Tag: Lafayette College

The president of the United States has Air Force One, but Lafayette will load up its version, which I will call Leopard One in three weeks, to let Lafayette fans meet and greet the new AD, Sherryta Freeman. The Lafayette team bus, leopard logo, and many of our senior athletic department administrators and coaches  will hit the road to take our athletic dignitaries from Easton to stops in the Lehigh Valley, Washington D.C. and The Radnor Hotel, outside of Philadelphia to answer your questions on the future of Lafayette athletics. The trip starts on April 25 in the Lehigh Valley at 6pm. It’s the same venue as the Lafayette vs Penn State baseball game at Coca Cola Park in Allentown. So a great game against a big opponent in a splendid venue, after work, and a chance to get a question or two to the new athletic director.

On the following day Leopard One moves out to Washington D.C. for the offices of Cooley LLP hosted by the Michael Basile ’80, again at 6pm. This event will be panel style, with Lafayette coaches Kia Damon (head women’s basketball coach), Jennifer Stone ( head field hockey coach), John Garrett ( head football coach, and Jarren Dyson ( assistant men’s basketball coach). AD Sherryta Freeman will head the panel.

Finally, they turn north and outside Philadelphia for an April 27th panel at the Radnor Hotel. Aside from Freeman, Damon, Stone,and Garrett, Andrew Radmicki ( director of basketball operations ) will answer all your questions. The time will again be at 6pm.

Sherryta Freeman has been on the job since February 19 and has certainly begun to form her initial impressions of her task at hand. She is interested the views of alumni and parents about the state of Lafayette athletics. Since her hiring, I have been flooded with questions about her plans. This is a chance for our most important fans, those that have an intense interest in the success of our athletic programs to ask those questions that have been saved until now.

I interviewed Ms. Freeman during the search and you will find her smart, ambitious, and  looking forward to the challenge. A graduate of Dartmouth as a championship athlete, she understands the need to win. During my interview with her, the word WINNING started every thought. She can take over a room as she enters… as you will see..

But this is a chance for YOU to get it straight from her. Ask the tough question. Think about her answers, and listen to the other questions to see where we are headed. It is also time to do the same to the other panel members!!

At this time in the history of Lafayette athletics, there is no more important moment to get the straight story of where we are, and where we are going. So follow Leopard One and get all your questions answered .

To attend any of these events  register online via goleopards or call the Maroon club at 610-330-3116. I will be at the Radnor event!!

My wife and I were on campus yesterday to catch a lecture, and after an early meal at Big Woody’s we decided to drive over to the field hockey field to see if our favorite team was practicing. Luckily they were still on the turf playing half field. Even though Head Coach Jennifer Stone was in South America with the US under 21 team, drills continued unabated under the able supervision of assistant coaches Sarah Dalrymple and Kelcie Hromsisin.

After a designated amount of time the scrimmage stopped and each side, white and black, took time to reflect on mistakes made and suggestions to improve. The two coaches were there to guide the discussions and begin again. The candid banter was used to improve on each rotation.

It was interesting to see the improvement and the application of self lessons learned. After practice there was a session with the Oaks Leadership team to talk about developing a winning attitude. No doubt after that it was time to hit the books. Such is the life of a division one athlete. As they displayed their talents I could only. marvel at progress made by our current first year players. They are fully integrating themselves into the team culture while learning to anticipate where their teammates are on the field at all times.

Their next spring competition is against Monmouth at Lafayette on Friday April 6th at 6 pm. It’ll be another chance to challenge what they were learning on the field.

 

Missing on the field this afternoon, in a competition with Villanova University, were well known Leopard seniors, but the new Leopards displayed a revamped structure, and some players found themselves in different positions. Coach Stone started to experiment with new lineups for 2018, as well as unveiling some different wrinkles for the upcoming season. I’m sure I am not qualified to describe Stone’s strategy ( and we’ll save it as a surprise for the fall),  but the team is getting comfortable with the changes this spring. The most obvious difference to me was Anna Steps move to a more mid-field position from the backfield, and this seems to be more suited to her abilities. She moved with confidence through the middle of the field and showed her potential as a scorer.

Audrey Sawers saw plenty of action and continues to improve, while Lisa van der Geest is rock solid in her leadership position in the backfield. Sophie Carr showed plenty of energy on field especially as she gets near the circle, while Grace Angelella will be dangerous anywhere near the goal.

While the younger players advance, the rising seniors provide stability and strength. KristenTaylor showed why she can be depended on with her sure stick work, and Theressa Delahanty is in on many an attacking play. Rachel Bird was solid as was Adriana Pero and Liza Welch.

All was not perfect as the change in strategy caused some miscues and shots still need to be less hesitant. Outlet passing suffered somewhat from the lack of familiarity as well. The Leopards will have  four more opportunities to practice their skills against opponents this spring, the next will be on April 6 at 6 pm at home against Monmouth. After a short break at the end of the spring competitions they will begin preparation for their series in South Africa in early June.

The scrimmage was under game conditions of two 35 minutes periods and then two 7 v 7 periods with two practice rounds of shootouts.

 

Rehearsal is over for the spring as our Leopards will journey to Conshohocken, Pa and the ” Proving Grounds” to meet the Wildcats of Villanova at noon on Saturday . This part of the year is when we get to see who will fill the gaps left by the seniors. It is a time of testing and experimentation by coach and players alike. There are obvious questions to be answered. How is the overall team speed look with the absence of Ellen Colbourne in the lineup?  Where will the scoring come from ? Will there be players moved to different positions  now that many have that additional year of experience?

Looking at last year’s results the Leopards will look to improve on their 2-4 finish in the league. Especially grating was the overtime loss to Lehigh 1-0. Lehigh will travel to Lafayette this year as the Leopards look for revenge. A win would have put the Leopards in the league playoffs. Likewise they will be looking to reverse 3 years of losses to Holy Cross. Boston University is always tough but will have to contend with a Lafayette home field as will American University. A trip to Colgate is always tough especially later in the year.

The Leopards finished with 30 goals ( five more than last year) with 19 of those goals scored by returning players.  They will need more offense, as the top two teams, Boston and American scored 67 and 62 goals respectively while giving up 37 and 31 goals at the same time. Lafayette gave up 46. Goal tending was about the same as all three had a mid 60 pct save percentage.

Lafayette generated 47 corners in league games, and led the league in that category. Lafayette’s in league performance must improve as they scored only 7 goals and gave up 15 in the conference. Boston was 25/5, American was 19/7, Holy Cross 17/15,Bucknell was 10/8, Colgate 6/21 and Lehigh 4/18.

Villanova returns many starters with three of their sophomores having scored 18 of their  34 goals. They are losing one of their best scorers Francesca Bello who scored 8 goals last season. Their top scorers are sophs Lydia Sydney, Amy Siana and Megan Vermeil each with 6 goals.

At this writing the format is undisclosed and I would imagine it’ll be three abbreviated periods with perhaps a shoot out at the end. The “Proving Grounds” is about 10 miles for from the Villanova Campus. The GPS address is 725 Conshohocken Rd. Conshohocken,Pa 19428.

 

Today, February 17, Amy Tran Swensen will be inducted into the National Field Hockey Hall of Fame at a gala affair at the Lord Baltimore Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. She was an assistant to Head Coach Andrew Griffiths in 2007 and 2008. Amy worked with the goalkeepers and defense while at Lafayette. Even then she had made her mark in the field hockey community and was the starting goalkeeper in 2008 Olympics. She also appeared in the 2012 London Olympics. The US team got into the Olympic field at the Olympic Qualifiers Tournament  with Tran recording three shutout wins against Russia, France and India. She was regarded as the best goalkeeper in the world, after the 2006 World Cup.

While an assistant Coach at Lafayette she coached all american goal keeper Kelsey Andersen

Tran Swensen was member of the U.S. Women’s National Team from 2001-2013 and accumulated 163 international caps. She also appeared in five Champion Challenge Events where she was named Goalkeeper of the Tournament multiple times.

She graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2002 with a degree in Communication and Speech and Hearing Sciences where she received multiple all league and all american honors.

Amy is currently an assistant coach with Old Dominion University and resides in Virginia Beach with her husband Mark and their sons Ivan and Zeke.

Several weeks ago my wife and I got a call from Missy Meharg the head coach of the University of Maryland field hockey team asking us to serve on the Board of Trustees for the USA Field Hockey Foundation. As parents and grandparents of field hockey players and an active supporter of the game through our activities at Lafayette College we were indeed interested to further promote the game nationally. We have seen an evolution not only in Field Hockey over the last 30 years,  but in women’s sports in general. However, since field hockey in the United States holds a special place for women as a scholastic and collegiate sport, we believe its promotion can play a.unique role in supported athletics for women.

Within days, of Coach Meharg’s phone call,  the chair of the USA Field Hockey Foundation, Pam Stuper, the Head Coach at Yale, made a visit to our house to explain the role that the Foundation plays in the promotion and development of the sport.

My wife can remember field hockey of the 60’s, not only playing on grass, but with restrictive rules, and in her case it was purely an intramural sport in high school,  with a similar role in colleges. It really wasn’t until Title IX and the intercollegiate explosion of the sport, on the collegiate level, that the game started to take off. Ironically, it was an Olympic sport for the longest time, introduced to this country at the turn of the century.

As the opportunities for competition increased, rules were modified, playing surfaces improved the game, which demanded improved athletic skills. At Lafayette, women were first admitted in 1972 and field hockey was one of the first sports offered. It was played on an undulating grass field, a far cry from the technically superior astro-turf 12 presently in use. Today, virtually every Division One field is of this type. In fact, a NCAA sanctioned post season game is mandated to be played on that or similar surfaces. Lafayette had an initial schedule of about  4 games,there were no lights, no stands and few fans to watch the games.

Likewise the governance of the sport evolved as the athletes improved. Today, there is even a new professional league which will provide funding and competition for our highest elite players.

It’s within this context that Pam and I decided to become members of the Board. At first you may think it’s responsibility is just to fund the Olympic Team. Today, it defines its mission as, Grow the Game, Serve Members, and Succeed Internationally. 

It’s the first element that attracted us, because everything follows from that. Under the able chairmanship of Pam Stuper, this energetic Board, along with the Board of USA Field Hockey has mapped up a series of events to serve the sport at many levels.

For example, there is a first ever Field Hockey Summit being held in Baltimore March 16-18. ( See the USA Field Hockey web site for details). It is designed to promote and develop the sport not only for current participants but future generations, uniting the community  and harnessing everyone’s passion through a shared weekend experience. There are three days of clinics and presentations for umpires, coaches, players, and fans. It would be too cumbersome to detail all the events here but I urge you to go the web site and click to see everything that is offered. Included in the weekend is a gala dinner where people will be inducted to the Field Hockey Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Yes, the Foundation still supports the US national team with generous grants and events, but I think it and US Field Hockey will be totally served by Growing The Game!! As the 2020 games approach I can see the excitement build and Pam and I are excited to be a small part of it. We live close by Spooky Nook, the national practice facility for the team, and it gives us an extra incentive to go and cheer on these hardworking athletes who represent our nation so admirably!!

In a newsletter sent to alumni,parents, and fans Head Coach Jennifer Stone announced plans to take the Lafayette Field Hockey team to Capetown, South Africa to compete with local teams and sample life in a different culture.  In her newsletter, Coach Stone explains the reasons for the trip. ” My objective for the Lafayette Field Hockey program is to create an opportunity where every player who plays for LCFH gets to experience hockey abroad. Hockey is a worldly sport, as reflected in our own team here at Lafayette. To be able to play and EXPERIENCE hockey abroad is an incredible gift…….Our previous tours have been to Holland, London and Barcelona. Every graduating player since 2013 has experienced a hockey tour abroad.”  

Stone noted that the trip was made possible by the significant generosity from our supporters, families, friends, and alumni. She wants to continue the tradition and the pay the same gift forward to our future leopards.

The team will leave on May 29th and return June the 7th. They will play four matches at local clubs and will have a clinic by a professional coach while there. They will also provide a clinic of their own to less privileged students through the courtesy of the Goededacht Trust.

They will also have a chance to Safari at the Aquila Game Reserve, do team surfing, visit Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, visit the Cape of Good Hope and sample a traditional African dinner and dancing, among other activities.

The team will have to prepare for the trip by having additional practices starting May 20th before leaving by plane from JFK. They will need several vaccines according to team physician Dr. Jeff Goldstein including shots for Hep A and typhoid.

OFF SEASON WORK CONTINUES 

Upon return to campus the team began a series of workouts and exercises to prepare for the spring season. They expect to be back on the turf in March in anticipation of the spring competitions. As of now the following schedule is anticipated:

Saturday March 24 @ Villanova 12 pm

Friday April 6 Monmouth at 6 pm @ home

Sunday April 8 @  Penn for a tournament

Saturday April 14 @ Columbia for a tournament

Saturday April 21 there is a tournament @ home

EXTERNSHIPS

Using Lafayette’s extensive alumni network many team members were able experience externships during the break. Liza Welch visited schools and businesses in the Boston Area including Harvard Business School and the Harvard Medical School. Jenn DeLongis was at a private law firm and sat in on several criminal case hearings. Adriana Pero had an externship with Dr. Susan Pannullo a noted neurosurgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Cameron Costello shadowed a neonatal surgeon and worked in the NICU. She also got to scrub into a C section!!!

There is other news which I will follow up on in the near future!!

It never ceases to confound me when I hear from time to time from non-athletes, “so what’s the point.”  Or, ” as a college we are not in the business of training professional athletes.” I usually grit my teeth and remind them all, as an undergraduate institution no one on the day they get their diploma will be qualified to do brain surgery, run a multi-billion dollar company, argue in front of the Supreme Court, or totally design a new giant skyscraper.

What happens in those 4 years is to build a foundation, that can be used to garner and harness all their education to accomplish many things. They will be citizens who shape their environment, politically and physically. Athletics is part of that education and ( I know I will irritate my faculty friends with the next statement), may be equally as important as that course in Modern British Fiction. It’s the exposure to challenges and learning how to meet it, that will shape our young student athletes.

More often than not there will be frustrations and disappointments and great triumphs as well. I am reminded of a prayer I once read:

I  Asked For—–

I asked for strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong

I asked for wisdom and God gave me problems to solve

I asked for prosperity and God gave me brawn and brain to work

I asked for courage and God gave me dangers to overcome

I asked for love and God gave me troubled people to help

I asked for favors and God gave me oppotunites

I received nothing I wanted

I received everything I needed!

All my prayers have been answered

On January 22 our team returned to the campus. The 2018 season has begun with strength and conditioning drills, soon to morph into spring practice. The new class has been signed with Mary Gould, Alix Talkow, Molly Mc Andrew, Maddie Mayuga, and  Holly Abbot. They will begin their four year adventure in August. (We expect perhaps one more signing this spring).  These new students will have the additional challenge of adjusting to new teammates, and the next step up in skill and speed.

Even before the first weight is lifted, Theresa Delahanty and Rachel Bird attended the US Naval Academy leadership course ( See the picture at the head of the article with soccer player Joe DeStefano and Deputy Director of Athletics Katy McKittrick and now senior student mentor Ellen Colbourne) . Hopefully, they will bring new leadership skills to inspire the Field Hockey Leopards to success this fall. As I said in previous posts, I have seen the schedule and there is not one team, that is beyond our reach next season. For the seniors, it all comes together, for the juniors they become an important part in the growth of the team, the sophomores, now have been around for a year and have played teams at the highest level, and the freshmen will learn to be integrated into a winning culture.

Hopefully, all our prayers will be answered

 

The page has turned onto a new year and for Lafayette Field Hockey, it’s 2018 that every player and recruit is now focused on. Improvement does not come with just hope, but with work that begins today…. or began yesterday. Our first year players now have one year under their belt, and the second and third year players have honed skills that need to be integrated into a new team construct. Two thousand seventeen is over, and there must be lessons learned and absorbed to apply to the coming season.

There should not be an obsession with lost games, but there should be reflection on what could have been done to change the outcome. There was progress made. There were more shots taken, more goals scored,  and more corners earned last year. In the end, Field Hockey is a chaotic game but winning teams are able to rationalize the chaos through skill development, fitness, and mental preparation. In some cases we rose to the occasion, the Bucknell game comes to mind, and in fairness. there were several games we did not play our best.

I have seen our schedule for next year. There is not a team on that schedule we cannot beat. Yes, the chances of going undefeated are slim, but we should arrive on the field with the mental and physical preparation that will propel us to the playoffs. Every practice, conditioning session, and game review should have an expectation that Lafayette can prevail. Spring is a great time to experiment and prepare, the fall is the time to execute. (Spoiler alert….There will also be a chance to test our skills in late spring and early Summer against foreign competition!!!)

Hope….in a new era and with new leadership in our athletic department, there should be a feeling of optimistic expectations.  The Leopards must arrive on the turf with confidence. Practice with every minute assuming it is as precious, as it is important. Practice should be like a mini-game….. win in practice, and win when in counts. In my conversations with the new AD I have stated that this team, of all the 23 teams at Lafayette, this team is the closest to winning a conference title.

I have hope, with an optimistic state of mind!! I hope we will make the extra pass, the follow up shots, and scrape the turf to make that tackle. I hope I will be able to say that our bench was engaged, standing on the sidelines ready to enter the game if needed. I want to beat Lehigh on our own turf. Three years of losing to Holy Cross must end!! It would be sweet to be on the winning side against American and Boston. Colgate was too close last year. While watching the National Football Championships last night, I wondered if freshmen Tua Tagovailoa knew he would be playing that second half in place of Jalen Hurts. Maybe it doesn’t matter. He was ready, and Hurts was on the sideline rooting his teammates on, as if he were still on the field. That’s how championships are  created.

Hope and expectation can merge. I can’t wait to see our spring games to see if we have the inner strength and skill to match our physical assets.

GO PARDS!!