On Oct. 18, State High’s field hockey team ended their last game of the season with a bang. With a win/loss rate of 13-4-1, they soon take off for their end of the year championships.

Though the team brings a lot of talent and an exciting game, there’s not much talk of them in the high school sports world. Football, soccer, volleyball, and other fall sports are all a key part of the SCASD community, but other sports deserve its attention as well—  the field hockey team being one of them.

As the winners of the 2021 District VI Championship, those who know the team know that it’s good at what it does. The members of the team have both great coordination and teamwork skills on and off the field.

With their three captains Madi Gaul, Molly Schreiner, and Hannah Garlin, the team are in great hands for an even greater season. Each member has put a lot of effort into preparing for all of their games.

“[Training] definitely pushed all of us to our limits, but it is really going great for us during the season. It shows in our games,”  freshmen center middle player Abby Vance said. “It definitely helped with our team bonding since we were around each other 24/7. I definitely think it helped with our skills during this season; it was just a great experience,” she continued. 

Despite the summer and preseason training, the field hockey team has done well with showing off those skills during games. Though the girls  may deal with the occasional loss, they fight through the game as strongly as ever and make an impression on those students who are watching them from the sidelines- the few that are even there.

“Not many people come. I don’t know if it’s because of advertising or people don’t know about the sport in general; like, I didn’t know in middle school that field hockey even existed at State High. It would definitely be amazing if people showed up, it’s a great sport!”  Vance noted.

Keira Loviscky, an 11th grade goal keeper for the team also had a comment on their audience turnout.

 “It’s… okay,” Loviscky said. “For students, it’s only like 10-20, with 20 at the most. There’s a lot of parents and siblings that come. Loviscky also added, “People are like ‘oh’ because they don’t understand it and then they don’t go watch it, but with football I feel like a lot of people also don’t understand how football works.”

Though the team doesn’t have the biggest audience to back them up, it has a big spirit. They think the best of their team and the game as a whole. 

“I love my teammates so much. I definitely think we’re friends off the team as well as on the team and it definitely helps with our teamwork,” Vance expressed.

Even though the players are already well coordinated, they’ve been supported by a group of coaches to guide them. Their head coach is Sharon Herlocher, who has been involved in field hockey for a majority of her life and is dedicated to sharing that love with her team. 

Like the team’s players, Herlocher also acknowledged that there seems to be less student involvement in their sport.

“This year, all of our home games have been at Memorial, which is awesome for the playing surface and the environment, but it is a little further from the school which makes it a bit challenging. So, I feel like our student attendance has gone down since moving it up here,” Herlocher said. 

Coach Herlocher also had an idea on how to get students and other viewers more engaged with the sport itself: an announcer.

“I think one really great thing for football is that there is an announcer throughout the entire game. I think that would be awesome for our sport. In middle school, we do a middle school game where I announce. I think that’s really great for fan engagement, and it’s good for players. I would like to see more commentating like that added to our game,” Coach Herlocher said. 

Despite what the audience turnout may show, the State High Field Hockey team has worked hard to fight against rough competitors. As the team brings its hard work and dedication to the table, they should be seen as a key part of our sports world, just like every other fall, winter, or spring sport we may have. The sport takes dedication, and the team deserves an audience as strong as itself.