The Varsity Field Hockey Team has done exceptionally well this season, coming out undefeated and unscored upon in the City-Eastern League, earning them not only the title of League Champion for the third year in a row, but the number two seed in Division Two, and making it to the quarterfinals in the CIF Tournament.

   According to a high school sports statistics website, the team finished the season 15-8, with big wins over Cathedral Catholic High, Rancho Bernardo High, and Helix High (maxpreps.com).

   The close relationships between all of the players on the team seem to be a huge factor as to why the team has seen such success. “Our team has really strong camaraderie compared to many other teams. That skill builds trust and connections between every player,” said Senior Co-Captain Abby Kim. Sophomore Taylor Sullivan added, “We are all super close, and our team dynamic has worked out this past season.”

   “I feel that since we started our season so early with our summer training, we came with a good mental mindset into the season and are always ready to play when games startup,” said Senior Catherine Bride. “By the time the season started, we were fully prepared to take on our opponents, and we had gotten all of the rust off from the previous season,” Bride added.

   The team puts in hard work at practice to ensure that they are physically and mentally ready for upcoming games. “I think the big thing about practice is having the girls come together and figure out how to make connections, and just critiquing all their individual, small skills during passes and drills, which results into a smooth transition into games,” said Varsity Head Coach Amber Zimmerman.   

   “We really improved on being able to rely on each other. We are able to trust one another on and off the field and it drives our skill during games,” said Kim.

   Zimmermann believes that changing the formation from the previous year and adding an extra defender has created a stronger defense. She continued, adding that making that decision improved the entire game. Zimmermann elaborated, “We have a stronger defense that we can rely on, which allows mid-fielders to not have to cover so far, which results in more offensive plays because our forwards are goal-hungry, and everyone is connecting and making passes.”

   “We are all peaking at a really good time. Everyone is playing their best, at the point where it is most important in the season. Even though [towards the end of our regular season] we hadn’t been playing against super challenging teams, we stayed at our level and pace, continuing to play well,” said Senior Camille Balagtas.

   “We push a little harder during practice, and we talk a lot about how important everything is [now that we’re CIF bound], which puts everyone in the right state of mind for games,” mentioned Balagtas, as she described what the team does while they are preparing for important games in the post-season.

   According to Bride, the team also has the ability to group back together if they have a feeling that something is off. “During practices or games, when we know that something off or wrong, we are able to get it together and figure things out, address it, and move on to improve.”

   The team hopes to have future success throughout the years, as this year has been a huge milestone in the UC High Field Hockey Program.