A First for Field Hockey
The newly formed team is finding sucess in its first season
Until this year, Field Hockey wasn’t an official school sport. It was approved by the Loudoun County School Board in their last spring meeting. When the team was finally approved, they had to fundraise and get everything organized themselves.
“It wasn’t that hard because we’ve been fighting for ten years,” said senior Nathalie Groot.
Although this is the team’s first year as a school sport rather than a club, many of the team members have been playing together for a while. Field hockey has been a club for two years.
“There was a team from Potomac Falls plus all the other schools in Loudoun County, and then we moved up to a Potomac Falls and Dominion Team. That was my freshman year, and then my sophomore year and my junior year it was a Potomac Falls club,” said Groot.
They have also been conditioning and practicing since the week after school got out. This is apparent, seeing that their current record is 12-2. Coach Rob Groot is confident that the rest of their season will go just as well. He has high hopes that they will make it into division and beyond and believes that the team has the strength to get there, as long as they keep on learning and continue to apply themselves well.
“They are working hard and they have come together as a team; there is camaraderie and trust between the players, something you cannot teach, but you hope you can give the right ingredients for them to develop that,” said Coach Groot.
Freshman Abby Detorie believes that the team will go far as well, and says that no other sport she has participated in has been like the close family field hockey is.
“Our coach has really pulled us together. He is awesome. He knows exactly where to put us and how to get us to become a team,” said Detorie.
Potomac Falls Field Hockey is currently the number one seed in the conference. The team’s success has been a result of their hard work, camaraderie, and good coaching. After this strong start to the season, they are certain to continue their impressive record and set the bar high for future PFHS Field Hockey athletes.
