Field hockey faces class imbalance

This season, the field hockey team is facing a difficult challenge. Unlike past years, the team has only two seniors to lead the way.

Those seniors, Anna Ashe and Abby Williams, said that although the team’s lack of seniors has been difficult at times, they believe it works to their advantage.

“I really don’t think the lack of seniors impacts our team negatively,” Williams said. “If anything, I think it is good for the juniors and sophomores on our team. It allows an opportunity for other girls to step up and also allows for more people to get experience on the field.”

Ashe agreed, saying, “Now that we’re almost done with preseason, the team has come together more, and there isn’t really a hierarchy.”

Both seniors agree that their duties of running summer practices were made more difficult by the lack of seniors to help them.

“It put a [large] load onto both of us to make sure practices went well,” Williams said. “Someone was able to coordinate the practices, though the juniors stepped up and helped out if there was a day where neither of [co-captains Williams, Ashe or junior Hannah Johnson] could make it.”

Williams said because she is one of two seniors, she puts more pressure on herself to play her best.
“I feel like I need to step up to make up for the fact that there are less seniors to be there for the other girls,” Williams said.

Coach Leaf Huynh believes that the lack of seniors is not a problem.

“The absence of seniors may affect the overall tone and having that ‘senior drive,’ that sense of urgency, since seniors know and feel it’s their last high school hoorah,” Huynh said. “We have two great seniors as captains and a junior captain who are all learning to help build their team confidence and self-confidence within their underclassmen.”

Huynh said that because younger players have gotten more playing time, the team has a bright future.

“Experience will always be a great asset in the years to come,” Huynh said.

Preseason went well, but the hardest part is yet to come as the league games are beginning. As of Sept. 20, the team had a preseason record of 3-0-1.