(Photo by Joaquin Martinez).
This season, seventh and eighth graders had a chance to dribble down the field, pass the ball to teammates, and defend against opponents in field hockey. They played five games against different high school and middle school teams. Although many people were inexperienced in the sport, as practice went on, each person was able to improve.
“The biggest strength of our team is definitely being able to be encouraging even at the worst of times.” said eighth grader Vanessa Zuber-Boldin. A reason the field hockey team had such a rough season is because the girls have been competing against mostly high school teams and teams who were more experienced. “The team’s biggest struggle is having to learn the game because the girls vary in knowledge on the field,” said JJ Jokinen, the coach of the field hockey team.
The girls have improved throughout the season and have faced many tough challenges that they have had to work hard to overcome. “Originally our team was very dysfunctional and unorganized, but as we moved along we began to have more of a understanding of the game and each other,” said Zuber-Boldin.
A great game for the team was when they got the chance to play people at their age level. “It was a good experience for the girls and I was thankful I was able to give them an opportunity to have the girls play at the same competition level,” said Coach JJ.
The girls came out to win their game 2-0 against Francis Holland School, at Francis Holland on the September. “This was definitely a turning point for the 21 girls and gave them motivation to keep trying their best each game,” said Coach JJ.
Although the other games during the season ended with losses, the spirit of the team was always there. “Even at our worst moments on the field you have someone on the sidelines ready to cheer you on,” said eighth grader Amber De Saint-Exupery.
Even though the girls didn’t have the most competitive season due to the age difference on the opposing team, they always found a way to keep their heads held high and have great sportsmanship.
“The field hockey team became a big family for me even though I wasn’t familiar with some of them when the season first started,” said Zuber-Boldin.
Although the season had many different obstacles in the way, the girls were able to improve themselves in the game, and as teammates. They didn’t let tough games bring them down and encouraged all of the team to try their best even in situations that we’re hard. “Even though our season was challenging, we didn’t let that get in the way of a good time,” said Coach JJ.
