Additional reporting by Shar Rahman
School may have started on Aug. 15, but field hockey players at MVHS showed up to campus much earlier for the sake of their sport. Varsity coach Denise Eachus held a summer camp open to anyone interested in field hockey, and many members of MVHS varsity field hockey team met three nights per week in the month prior to the first day of school.https://gfycat.com/SkeletalColorfulAegeancat
According to junior Sara Nordby, who plays on varsity, many of the players also play for a club team called San Jose Fly, but her primary source of training was Eachus’ camp. Many of the players who did not attend this camp chose to exclusively train in San Jose fly or other ways to strengthen themselves.
Senior Oeishi Banerjee has played on San Jose Fly since her freshman year, and she trained with the club to improve her skills individually.
“Small group training under [the club coach] is almost like individual attention,” Banerjee said. “I play field hockey for fun. At the same time, I’m after that feeling of accomplishment that I can’t really just give up and be mediocre.”
Many freshmen start playing field hockey the summer before they start high school. Nordby believes that because most people start with a similar level of experience, it promotes team bonding.
“With field hockey, because you’re all starting in a similar place it’s not as much of a hierarchy,” Nordby said.
https://gfycat.com/ValuableVigilantAmericanlobster
The bonding activities that the team does has helped some players more than others, like junior Christina Nguyen, who started playing field hockey as a freshman and has played on the junior varsity team for two years. Nguyen believes that the bonding they do as a team helps them play better on the field and stay more connected. This year, Nguyen is playing on the varsity team after countless hours of hard work and team bonding.
https://gfycat.com/TeemingInfamousAntarcticgiantpetrel
“We do a lot of passes, and you have to trust your teammates on the field to always be there and to have your back when you need them,” Nguyen said.
In addition, the coaches tell the players to consider themselves one team, as opposed to separate divisions of JV and V. The goal of theirbonding is to make new players feel less intimidated and ultimately more welcome.
“The emphasis in field hockey is not on JV or varsity, except for games of course,” Banerjee said. “It’s field hockey as a whole. We’re always a team.”
