Field Hockey - Season #1

Our daughter decided to play field hockey this year instead of volleyball. She thought it would provide better conditioning for basketball, and I suspect she also wanted to build friendships with other girls in the school.  While she's never enjoyed soccer or running, sports that best equip girls for field hockey, she certainly has the energy and drive for field hockey. During field hockey came, she received the award for Most Aggressive, which perfectly describes our fierce and tiny but mighty little girls.  Given how many injuries she had as a gymnast who consistently pushed herself too hard, we wondered what we were thinking putting her out on a field with a bunch of girls donning sticks and one hard ball.

It's been brutally hot during practices each day, but she kept pushing hard anyway.  Her face would be beat red and her clothes drenched after practice each day, but she gives her all with passion in whatever she does. That's just how she is, and I understand because I'm the same way.  But she pushed herself too hard.  She came home sick from school the week of the first game complaining of stomach ache, nausea, headache, and sore throat.  So I took her to the doctor, but the swab did not indicate strep.

I told her she needed to rest during her first ever field hockey game that week, but responded as I have for most of my life, "Rest? Who needs rest? I can rest on Saturday." She played hard despite her condition until the last third of the game when the coach (whom she minds better then me apparently) pulled her out.  They lost that game by one point, but they played really well, especially as a middle school team playing against a JV team for an elite private high school that owns almost 150 acres of practice fields. Our Varsity team beat their Varsity team, however, 2 to 0.

She is experiencing some girl drama on this team and is much too hard on herself, but after seeking God's word together over the issues, she is learning to love and pray for those who frustrate her or say mean things about others.

The second game took place yesterday against another JV team.  Our school's middle school field hockey team hasn't scored a single point in two years. At that second game of the season, they played an older JV team (Cape Fear), and won 3-0. Now that's the way to stop a losing streak. Go Lil' Lady Knights!

A talented photographer who is the father of one of the Varsity players and of one of my former students came early to take photos of the middle school game.

Our daughter (#23) gave up competitive gymnastics over 14 months ago, but flying through the air must still be in her system because in over half of the action pics taken at the last field hockey game by Mr. Lindsay, she doesn't have any feet touching the ground.

 

From what I have heard and can tell already, her coach is amazing.  He is much more concerned about their hearts for God, their character, and their relationships than winning games, yet he has been building strong players who are unstoppable by the time they reach Varsity level (9th-12th).