I’ve been a field hockey and lacrosse writer with about 36 years’ worth of experience. While the imperative for a journalist is to pay attention to what is going on between the lines between the first whistle and the final horn, valuable insights can be gained in observing what happens both before and after the match.
I’ve seen interesting things in pregame, such as the one time at a doubleheader back in the mid-90s when a team arriving at the site of competition for the second game didn’t sit together as a team: two of the seniors sat apart from the rest of the group under a tree away from the rest. That told me a lot: the team lost its final game of the season on that day.
So, I saw a lot yesterday at the Villa Maria-Hill showdown, and it was more than just the excellent players on the pitch, in this ritual called field hockey. If you come early to a Pottstown Hill School (Pa.) game, you’ll see a pregmae warmup executed differently from every other team in the nation, starting from they way they stretch while taking to the field, to their passing and shooting exercises.
The warmups aren’t only different in their design, but their execution. In their passing drills, where they break off into groups of four or groups of six and execute passes in a small box marked off by field markers, they don’t lose the ball. It’s as thought the ball is magnetically attracted to the Hill sticks.
I also saw something after the game that you’re seeing much more of, especially as club play has increased in importance the last three decades. At the scorer’s table after, there were the usual post-game handshake. But for several minutes afterwards, groups of players from both teams were breaking off in duos and trios in a series of conversations permeated with hugs and, believe it or not, social media posts.
Many of these players are club teammates, especially with the local WC Eagles side which has dominated the national scene since their founding. A number of players on both sides have participated in national-level tournaments together and have even worn U.S. colors at the age-group or indoor national team levels. Though these players were rivals for the day, they have developed strong friendships.
These relationships will serve them well throughout their lives in the game of field hockey, something which goes far beyond any box score, game story, or college roster.
And who knows? If you save the rosters from these two teams, you might see the outline of a U.S. team at the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.
