Being part of a sport that you love is amazing. Over the years, your love for the game blossoms and your hard work and dedication shine through. Countless hours of practice and running begin to pay off. Your dreams become within reach, and eventually you achieve them.
One day in eighth grade, I decided that I was going to play this sport called field hockey. I knew that there was a lot of running involved and therefore, I was down to play. At the time, I spent most of my time playing softball. I wanted to find a sport that would help me stay in shape during the fall, especially in high school.
Of course, we ran the first day of practice, and I actually liked it. I have the heart of a runner, after all. As practices went on and got more involving, my love for the sport grew. However, I began to become one of the better players. I am not one to praise myself, but I could tell that I was just as good as the other girls, and it was only my first year. Of course, there are always politics involved in whatever sport you play, especially in middle and high school sports. Since some of the girls moms were the coaches, I was not placed on the “A” team because I was new. I was placed on the “B” team.
Being on the “B” team was fun, because I became good friends with the girls and I just got to play. I ended up scoring a lot of goals and I was able to play any position. As the season went on, I began to notice that I was good enough to play on the “A” team. But I was not going to let this deter me from playing the game.
The August before my freshman year approached, and it was time to try out for the field hockey team. Honestly, I was just hoping to be able to be a part of the team so I would be able to condition all the time. we ran on the first day and of course, I crushed it. We started to do more skill work and game play as the preseason went on. On the first couple days, I was placed with the Junior Varsity (JV) girls. JV would be on one side, and Varsity would be on the other. As we did a shooting drill on the cage, the varsity coach turned around when she heard the loud thump on the backboard after I shot the ball. Soon after this, she called me over to the Varsity side.
Of course, I was very nervous because having a freshman practice with the varsity team was rare. The days went by and I still stayed on the Varsity team. As the first game approached I was not sure if I was even going to play at all. Before the first game, we all huddled up to hear the starting line up. I was shocked to hear that I was the starting right back (defense).
Every game, I would look for my dad in the stands because I knew that he was always there to support me. He was also my toughest critic. If I had a good game he was sure to tell me, but if I had a crappy game he was sure to tell me that as well. By watching me play over the years and driving me to tournaments, he was able to know the game extremely well. He knew that I wanted to play in college, and in order to make that happen he knew that I had to up my game to the next level.
He would spend countless hours at the field with me practicing my skills. He would also give me workouts to do that would make me in better shape. So when I had to run on the field for 60 minutes without a break, I wouldn't be winded.
As the season went on, I continued to develop my skills and my love for the game. I was still focused on the spring, however, which was softball season.
Fast forward to the next fall, and we would all be left heartbroken to hear that our coach would not be returning. I was very sad to see Coach Rothman go, because she was the one who taught me most of what I know about the game. I can truly say she is the one that has developed me into the player that I am today.
The next fall season, we would all have to work twice as hard to prove to new coach that we deserved a spot on the team. As the practices went on, I found that my hard work was paying off, and I earned a starting spot on the varsity team. I started to get really serious, in that I started to realize that I wanted to play in college.
Since I wanted to play in college, I knew that I needed join a club team. I found a local club team and played indoor there. The practices were very intense, but they challenged me to become a better player. My first club team taught me a lot, but I wanted to play on a team that was closer to home. I searched long and hard, and found a team that was closer, but I was also familiar with the coach. He was one of the best known coaches in northern New Jersey. My club coach, Steve, has taught me so much about the game, from tactics to just basic skills. By joining his club team, I have taken my skill up a whole notch.
Being on a club team helped me make my dream of playing college field hockey into a reality. I was recruited by several coaches, who would all email me saying that they saw me at this tournament and that tournament. However, my dream school was Ithaca College. I contacted the coach and was able to visit campus to talk to the coach, and see what their program and the school itself had to offer. After many visits and interactions with the team, I decided that I would continue my education as well as my collegiate field hockey career at Ithaca College. Even though it is only Division III (D3), I'm are playing with some of the best players around.
Although you work just as hard as a D1 or D2 team, you do not get any athletic scholarships to play D3. We are always practicing or conditioning and so far we have only had a week off. Over the breaks, we don't really have any rest. We are expected to be doing some sort of workout, consisting of weightlifting and conditioning. We are some of the hardest working athletes around. Being a college athlete has really made me value my friendships with my teammates, and I have made some of my best friends through this sport.
Not only do I love the game of field hockey, but I also how it teaches me life lessons along the way. It has taught me what the definitions of hard work and dedication really are. Coming into college, the players are just as good as you and you know that. Therefore, you have to work twice as hard as everyone else to really stand out and show what you have to offer. But it is not about how good each individual is, it is about how well the team works as a unit. It's a team effort, not an individual effort.
