Just a heads up, this isn't really too much of an ode, but I didn't know what else to call it.

So I know that field hockey isn’t the most popular sport in the United States, but it is actually one of the top 5 most popular team sports in the world! It is even the national sport for some countries, like in Pakistan and unofficially in India. In basically every other country other than here, men play it too! For anyone who has ever seen a game, I know how confusing it can be, especially with all the random whistle-blowing. I’ve been playing for 8 years and my parents still don’t know all the rules.

I started playing field hockey my freshmen year of high school because a) almost all of my friends played it, b) I am a low-key competitive person and c) I wanted to be active and play on a team. So, on a steamy hot day in August, that started my first hell week. To put it simply, I was pretty horrible because I had no stick skills and had no idea of the rules or positions in the game. For the first few days, I questioned why I was still there trying out, especially when we had to run perimeters around the school. To be honest, I almost quit; but my dad sat me down and told me that I would regret not following through with this commitment and that with practice I would get better. So, I pushed through. One day the coach asked if there was anyone that wanted to try being a goalie. I raised my hand real quickly because I knew that you didn’t need great stick skills to be a goalie and because I was a goalie for one season in middle school (which made me a pro, obviously). From that day on, the cage was my new home and my team, my second family. By my senior year, I was on the starting varsity goalie for 3 years and won a few awards.

I knew that I didn’t want to stop "fhocking" around after graduation, so I looked at schools where I could keep playing the sport that I love. I did an overnight here at Springfield with the field hockey team and as soon as I stepped on campus and met the team, I knew that this is where I would be going. Continuing to play field hockey and coming to go to Springfield has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. My teammates became my second family and my first friends here because we were here early for preseason and are together 24/7. Three years later and I have not regretted playing (ok, well maybe when we had to run the hybrid. If you don’t know what that is, you’re lucky). Seriously though, my teammates are some of my best friends and if I ever get married, they will all be at my wedding. So, to all my past, current, and future teammates, thank you for being there and for helping me become a better person on and off the field.