Forever Grateful for Field Hockey

I played my last collegiate field hockey game at Northeastern University this past Sunday…

By collegiate, I mean club field hockey, but nonetheless, this was such a competitive and rewarding commitment. In my freshmen year, I tried out with ninety players never expecting to make the team. Coming from Nashville, where my field hockey journey was filled with communal growth but not much personal skill development and competitive play, I was worried I was not up to par compared to the rest of the players.

After deciding not to continue my field hockey career in college, I thought my field hockey days were over. I was becoming okay with the idea to instead continue playing with Nashville Field Hockey Club’s adult league during breaks. Don’t get me wrong NFHC is a lot of fun! I just had always envisioned myself playing at the collegiate level after so much effort was put into making the game in Nashville possible.

Field hockey has always been a part of my life, even as my life has moved across states. I started out playing in Massachusetts, where the sport was well-known and supported. But when my family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, I faced a different reality: absolutely zero field hockey. It was a new city, a new culture, and a world without the sport that had been my passion for so long. Instead of letting go of field hockey, I decided to bring it with me. Starting from nothing wasn’t easy, but creating a field hockey community in Nashville became my way of planting roots in a community completely unknown to me. I realized that by introducing field hockey to others, I could make friends, share the joy of the game, and build something that lasts way beyond my temporary time in Nashville.

We literally started with a flyer with pull-tabs of my mom’s phone number to gain interest in the area. Slowly, but surely we started to receive calls and texts from people who hadn’t played in years, those who just moved and longed for the game, and those who were simply intrigued by a new sport. To realize I wasn’t alone was the most magical feeling I had ever experienced. I realized that my community I had been longing for was already there. All I had to do was take initiative to make it for myself. With time, our small group of players became a network, and together, we formed Nashville Field Hockey Club. Now with a vast coaching staff and board of directors, field hockey is a sanctioned club sport played at 4 high schools in Williamson County, including my alma mater. And Nashville Field Hockey is a highly successful club and a part of the USA Field Hockey governing body. This is an accomplishment that I will always hold dear to my heart. Looking back now, this has only contributed to my understanding of creating empowering communities wherever I go.

So needless to say, field hockey has completely shaped who I am today.

When I made the Northeastern Club field hockey team, my entire college experience changed. I found a supportive, driven, and loving community that quickly became my family away from home. As much as my involvement in creating a field hockey community in Nashville has meant to me, I needed a community in Boston too. Little did I know, I would eventually find the best community of them all on the Northeastern club field hockey team, let alone meet my very best friends.

To my best friends:

I am forever grateful for the four of you. My Northeastern and Boston experience could not have been the same if I had never met you all. I am forever thankful to field hockey for bringing us together. I truly don’t know what my college experience would look like without NUCFH, because that would mean I would have never laughed until my cheeks hurt. I would have never gone on memorable spring break trips, field hockey tournaments, or skiing trips. I would have never collected a plethora of inside side jokes and a highly contagious voice impression of SpongeBob (don’t ask). And most importantly, I would have never gained the most comforting and selfless group of people without NUCFH. It’s the most beautiful thing for me to realize that the sport of field hockey brought us all together. This alone makes me believe that what I fought so hard to keep in my life was purposeful and brought me the greatest gift of all: my lifelong friendships with you all. I can always count on you all to support me in everything I do, including starting this blog! I’m so excited for the future. I’m excited to experience our next journey after graduation.

So, now that I am graduating, I am coming to terms with no longer being a part of a team sport. But yet again, I thought I was in this position 4 years ago graduating high school and leaving Nashville. Who knows? Maybe I’ll join the club team at my prospective law school.

I’ve been a part of team sports my entire life. This taught me camaraderie, discipline, and how to support others. My parents made sure my sister and I stayed committed and never quit. Even the times when I would say I hate playing lacrosse, and didn’t feel like going to soccer practice, my parents would say, “you made a commitment to the team,” and so I would go. I am so appreciative of this because it taught me the simple act of showing up for others. Even if I no longer play sports, I will always have the foundation of persistence and the importance of community.

With gratitude,

Olivia