Revere’s Coach O’Donnell: doubling wins and earning GBL coach of the year

By Dom Nicastro

4, 7, 15. Those are the number of wins in each of the first three seasons of Megan O’Donnell’s career as the varsity softball coach at Revere High School.

This spring, the team went 15-5, more than doubling its win total from 2023. They made it to the state tournament, where they lost to Shrewsbury in the opening round. This performance earned O’Donnell the Greater Boston League Coach of the Year award. We caught up with O’Donnell to discuss her background in sports and her passion for coaching.

O’Donnell, 39, lives in Everett and has played sports her entire life. She played college softball and soccer at Regis College and takes pride in being an aunt to a niece and a nephew. She graduated from Everett High School in 2003, where she played field hockey, basketball, girls’ hockey, and softball.

In college, she started all four years for Regis College and played on a Junior USA softball team in Italy in 2004. Her softball teams won three Greater Boston League titles and made the tournament all four years. She played on the first girls’ hockey team, which finished 15-6-1 and reached the semifinals of the state tournament. O’Donnell played field hockey for two years and was part of the first team in 15 years to make the state tournament.

O’Donnell began coaching high school sports in December of 2007 with the JV basketball team at EHS. That fall, she coached soccer, then moved on to basketball and softball. She later became the high school girls’ hockey assistant coach. In 2013, she started coaching softball at Weston High School and began coaching soccer at Revere High School that fall. She continued coaching soccer at RHS through 2023 and also coached two years of RHS girls’ lacrosse.

“What motivates me to coach is giving back to the student-athletes and trying to get their best effort in any sport,” she said. “What makes coaching worth it? Seeing the girls grow as individuals in the classroom and on the field, and also watching them grow as individuals and seeing their strengths. Watching the athletes grow on the field and seeing their confidence grow with them, and watching the student-athletes form a bond with each other is another great moment as a coach. Watching a player accomplish something they never thought they could is awesome to watch.”

The Revere coaching community has gotten a lot closer over the years, as the coaches aim for all programs to succeed and thrive, according to O’Donnell.

“Having each coach support each other shows the athletes that we care about all teams, not just a few teams,” she said.

O’Donnell added that she is always proud of her teams no matter the season outcome because, “if you can have a few learning moments during the year and the students learn and grow from different situations, that is a huge success for coaches.”

Regarding coaching mentors, O’Donnell’s father had a significant impact on why becoming a coach was important to her, as he dedicated so much time to her and her sister.

“My parents are still my biggest support in my coaching career,” she said. “Stacy Schaivo, the EHS girls’ softball coach, has also had a big impact on my coaching career because as a player, she taught us that hard work and dedication will lead to success. Stacy also took a leap of faith in me and gave me my first softball coaching job at EHS, and we are still close to this day and rely on each other for advice.”

O’Donnell has stepped down as the RHS girls’ soccer coach due to time commitments. She felt that the girls were not getting her best coaching, and as a coach, you always want to give your athletes your best since that’s what you expect from them, she added.

“I had a great time coaching over the last 10 years,” she said. “We had a ton of ups and downs, and I just hope all the girls that I coached take the life lessons out of the sport and become successful in life. In 2025, the softball team should be very good if everyone comes back, and we are looking to make moves in the GBL.”