McCloskey remembered for positive outlook
Kelly Heydt McCloskey, a Boyertown grad and former lacrosse coach at Alvernia, dies at 49 from cancer
Whenever Bill Stiles or Laura Gingrich would need a dose of optimism during their hectic days at Alvernia, they knew that Kelly McCloskey would provide it.
“When I think of Kelly, I think of her laughter, her smile and her positivity,” said Gingrich, Alvernia’s associate athletic director. “Any time you talked to her about any conflict that you were having or that she was having, she always looked at the bright side of it.”
Kelly Heydt McCloskey, the former Alvernia women’s lacrosse coach for 12 seasons, died Sunday night after battling cancer. She was 49.
McCloskey was a former lacrosse and field hockey standout at Boyertown High School who went on to become a twotime second- team AllAmerican in lacrosse at Temple in 1992-93.
She is survived by her husband, Alvernia chief of staff John McCloskey, the former director of athletics; two sons and one daughter.
“Her most important role and most enduring legacy was that of being a mom,” said Stiles, Alvernia’s athletic director. “That’s what she wanted to talk about the most. She had a spark when she talked about the kids. That’s what makes this unimaginable. Their kids are way too young to be without their mom.”
McCloskey joined Alvernia’s athletic department in 2006 as lacrosse coach and operations manager. She previously had been athletic director, lacrosse coach and field hockey coach at Cedar Crest College and assistant coach in those sports at Cabrini.
Gingrich, Alvernia’s senior women’s administrator, coached against McCloskey in field hockey. When the lacrosse job opened with the Golden Wolves, Gingrich wanted to hire McCloskey. McCloskey’s husband, who was then the AD, wasn’t so sure.
“I knew that she wanted to get out of the administrative role,” Gingrich said. “She just wanted to coach. I told John, ‘She won’t report to you. She’ll report to me.’ I had to twist John’s arm.”
McCloskey guided the Alvernia lacrosse team to a 95-114-1 record, including a school-record 12 wins in 2010 and 2012 and the ECAC title in 2012, before she resigned in 2018. Stiles said her impact on her players went beyond the sport.
“It was much more about the lessons that she taught that will be with them the rest of their lives,” Stiles said, “the things that had nothing to do with lacrosse, the things that are making them better moms and better teachers. That was Kelly’s strength as a coach.”
Stiles said more than once that McCloskey had the proper perspective for a Division III coach and a great appreciation for her job.
“If a student-athlete had something with class or with their family, that was the priority,” he said. “But she was a relentless competitor once she got on the field. I have no doubt that she played that way. She certainly lived that way in terms of being a battler and a fighter.”
Stiles and Gingrich said a light that brightened the Alvernia campus is gone.
“She was so affable and pleasant,” Stiles said about McCloskey. “She really had the right perspective on life. She never took anything too seriously. She always saw the bright side of things. She never got too high. She never got too low.
“After talking with her, I always felt uplifted. She always had a warm smile. She thought she was so fortunate to be able to work with kids every day. She was a great colleague, a great team player and an awesome person.”