Field Hockey, Track
Favorite athlete: Serena Williams
Favorite team: I love any Philly team because of the energy and atmosphere of the city.
Favorite memory competing in sports: Winning the division in field hockey this year.
Funniest/most embarrassing thing that has happened while competing in sports: A bird pooped on my head during a game.
Music on playlist: My favorite song to listen to before a game is “Applause” by Lady Gaga
Future plans: Attend Kutztown University for special/elementary education while playing field hockey
Words to live by: “You only live once.”
One goal before turning 30: Earn a master’s degree in special education and possibly be a field hockey coach!
One thing people don’t know about me: I’m a vegetarian.
By Mary Jane Souder
Kiera Gallagher, according to coach Jason Anderson, just ‘gets it.’
Exactly what the Quakertown track coach means by that could be summed up in a simple example.
“Kiera wants to be a teacher, and I have to say – I’ve never met a young person who was better suited for that profession,” Anderson said. “During practice, you have group things going on, you’re coaching, and all of a sudden you want people to partner. Kiera is so good – she always picks the new little freshman who looks scared, and she immediately understands the situation.
“It’s happened a couple of times where I’m trying to clumsily do that – ‘Come over here, young person,’ and Kiera just automatically does it. It’s really cool to see. She understands what people are going through and thinking. She immediately notices someone who could use a little bit of attention.”
The Quakertown senior is not a track star – as a matter of fact she’s never won a race. It’s on the hockey field that Gallagher excels, earning first team all-league honors and signing to continue her career at the Division 2 level at Kutztown University.
Track is something Gallagher does to stay in shape for field hockey, and it’s pretty clear that she brings that same inclusive approach to the sport that is her passion. Mention her name to coach MacKenzie Moser, a late hire the end of Gallagher’s sophomore year, and she immediately recalls her first contact with the senior captain.
“The day the school board approved it, I actually got an email from her right away. She was like, ‘Hi, I’m Kiera….,’” Moser said. “She wasn’t coming across as demanding or aggressive. She wasn’t like – ‘It needs to be this way.’ She was just really passionate about the sport. (The players) had no idea who was going to be the coach. They were kind of lost – what are we going to do in the offseason? When they heard there was a coach, Kiera was on it and was like, ‘Hey, I just want to introduce myself.’ It speaks volumes that at such a young age she was reaching out.
Gallagher was a key part of Quakertown’s remarkable turnaround from a winless season three years ago when she was a freshman to co-champions of the SOL Liberty Division as a senior.
“She’s a team player – ‘it’s not just me, I’m in the spotlight,’’” Kramer said. “She’s the first person to say, ‘That was an awesome score, just congratulating her teammates, never taking in the spotlight.”
A passion for sports
Kiera Gallagher grew up playing soccer as part of what she calls a ‘big soccer family.’ Field hockey entered the picture by happenstance.
“My neighbor started playing field hockey, and I started playing in my backyard, and I fell in love with it,” said Gallagher, who played soccer, basketball and lacrosse through elementary school. “Once I realized I really loved field hockey – when I hit high school, I started focusing on just that.”
The standout midfielder says she learned to love the sport because of “the communication, teamwork, speed and tactical skills required.”
“It was something that was new and exciting for me, and I was ready to jump in,” Gallagher said. “I think my coaches putting so much time and effort into me made me realize that I have potential and should stick with it.”
As a freshman in the COVID shortened season, Gallagher saw a significant varsity playing time.
“I would say I played 50-60 percent of every game,” she said. “I was definitely happy with it, but I knew I had competition if I wanted to start playing longer.
“We didn’t win any games my freshman year if I remember correctly. It was every other team’s turn – they were a lot more skilled than us, but I think every good athlete needs a season they don’t win every game because it makes you want to win more.”
Gallagher does remember correctly. The Panthers were 0-10-1 in that shortened season. The turnaround began in earnest the following year when they were 9-9-1 and earned a berth as the 21st out of 24 teams in the District 1 3A Tournament.
That season was followed with yet another transition when a new coach came onto the scene.
“Junior year was kind of like a fresh start,” Gallagher said. “(Coach Moser) was newer to our school, so I wanted her to feel welcomed, and I also knew we’d had a lot of coaching changes in the past, and I was eager to get the season started.
“I was a little anxious – it’s brand new, I want to make a good impression. I didn’t even know where I could find her in the school to talk to her, so I just thought I would reach out and explain a little about myself.”
As a junior, Gallagher was a major contributor for a squad that once again earned a spot in districts – this time seeded 15th – but, for the second time in as many years, lost in the first round.
By this time, Gallagher was a veteran of the hockey travel circuit as a member of the Souderton Strikers, and that June, she committed to continue her career at Kutztown.
“I knew that I loved the sport so much, and I definitely wanted to continue playing,” Gallagher said. “With Kutztown, I love the team atmosphere, I love the program that I’m going into.”
Although track is Gallagher’s second sport, Anderson is just happy to have her on board.
“She’s always asking me – ‘Is it okay if I leave’ when she has something for field hockey, and I’m like ‘My gosh, I’m just glad you’re part of the program,’” he said.
Initially, Gallagher competed in the 800-meter run. As for switching to mile last year, that – according to Anderson – was something of a joke.
“I said, ‘Who wants to run the mile’” the Panthers’ coach said. “Kiera got out there, and as it turns out, the other team was a little bit light, so she got second place and helped us win the meet and was a big hero. Someone like that, you’re really excited to see them feel good about the sport that you’re doing together.”
Last fall, the field hockey team had a banner season. Not only were the Panthers co-champs of their division, they were the 10th seed in districts and notched a 6-0 first round win over Council Rock North.
“When I reflected on the season this year, we were co-champs of our divisions, and It’s crazy that it went from nothing to something,” said Gallagher, who battled a hamstring injury for the final part of her senior season. “It was the first injury in my sports career that I had to sit out, and because of that, it took me some adjusting to understand that I can’t always be playing.
“It made me view the game differently – to not take any practices or games lightly because you never know when it’s your last.”
Although Gallagher will be gone when preseason workouts roll around this fall, her impact will not be forgotten.
“She is a very good field hockey player, and she’s an all-around good human being,” Moser said. “When I took over the position, she reached out to me and was talking about summer camps. Kiera said something about Kutztown, and she wanted to play there.
“We went there to camp last year, and we actually won. We definitely want to go back – it was a great experience. Kiera stepping up like that, it’s just one of the many moments that stands out to me. She’s a great leader. On and off the field, she’s a really good kid.”
A future destined to be special
When it came time to pick a career path, Gallagher didn’t have to think long and hard. She plans to follow in the footsteps of her mother, Patricia Gallagher, who is a learning support teacher at Souderton.
“I spent the summers with her in ESY (Extended School Year), and I kind of fell in love with it myself, and our school does Career Pathways, so I was able to do a field study at (Trumbauersville) Elementary School in their life skills room last year, and I just fell in love with it,” Gallagher said. “I always knew teaching was something I wanted to do, and when I explored the special ed program – I was set on that. This year I’m doing another field study at the high school, and it’s honestly the highlight of my day.”
The field study, which counts as a class credit, gives Gallagher an opportunity to assist the teacher in the classroom.
“This year I’m in the life skills math class, so I’ll do a lot of the white board writing as the teacher speaks, and I’m able to work 1-on-1 with students as they do individual work, so that’s really cool,” she said. “It’s fascinating to see the difference between the high school level and the elementary level – realizing I’d be happy at either level in the future.”
Moser - a health and physical education teacher at the high school – had an opportunity to observe Gallagher in action.
“I teach our adaptive program,” Moser said. “My first year of teaching that last year - she actually came in and helped me. She would show up in her free time and help with the kids. She’s very involved in that. She’s very passionate about it.”
Gallagher is involved in Quakertown’s Best Buddies program and is part of student council. She also excels in the classroom and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is enrolled in two classes – Sociology and Interpersonal Communication - at Bucks County Community College.
The very definition of a student-athlete, Gallagher will be missed for much more than her contributions on the hockey field and track.
“It's been two short years since Kiera sent me that email,” Moser said. “Her mom is the booster club president, so I’ve become very close with her family. She’s like my own kid. She’s just an overall good athlete, good person - she’s a really great kid.”
“She just gets it - it’s not an act,” Anderson said. “I’m just constantly taken by how easy it is for her.
“Cheerleader is not the word but she’s just an encourager. That’s part of the whole – ‘I see that you’re not partnered.’ It’s so uncanny how she almost knows as we’re dividing up – that person’s not going to have someone, so all the popular girls – which she is – are immediately coalescing, and she’s immediately across the track to the person who might not have someone. She’s just a great person.”
