Archive for December, 2011
Dec. 31, 2011 — An appreciation: Mike Shern, head field hockey coach, Lacey (N.J.) Township
One in an occasional series.
In 1994, your Founder first ran across the Lacey (N.J.) field hockey team as it was in the midst of a championship run of form. First, it was a sectional final against Lawrence Notre Dame (N.J.), a team which was in my newspaper coverage area and a team which had its best-ever chance to win a state championship thanks to a pair of forwards who would be in Division I the next year. But Lacey put in an early goal and used its defense to stifle Notre Dame the rest of the way.
Later that month, Lacey faced a North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.) team which had 69-goal scorer Michelle Vizzuso, and had an 86-game unbeaten string all the way back to 1990. The team had also given up a grand total of five goals the previous two seasons.
It was thought that Lacey had no chance going into the game, but head coach Mike Shern, who had started coaching field hockey pretty much on a lark 11 years ago after resigning as the school’s football coach, didn’t care that there was a future Olympian on the other end of the pitch.
Shern kept the team loose and playing free all throughout Lacey’s Group III title run, not changing from the team’s laughter-filled practices.
”If other teams watched us practice, they’d be amazed that we practice like we do and still have success,” he told The Newark Star-Ledger. ”We encourage the fun part because kids have to have fun to be successful.”
Shern’s approach to coaching may have been revolutionary in 1994, but you see parts of his philosophy amongst many successful coaches today. He emphasized the fun of the game, without losing sight of the need to prepare for the next opponent. He emphasized strong defense in the middle and final third of the field, and also allowed players to think for themselves on the pitch.
And it seemed to have worked. Against one of the greatest U.S. scholastic field hockey teams ever assembled, it was Lacey who won the state championship by a 3-1 score over West Essex. It was the Lions’ first and only state championship.
As of the end of 2011, Shern is retiring from Lacey as the team’s field hockey and softball coach as well as the school’s Dean of Behavioral Management.
He’ll be missed.
Dec. 30, 2011 — United States Coach of the Year: Lil Shelton, Severna Park (Md.)
One year ago, a legendary field hockey coach’s reputation took a substantial hit amongst her peers. She retired in 2011, but but it was on her terms — as a champion.
Dec. 29, 2011 — The next step in this sorry situation
Yesterday, a preliminary hearing was held in the case of three Bloomsburg University field hockey players charged with a Homecoming weekend assault that resulted in their dismissal from the team.
What came out of yesterday’s proceedings, however, is the fact that the fourth woman who was at the scene of the assault, Betsy Wren, is turning state’s evidence and will testify against the three field hockey players.
Some of you who may have had game theory taught to you, or have read about “the prisoner’s dilemma,” will know that all a prosecutor needs when it comes to prosecuting a group action is for only one of the group to cooperate to testify against the remainder of said group.
And now that the prosecutors have what they need, I don’t know how it could end up well for the accused in this situation.
Dec. 28, 2011 — A curious juncture for a coaching change
In 2011, Harvard’s field hockey team finished with an 8-9 record.
But less than six weeks after the end of the Crimson’s season, head coach Sue Caples was informed that her contract was not being renewed.
Caples served as head coach of the program for nearly a quarter-century and is the only coach to have ever given Harvard a post-season championship — the 1991 ECAC title. During her time as head coach, the team moved from its grass pitch at Soldiers Field into the hockey-specific Jordan Field and hosted the FIH Junior World Cup.
But if there is one telling stretch in Caples’ career that may have prompted the Harvard Department of Athletics to make a change, it is the 2005 season. For it was in 2004 when Harvard won its its most recent Ivy League title and the automatic qualifier (AQ) berth that went along with it.
The following season showed every indication that the Crimson had used a 7-1 NCAA first-round loss to Wake Forest as a jumpoff point to success. The team won five of its first six matches in 2005, losing only a 1-0 heartbreaker to Maryland. Harvard, however, lost 10 straight matches after its auspicious start, and the team posted a record of 35 wins and 78 defeats to close out Caples’ tenure.
For me, Harvard’s timing is curious. If the Department of Athletics had wanted to the cord, might they have wanted to do it after the 2010 season, when the Crimson had a 3-14 campaign?
Now, if Harvard thinks it might be able to pry a good assistant coach from another program, or think it has a possible future head coach in either of its two current assistants, Jen Long or Julie Munson, this might work out. But if the athletic department had made its move last year, it might have given Harvard a good chance at landing someone of the caliber of a Pam Bustin or a Carla Tagliente.
We’ll see.
Dec. 27, 2011 — Your national scoring champion
The first time Austyn Cuneo visited Eastern High School, she was a second-grader attending the Competitive Edge field hockey camp held on the brand new turf at McAleer Stadium.
Little did she know that she would be on that same turf seven years later, making history. The ninth-grader scored the second-most goals in a field hockey season in recorded National Federation history; her 69 goals in 2011 tied her with 1996 Olympian Michelle Vizzuso and 2010 Eastern graduate Kelsey Mitchell for the New Jersey state record.
The prodigy has seemingly come out of nowhere, but she is noticeable because of her abilities with the ball, to accelerate, change pace, and shift direction. Furthermore, she has a devil-may-care attitude inside the scoring circle; her finishes strike the goalboard with purpose, piercing the air with a signature report.
“You don’t expect a freshman to come out here and play like this, but the girls really welcomed me in and the team helped me to do that,” Cuneo said. “I don’t want to disappoint them, so I had to capitalize on the opportunities to score.”
Cuneo is your national scoring champion for 2011, which, fairly or not, will put all sorts of pressure on her the next three years of high school.
The questions will undoubtedly start coming: how many games before she will break the record for goal-scoring in a career? Can she reach the seemingly unreachable mark of 82 goals in a season, set in 1983 by current Northwestern head coach Tracey Fuchs? Which national powerhouse will she commit to for college? What if USA Field Hockey’s Terry Walsh and Lee Bodimeade come calling for high-performance duty? Or what if it turns out that lacrosse is her best sport?
“First and foremost,” says Eastern head coach Danyle Heilig, “she’s a great kid. It’s not about Austyn; it’s about Eastern. She’s focused on the team, which makes her even more special. She’s coming up with the ball at the defensive end as our flyer and transitioning the ball. Her play is crazy; that is a tremendous, tremendous player. And you have to appreciate that; her understanding of the game and her willingness to leave it on the field is just awesome.”
And there is going to also be a certain amount of scrutiny regarding Cuneo’s presence at Eastern. Her parents reside in a neighboring school district, and pay tuition for her to go nine miles away from Atco Winslow Township (N.J.). New Jersey law allows school districts to admit non-resident students on a tuition basis, through policies adopted by local school boards.
While she is not the first student from a tuition-paying family to have a major impact on an athletics program, there aren’t as many who have had her impact on a program which is at an elite level already.
“She’s 14 years old,” Heilig says, “and there are professional athletes who don’t handle the pressure like she does. Phenomenal; what can you say?”
“This is a whole new world,” Cuneo said. “The team has supported me all the way.”
Austyn Cuneo joins a list of other national scoring champions from years past, making it three years in a row that the national scoring champion is from New Jersey. Let us know if there are any additions or corrections that need to be made to the list below:
2011: Austyn Cuneo, Voorhees Eastern (N.J.) 69
2010: Danielle Allan, Pompton Lakes (N.J.) 56
2009: Kelsey Mitchell, Voorhees Eastern (N.J.) 69
2008: Lucas Long, Allentown William Allen (Pa.) 43
2007: Lauren Gonsalves, Harwich (Mass.) 56
2006: Kaitlyn Hiltz, Virginia Beach Frank W. Cox (Va.) 50
2005: Kelly Fitzpatrick, Palmyra (Pa.), 66
2004: Amie Survilla, Mountain Top Crestwood (Pa.), 64
2003: Anne Marie Janus, Kingston Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), 44
2002: Shauna Banta, Voorhees Eastern (N.J.) 49
2001: Tiffany Marsh, Marathon (N.Y.), 57
2000: Rebecca Hooven, Plumsteadville Plumstead Christian (Pa.) 54
1999: Rebecca Hooven, Plumsteadville Plumstead Christian (Pa.) 48
1998: Kelli Hill, Manasquan (N.J.) 43
1997: Tiffany Serbanica, Madison (N.J.) Borough 43
1996: Carla Tagliente, Marathon (N.Y.), 51
1995: Kim Miller, Frank W. Cox (Va.) 63
1994: Michelle Vizzuso, North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.) 69
1993: Melissa Pasnaci, Miller Place (N.Y.), 60
1992: Diane DeMiro, North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.), 56
1991: Denise Nasca, Centereach (N.Y.), 56
1990: Shelley Parsons, Waterfall Forbes Road (Pa.), 50
1989: Christine McGinley, Medford Lakes Shawnee (N.J.) 40
1988:
1987: Kris Fillat, San Diego Serra (Calif.), 53
1986: Dana Fuchs, Centereach (N.Y.), 57
1985: Hope Sanborn, Walpole (Mass.) and Sharon Landau, Mamaroneck Rye Neck (N.Y.), 53
1984: Michelle Vowell, Garden Grove Santiago (N.Y.), 56
1983: Tracey Fuchs, Centereach (N.Y.) 82
1982: Mare Chung, San Diego Serra (Calif.) 48
Dec. 26, 2011 — Whom to target?
I hope each of you who read this site also go over to the USA Field Hockey website to read the weekly blog entry of Executive Director Steven Locke.
In his most recent entry on December 20th, he lays out the infrastructure for next year’s high-performance pipeline. The Futures Elite Academy replaces the Junior High Performance centers. But unlike last year, and unlike most years since the USFHA Summer League was started in 1998, there is going to be a wall between top high school players and members of the senior women’s national team pool.
As the blog entry says, “High school athletes (with the exception of a few) will not be permitted to try out or train at a High Performance Center. Exceptions have been given to a handful of U-21 athletes, still in high school, who have been identified by our National Coaching Team to train at the High Performance Centers.”
Given the kinds of players the U.S. system has been developing at younger ages the last half-decade or so, it would appear as though exceptions will be made for prodigies on the level of a Katelyn Falgowski or a Katie O’Donnell.
But what I also see is an effort by USA Field Hockey towards player retention in the post-graduate years. For every prodigy that appears on a Women’s National Championship roster, one veteran player is displaced.
Now, it’s been argued that it is easier to teach a younger player the necessary techniques to play international field hockey than it is to get a post-graduate to unlearn the game she may have learned in high school and in college. But I think it’s a positive step for the long-term growth of the game as well as the elite player pool.
Dec. 25, 2011 — Surviving a poisonous atmosphere
Last night, as I was walking my 89-year-old father down the steps of my brother’s house, a voice came from a passing car, calling my father. The car stopped.
The flashlight I was using to guide my father down the steps went to my face to illustrate who I was.
Stepping out of the car were a man and a woman. They were two kids from across the street who I used to babysit as a teenager. I didn’t recognize them at first, but I did eventually recognize their respective traits, even though I hadn’t seen them in a quarter-century.
Their parents had tried to make a perfect household for themselves and their four children when we first moved north. The mother worked as a nurse, the father was a lawyer.
As is usual when it comes to complex family arrangements, there were unsavory layers beneath the exterior. The parents were less than perfect; there was use of alcohol, prescription drugs, guns, and pornography in the house.
Towards the end of their relationship, the parents bickered constantly. They divorced shortly after the birth of their fourth child, and you could see the stresses on the four children and how they acted out towards others.
I thought, left to their own devices, that the four children were going to wind up becoming a statistic in some social scientist’s data book, becoming victims of drugs, crime, or alcohol, all of which are endemic in the city.
But somehow, by the grace of God, they have been able to survive.
For me, knowing they’re seemingly all right is one of the best Christmas presents that I could ever receive.
Happy Christmas, everyone.
Dec. 24, 2011 — The reason for the season, the reason for a game
Liberty University, the small Christian college in Lynchburg, Va., had its first varsity field hockey season this past fall and had a record of 6-11.
But it has something that other U.S. field hockey teams don’t: a mission.
Dec. 23, 2011 — The Final Statwatch for 2011
It’s been a season of statistical oddities, but lots of achievements throughout the country. It’s been an experience watching the numbers unfold as the season has gone on.
We have seen one of the nation’s longest winning streaks end (Darien, Conn.), a freshman leading the nation in goal scoring (Austyn Cuneo), and Alana Barry exceeding the existing national record for shutouts.
It will get more interesting in 2012 for the record books. Lexi Smith of Florence (N.J.) Memorial needs just 36 goals to break the national record for a career, while Kate Barber of St. Louis Lafayette (Mo.) needs just 26 assists to break Kelsey Smither’s record for a four-year career and 36 to break Chantae Miller’s all-time record for a six-year varsity career.
What follows are statistics which were found in, amongst others, HighSchoolSports.net, the Denver Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Harrisburg Patriot-News, the Newark Star-Ledger, the Washington Post, the Asbury Park Press, the Boston Globe, the Ann Arbor News, the North County Times, the Worcester Telegram, Masslive.com, The Virginian-Pilot, The Lancaster New Era, the Allentown Morning Call, and the Philadelphia Inquirer:
INDIVIDUAL GOALS SCORED, SEASON
69 Austyn Cuneo, Voorhees Eastern (N.J.)
61 Aileen Johnson, West Long Branch Shore Regional (N.J.)
52 Lexi Smith, Florence (N.J.) Memorial
50 Natalie Cafone, North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.)
50 Emily Wold, Freehold (N.J.) Borough
49 Tara Vittese, Cherry Hill Camden Catholic (N.J.)
48 Shannon Scavelli, Shrub Oak Lakeland (N.Y.)
44 Riley Tata, Norfolk (Va.) Academy
43 Heather Morris, Pottstown Owen J. Roberts (Pa.)
41 Mallory Tyler, Louisville Collegiate (Ky.)
41 Maddie Copeland, Hightstown Peddie School (N.J.)
40 Samantha Browne, West Milford (N.J.)
40 Emma Bozek, Shrub Oak Lakeland (N.Y.)
40 Elena Curley, Louisville Presentation (Ky.)
INDIVIDUAL GOALS SCORED, CAREER
139 Lexi Smith, Florence (N.J.) Memorial
137 Natalie Cafone, North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.)
135 Shannon Scavelli, Shrub Oak Lakeland (N.Y.)
119 Emma Bozek, Shrub Oak Lakeland (N.Y.)
114 Alyssa Parker, Glenelg (Md.)
113 Emily Wold, Freehold (N.J.) Borough
111 Dani DeGregory, Greenwich (N.Y.)
108 Aileen Johnson, West Long Branch Shore Regional (N.J.)
105 Caroline Troncelitti, Malvern Villa Maria (Pa.)
100 Mallory Tyler, Louisville Collegiate (Ky.)
93 Heather Morris, Pottstown Owen J. Roberts (Pa.)
93 Julia Aymonin, Yorktown Tabb (Va.)
INDIVIDUAL ASSISTS, SEASON
37 Emma Bozek, Shrub Oak Lakeland (N.Y.)
36 Alyssa Parker, Glenelg (Md.)
35 Kate Barber, St. Louis Lafayette (Mo.)
35 Carly Celkos, Voorhees Eastern (N.J.)
34 Natalie Cafone, North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.)
32 Alexa McIntyre, Woolwich Kingsway (N.J.)
30 Anna DuFour, Louisville duPont Manual (Ky.)
29 Aileen Johnson, West Long Branch Shore Regional (N.J.)
27 Renee DuFour, Louisville duPont Manual (Ky.)
27 Catherine Caro, Bridgewater-Raritan (N.J.)
INDIVIDUAL ASSISTS, CAREER
108 Alyssa Parker, Glenelg (Md.)
99 Kate Barber, St. Louis Lafayette (Mo.)
81 Emily Wold, Freehold (N.J.) Borough
74 Aileen Johnson, West Long Branch Shore Regional (N.J.)
66 Julia Aymonin, Yorktown Tabb (Va.)
GOALS SCORED, TEAM
213 Voorhees Eastern (N.J.)
183 Virginia Beach First Colonial (Va.)
178 West Long Branch Shore Regional (N.J.)
158 Yorktown Tabb (Va.)
153 Glenelg (Md.)
152 Shrub Oak Lakeland (N.Y.)
152 Emmaus (Pa.)
146 Summit Oak Knoll (N.J.)
134 North Caldwell West Essex (N.J.)
133 Pottstown Owen J. Roberts (Pa.)
123 Ocean City (N.J.)
116 Louisville Collegiate (Ky.)
116 Skowhegan (Maine)
111 Suffolk Lakeland (Va.)
110 Lewes Cape Henlopen (Del.)
105 Malvern Villa Maria (Pa.)
101 Charlotte (N.C.) Latin
GOALS AGAINST, TEAM
1 Yorktown Tabb (Va.)
CONSECUTIVE SHUTOUTS, TEAM
23 Yorktown Tabb (Va.)
WINNING STREAK, TEAM
27 Voorhees Eastern (N.J.)
27 Yorktown Tabb (Va.)
UNBEATEN STREAK, TEAM
69 Watertown (Mass.)
GOALKEEPER SHUTOUTS, SEASON
23 Liz Warness, Yorktown Tabb (Va.)
19 Sam Whitehouse, Greenwich (N.Y.)
17 Alana Barry, Voorhees Eastern (N.J.)
17 Meg Mitchell, Emmaus (Pa.)
17 Samantha Zeiders, Hummelstown Lower Dauphin (Pa.)
16 Maggie Blackwood, Summit Oak Knoll (N.J.)
14 Mary Beth Shearn, St. Louis Lafayette (Mo.)
13 Angelique Kelly, St. Louis Marquette (Mo.)
GOALKEEPER SHUTOUTS, CAREER
75 Alana Barry, Voorhees Eastern (N.J.)
48 Katelyn Arnold, Center Valley Southern Lehigh (Pa.)
43 Liz Warness, Yorktown Tabb (Va.)
42 Maggie Blackwood, Summit Oak Knoll (N.J.)
40 Shannon Johnson, West Long Branch Shore Regional (N.J.)
Dec. 22, 2011 — The bumpy road
It wasn’t the greatest Christmas present that the U.S. women’s field hockey team could have given to close out an historic year for the sport.
Last week, the American side was swept in five games by the unified Great Britain side that will be the host country and medal favorite next summer in London.
This isn’t an “England” team, mind; instead, the squad that toured California represented the entirety of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (although athletes from Northern Ireland can choose to represent Ireland). With four Scots and a player from Wales, this British team showed its combined and unified strength in winning all five matches last week in Chula Vista, including a 4-0 capstone on the weekend.
Is it time for the coaching staff to hit the panic button? Hardly. The U.S. team worked in a number of reserve players, and are still missing Carrie Lingo, Kayla Bashore, and Amy Tran through injury.
Still, the bar was been set for the U.S. in their historic defeat of Argentina two months ago. The work begins in earnest shortly after the New Year, and this Test series is a serious wake-up call.
