Indiana University Athletics
Lorite Embracing New Role on Offense
9/3/2015 10:44:00 AM | Field Hockey
The senior transitioned from three years on defense, and has already made an impact
All her life, Karen Lorite was a defender.
She grew up a defender. She was recruited as a defender. In her first three seasons at Indiana, the Spaniard made 51 appearances for the Hoosiers on defense and had no reason to expect anything different in her senior season.
Then first-year head coach Amanda Janney arrived. After watching Lorite in practice, Janney decided she had the potential to make a bigger impact on the offensive end of the field.
Suddenly, one of IU's leading defenders was moving to forward in her final season in Bloomington.
"It was really weird," Lorite said. "It's clearly something I didn't do in the past."
Weird or not, the unexpected move has already paid off.
In her first game at her new position last weekend against Missouri State, Lorite scored two goals in helping Indiana to a 5-1 win to begin the season. Though she was quick to pass off credit to her teammates, Janney said Lorite has been a natural fit up top.
"She's got really good game instincts," Janney said. "I think where she was playing, she was able to distribute well and make some good passes, but seeing her dribble through people and allowing her to have that creativity on the front line just puts her in a better position."
The transition wasn't as seamless as it seemed, Lorite said. She leaned on her teammates and Janney at practice early and often when she made the move to forward.
The biggest obstacle to overcome was a change in mentality, Lorite said. On defense, she was in a low-risk position where she was expected to follow Indiana's game plan and avoid critical mistakes.
Now on offense, Lorite's mindset has been flipped. If she's not taking risks, she's not getting open.
"I think that's been the biggest difference," Lorite said. "It's kind of hard to make that transition to, okay, now I'm a forward. I have to take that risk to score. It was weird, but I do like to score just like any other field hockey player."
Lorite said her experience on the defensive end has helped make her a bigger offensive threat. She understands what defenders are thinking and what they're trying to do to stop her and can remember the types of things forwards did that worked against her.
Lorite said there's actually more similarities between forward and defender than people would expect. She still sees herself as first in the line of defenders and has taken to her new role without any complaints.
"Karen's a very selfless team player," Janney said. "I think she's willing to do anything to help the team and right now she's doing a good job up there. As a hockey player, you just need to learn to adjust and adapt and do your best wherever the team needs you."
Lorite's position change and ensuing success is a reflection of Janney's coaching philosophy that all players should be comfortable playing everywhere on the field.
Claire Woods, a freshman who is now playing in the midfield, arrived in Bloomington as a forward. Like Lorite, she's been forced to learn a new position and has impressed Janney so far.
And although she wouldn't have expected it, Lorite has suddenly emerged as one of Indiana's leading scoring threats in her fourth and final season as a Hoosier. The former-defender has found a comfortable spot at forward and only expects to continue to grow as the season goes on.
"Karen's been a great leader, and she's one who leads kind of by example on the field and the way she trains and the way that she scores," Lorite said. "She's very competitive, and we've kind of seen that come out in her in the front of the line."
She grew up a defender. She was recruited as a defender. In her first three seasons at Indiana, the Spaniard made 51 appearances for the Hoosiers on defense and had no reason to expect anything different in her senior season.
Then first-year head coach Amanda Janney arrived. After watching Lorite in practice, Janney decided she had the potential to make a bigger impact on the offensive end of the field.
Suddenly, one of IU's leading defenders was moving to forward in her final season in Bloomington.
"It was really weird," Lorite said. "It's clearly something I didn't do in the past."
Weird or not, the unexpected move has already paid off.
In her first game at her new position last weekend against Missouri State, Lorite scored two goals in helping Indiana to a 5-1 win to begin the season. Though she was quick to pass off credit to her teammates, Janney said Lorite has been a natural fit up top.
"She's got really good game instincts," Janney said. "I think where she was playing, she was able to distribute well and make some good passes, but seeing her dribble through people and allowing her to have that creativity on the front line just puts her in a better position."
The transition wasn't as seamless as it seemed, Lorite said. She leaned on her teammates and Janney at practice early and often when she made the move to forward.
The biggest obstacle to overcome was a change in mentality, Lorite said. On defense, she was in a low-risk position where she was expected to follow Indiana's game plan and avoid critical mistakes.
Now on offense, Lorite's mindset has been flipped. If she's not taking risks, she's not getting open.
"I think that's been the biggest difference," Lorite said. "It's kind of hard to make that transition to, okay, now I'm a forward. I have to take that risk to score. It was weird, but I do like to score just like any other field hockey player."
Lorite said her experience on the defensive end has helped make her a bigger offensive threat. She understands what defenders are thinking and what they're trying to do to stop her and can remember the types of things forwards did that worked against her.
Lorite said there's actually more similarities between forward and defender than people would expect. She still sees herself as first in the line of defenders and has taken to her new role without any complaints.
"Karen's a very selfless team player," Janney said. "I think she's willing to do anything to help the team and right now she's doing a good job up there. As a hockey player, you just need to learn to adjust and adapt and do your best wherever the team needs you."
Lorite's position change and ensuing success is a reflection of Janney's coaching philosophy that all players should be comfortable playing everywhere on the field.
Claire Woods, a freshman who is now playing in the midfield, arrived in Bloomington as a forward. Like Lorite, she's been forced to learn a new position and has impressed Janney so far.
And although she wouldn't have expected it, Lorite has suddenly emerged as one of Indiana's leading scoring threats in her fourth and final season as a Hoosier. The former-defender has found a comfortable spot at forward and only expects to continue to grow as the season goes on.
"Karen's been a great leader, and she's one who leads kind of by example on the field and the way she trains and the way that she scores," Lorite said. "She's very competitive, and we've kind of seen that come out in her in the front of the line."
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Field Hockey
Midfield
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