Field Hockey to enter playoffs, ranked second in state
Teamwork. The one word that comes to mind when spectators peer over the Regis Jesuit field hockey teams. Adrenaline pumps through the players bodies as the sun beats down on them and beads of sweat roll down their faces. Their sticks strike one another. The players work together in order to make the best possible plays. Teamwork.
Field hockey is a competitive sport played on a turf field or indoor board surface. The team here at Regis Jesuit high school practices fives days a week and competes one to two times a week. Not only does the team create a camaraderie through pre-game lunches, they also rely on their own personal chants. Their chants elevate their motivation to do their best and increases their enthusiasm.
Although the team is highly competitive, competition is not about out performing their teammate, but working together to improve each others’ skills. It’s about teamwork and what an individual can contribute to building an encouraging, competitive and successful team. This mindset has worked well for them this season as they finished second in the state, higher than ever before, and are headed into playoffs with high hopes.
Senior Claire Stemper is Regis Jesuit’s varsity goalie and one of the team captains.
“She is a major part of the team,” says fellow teamate, Georgia Ray ‘17. “She is more of the backbone of the team. She is a really good communicator.”
Since Claire is the goalie, she has a view of the entire field and is able to call out commands to her teammates during their games. Without her, the team wouldn’t be unified.
Team captains Claire Stemper ‘16 and Lindsey Reich ‘17 gave their insight on the team. According to the two of them, the best part of field hockey is the team. There is never a bad atmosphere.
Reich added, “We are all so close…Especially this year, the team seems more unified and more supportive of each other. Not just of our separate teams, but the whole program.” The closeness of the team engages the girls and helps them actually want to work hard for not only themselves, but for each other.
The field hockey players are supportive and positive in regards to the team. Why? Reich explains it as being“a great competitive community, but it’s a healthy competition,” Stemper chipped in, “It’s nice that we are not in competition with each other. No one is trying to beat the girl next to them for playing time.” They are all just trying to make each other better.
The individual players have to contribute to the teamwork element in order to come together and win as a team. They pass the ball to each other because they know what teamwork is, they know their common goal, and they work together to achieve that. This is teamwork. And we know it can carry them all the way to state championships on Halloween night.
