Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Yates.
Hi Kelly, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
42 years ago I came home from college ( graduated from southwest Missouri state University in 1980. We were the Division 2 national champions for field hockey. I was coming back to St. Louis and wanted to continue growing the sport. Things moved fast as I coached/ taught at Kirkwood and then one year later started coaching field hockey at St. Louis University. At that time I had the idea of developing summer camps in cities with limited fh opportunities. So I hired coaches from different colleges/ high schools/ former Olympian Mary Koboldt( my best friend) and international young people who would travel all summer with Gateway putting on camps in these different cities Our motto was Gateway Firld hockey Camps- The camp that Drives to you”. Off we went to Kansas City, Chicago, Brookfield WI, Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, Denver, and of course St Louis. We introduced the game to thousands of girls over the summers.
Then when my daughters got older and went to college to play field hockey they would work the camps with me and some of their friends. Kate Graft now is our head coach and director. Meg Larkin lives in Lawrence Kansas and was awarded the 2025 NFHCA Junior Coach of the year for her new program
Throughout the 30 years of camps, we started the Gateway fh classic tournament for hs teams. This is year 28 and we are the largest and oldest hs event in the country. It is help at Sportport in Maryland heights over Labor Day weekend.
Gateway also provides leagues for girls and some boys for ages 3- high school. Our mini stick program ( ages 3-6) has grown 100 percent in the past 10 years because of the amount of kids whose moms played in our club or in high school.
Gateway also has a full year Elite Club program for u 19, U16, u14, u 12 and u 10. Currently our club in number 1 in St. Louis and has an overall ranking of number 5 in the country over three age levels at National Events.
We have two full time staff members Lynsey Porter and Zoe Adkins along with Kate and myself running the club, tournaments and all the events. We also have about 50 coaches and 30 officials who work throughout the year in our programs
Gateway has helped over 600 girls in 42 years continue playing in college. Many of our girls come back and coach after college.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The love of field hockey and my excitement watching my daughters and so many others has kept the road to our success smooth and steady. We continue everyday to give players opportunities at a high level
As you know, we’re big fans of Gateway Field Hockey Club . For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
As I mentioned in the first question. Gateway Field Hockey is a Family Owned Sports club for 42 years. We are the largest and oldest club in St. Louis and Nationally. We are very proud of our long tradition of success on and off the field. Many players have played throughout high school and college. Field Hockey is predominately a girls sport in the USA but we do have boys. We had two 9 year old boys who played last week at The Junior Olympics
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
All business take time and preserverance. We treat players like family and with kindness. There are many levels of players that are involved with our club and we try to get to know all of them and show them we care.
Pricing:
- All pricing is based on the programs they are interested in and would need to view The gateway website registration to see the events.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gatewayfieldhockey.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gatewayfieldhockey/
- Facebook: Gateway field hockey
