Indiana University Athletics
Diverse Field Hockey Team Comes Together
10/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 7, 2009
Courtesy of IUHoosiers.com contributor Jeremy Rosenthal
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - One might be hard pressed to find something in common between California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Amsterdam and Zimbabwe, but on the IU field hockey team such a relationship exists.
The states, cities and countries represent where various members of the team grew up.
Freshman Hannah Boyer, a native of Louisville, Ky., said she visited many Big Ten schools when deciding where to play field hockey in college. Boyer ultimately choose IU in large part due to the diversity and the way the team embraced their differences and got along so well. "You can have a one-on-one conversation with anyone and feel like they are your best friend," Boyer said.
This year it seems like the team chemistry has transferred onto the field, where the Hoosiers (7-4) have already equaled their win total from last season.
IU head coach Amy Robertson said last weekend was a turning point for her team. The Hoosiers beat an Iowa team, who outscored them 11-3 in two games a year ago, including a loss that ended their season at the Big Ten Tournament.
When the 2008 season came to an end senior captain Meg O'Connell said there was a sense of disappointment, but also motivation for the future.
"When the season ended we were all upset, but we knew it was going to take a lot of hard work, so all spring we put in hours and hours," she said. "We have never worked that hard."
Robertson, who is in her 10th season leading the program, called the spring of 2009 the best spring she has had with the Hoosiers. She said the players became more accountable to each other and started to hold the value of the team as more important then the individual.
In addition to the sprints and fitness tests the team endured on the field, they were becoming much closer off the field.
When it came time to report for the preseason, before classes started, the group ventured out to Bradford Woods to take part in a team building retreat and ropes course. Other activities have included taking boats on Lake Monroe, scavenger hunts, photo contests and talent shows. One night the team and the coaches enjoyed a trip to the movie theatre to watch The Time Traveler's Wife.
O'Connell said she has had a lot of fun with her teammates and doesn't want to see the season end.
"When we're on the field we are friends," she said. "When we're off the field we are friends. I think it's really special what our team has. We are always talking and hanging out. I think it's unique. It's fun."
O'Connell's older sister Kate has the distinction of having played on the most successful team in the history of IU field hockey. In 2005 the Hoosiers finished with an overall record of 17-5. The team upset No. 5 ranked North Carolina and advanced to the elite eight of the NCAA tournament before falling to the then three-time defending national champion Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
O'Connell said the team was great to watch that year and since she committed to play for IU that year, she was hosted by the team on her official visit.
That season was the last time the Hoosiers advanced to the NCAA tournament.
O'Connell said watching her sister's team made her want to achieve that success, but she still has some unfinished business in her last year at IU.
"It was really motivating and I was excited to come to this school," O'Connell said. "Unfortunately that was the last year they made NCAA's, so we are going to try to make an appearance this year because it's been too long."
If the Hoosiers are going to make it back to the NCAA tournament it will be in large part due to their discipline, worth ethic and coming together as a team.
Robertson said all the fun things the players enjoy doing off the field bring them closer on the field.
"It brings you together," she said. "It gives you a little pride about a certain tradition or ritual that you have that no one else has. It reminds you that the team is more important then you are."
