Graduating seniors on the field hockey team will leave a major hole in its chemistry after the season ends. After the seniors depart for college, the team will be without ten of its strong senior players and leaders who kept the team together.
Varsity player and junior Caroline Sullivan said she felt the connection the seniors had with each other and the leadership qualities separated them from other players.
“[The seniors] were a tight knit group, and [they] were very strong leaders this year,” Sullivan said.
The seniors also brought a special type of team play with them that will be hard to replace.
“We still have a lot of good underclassmen, but [the team play] is not going to be the same,” junior varsity field hockey player and sophomore Thandeka Muchemenyi said.
Sullivan said the seniors departure will have an impact on the team’s performance next year, but the current juniors and future varsity players will provide a strong support for future squads.
“We had some really strong seniors, but I still think we have some strong players and so I think that they will be able to step up,” Sullivan said.
Since seven of the seniors have played since freshman year, they said leaving will not be easy for them.
“I was really sad about [leaving],” varsity captain and senior Gillian Dumont said. “I’ve been on varsity for four years and it was a big part of my high school career.”
Seven of the seniors have spent their entire high school careers on the team and their absence will be an unfamiliar feeling to their teammates.
“A lot of the seniors have played since freshman year and draw a lot of energy and skill from the team,” Muchemenyi said.
Dumont said she thinks the seniors leaving could possibly have an impact on the team’s spirit, but said she has confidence in the upcoming seniors filling her shoes next season.
“I trust that the rising seniors will keep what we had going,” Dumont said.
Field hockey head coach Christina Carroll said the seniors deserve a lot of credit toward the team’s achievements throughout the season.
“Each of our 10 seniors will be sorely missed and played a huge role in our team’s success,” Carroll said. “We would not have been as successful without each one of them.”
Seniors who departed from the field hockey team have always taken a part of their talent with them, but they always managed to bring themselves back together.
“In the past, we’ve had really big players leave, […] but we’ve always managed to pull it together,” Dumont said.