One game at a time: CVU field hockey prepares for playoffs
UPDATE: The second-seeded Redhawks win their first post-season game 9-1.
By Sarah Bokelberg
The Record Intern
SHELBURNE — Energy was high Wednesday afternoon in the Shelburne Field House as the Champlain Valley Union High School varsity field hockey team prepared for its quarterfinal playoff game against St. Johnsbury on Saturday. Due to heavy rainfall earlier this week, the team couldn’t practice on their school field and had to organize a last-minute indoor session instead.
But that didn’t slow the team down. After a brief run to warm up, players chatted as they moved through their stretches. When it was time for drills, the team was all business.
Led by head varsity coach Tucker Pierson and assistant coaches Alice McEnaney and Mackenzie Marcus, the Redhawks enter the playoffs with a 12-2 overall record. Pierson says the team will work on surface play leading up to the quarterfinal game.
“Field hockey is meant to be on turf, so even if it’s a great grass field, short and fast, it still is a really different sport. For playoffs, we’re focusing on some skills that are turf-based, and keeping control of the ball while going at speed,” Pierson said.
(Update) CVU defeated St. Johnsbury Academy 9-1 in Saturday’s Division One quarterfinals. Initially the Redhawks were to host the game on its grass field at CVU in Hinesburg, but the game was switched to the turf field at Burlington High School. Both the D1 semifinals and championship games will be played on synthetic turf fields. The semifinals will be played at Middlebury College and the championship will take place at Virtue Field at the University of Vermont.
This season, Pierson says, the girls have “really improved in just playing together.”
The tenth-season returning coach gives her players a lot of autonomy. “High school sports are about, to me, teaching them the fundamentals and the tactical knowledge, but letting them do the work and make mistakes,” Pierson said.
Along with daily practices, the team often spends time together to bond. Some activities include weekly team dinners and a group Jazzercise class. Pierson also incorporates “purposeful fun” into practice: “High school sports should be fun, right? Building that in for them is really important to me.”
Senior captains Amelia Oppenheimer and Cordelia Thomas had only positive things to say about Pierson. “Tucker does a really good job of centering us while we’re playing and helping us be in the moment and not thinking too far ahead,” Thomas said. “She has very high expectations for us, but that helps us have high expectations for ourselves,” Thomas said
At practice, these high expectations were clear. Pierson got involved in drills, pausing to correct mistakes and playing defense as the girls worked on dodges around cones. The team was focused, but supportive. Players called out encouragement to their teammates after a good shot or a well-placed pass.
“She’s always been a great coach, but especially this year, I feel like I’ve learned a lot from her,” Oppenheimer said.
Assistant coaches McEnaney and Marcus bring their own ideas and experience to the coaching mix. “Alice is ready to be intense, but she also brings more of a nurturing spirit to it. Mackenzie is a newer coach on our team, but she’s really respected, and everyone really values the input she has because she was a great player,” Oppenheimer said.
The season has been full of individual and team successes for the Redhawks. One focal point was an under-the-lights 2-1 win against Essex High School. Competitive games like this, and “being able to maintain a lead or come back from being behind, and still come out with the win,” are a highlight for Thomas. The center midfielder will continue her field hockey career at Hamilton College.
Both Oppenheimer and Thomas have played on the varsity team for four years. For Oppenheimer, the best part of her senior season is the opportunity to lead her team. “Being the person that I always looked up to on the field is a really great thing.”
Looking ahead to the playoffs, Thomas says the team needs to take it one game at a time. “We’re focusing on not looking too far into the future and not underestimating any opponents, but also not underestimating ourselves and what we can do as a team.”
Pierson closed the practice with a team huddle and pep talk, saying: “All of what we did today is going to pay off on Saturday.”
This story made possible by Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship for the Hinesburg Record