona fide powerhouse by the time she stepped down after the 2000 season, her teams amassing a 372-73-73 record with eight state championships in 16 trips to the Division I title game — both more than any other D-I program at the time. She was featured in Sports Illustrated’s ‘Faces in the Crowd’ in December 1996.

After reaching the field hockey title game in 1970, the first year the VPA sponsored a state championship, her Tigers won her first title in 1971. In her last game, the 2000 state quarterfinals, Brattleboro outlasted Middlebury in a seven-overtime thriller.

Jette also led the Middlebury girl’s tennis program to four Division II state championships in 33 years as coach.

A native of Pennsylvania and a 1958 graduate of West Chester University, Jette was a longtime physical education teacher at Middlebury and served as a ski instructor at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl for more than 35 years. She also served for many years on the town of Middlebury Recreation Advisory Board.

MUHS’s Jette Field and its scoreboard were dedicated in her honor in 1995. She was named to the Northeast Women’s Hall of Fame for advancing the role of women in sports, and was inducted to the VPA Hall of Fame in 2007. 

Jette died in January 2020 at the age of 83.