design: Mackenna Shrager
permission to print: Robin Lowe
After putting in some hard work over the summer the field hockey team is looking to follow up a very successful season in which it finished with a record of 10-6 and played for the state semi-finals.
Offseason condition and practice are imperative to any teams success later on, the field hockey team utilized its offseason very effectively.
Captain senior Autumn Predmore said senior-led conditioning over the summer and team bonding throughout the off-season has helped set the team up for success this season.
Preseason practices can also largely influence how a team will operate during the regular season
“The team prepared for this season in a few different ways. They received a summer training packet which they were asked to complete in addition to their strength training and summer skill sessions. Many of them are also members of the local club teams and worked on their game in the off-season. In addition, some of those players traveled, attending local and national tournaments to compete against high-level teams” Head Coach Olivia Susi said.
Predmore said the team lacked the same amount of preseason practices as previous years, this meant that on August first the team needed to immediately kick it in to high gear.
Although the team has many talented athletes, winning games will not be easy as the team is in a very competitive conference. The conference includes the likes of Thomas Worthington, Upper Arlington, and Olentangy Liberty.
Predmore noted the importance of quickly learning to play as a unit at the beginning of the season in order to overcome any tough opponents.
“Our biggest struggle last year was not playing hard from the start and throughout the whole game. We were a second half team,” Susi said.
The players have been anticipating playing since the unfortunate end to last year’s season with a tough 0-7 loss in the state semi-finals to Thomas Worthington.
“I am most excited, this year, to win against the other Olentangy schools and for senior night!” Predmore said.
“This season we are most excited to continue to grow our game, compete in our rivalry games, and of course, win. The hardest thing this season will likely be keeping our focus on how we can improve our game rather than focusing on our opponents.s” Susi said.
The team played Olentangy Berlin on September 12th and won 2-0 with goals by [players]. Continuing to play Olentangy Liberty on September 27th, the team [Result] [Score] with goals by [players]. The team played its last inter-district game on [date] and [Result] [Score] against Olentangy.
Some other notable games this season include a 4-0 win over Kettering and 3-1 win over Worthington Kilbourne.
“My personal goals for this season are to work well with my teammates, beat some good schools, and score some goals,” Predmore said. Predmore scored the lone goal in a difficult 1-7 loss against 2021 state runner-up Thomas Worthington on September 1st.
The team will be playing against Hilliard Bradley at home on October 11th for their senior night.
