Currently 5-5 on the season, Woodgrove Field Hockey has made significant changes this season to cultivate their team dynamic and culture.
“I feel that as a team we’re really close and it helps us play better together,” said Hannah Forrester, a captain on the team, who has been playing for 4 years and is really feeling the team dynamic this year. “We all love each other and we play well together and we just have fun together.” Forrester has been playing for eight years now and has been on varsity since freshman year. She feels that they are on track for their strongest season yet and can’t wait to make memories with her teammates.
The team has incorporated lots of new bonding activities this year and has formed strong new relationships. These types of bonds often help team dynamics and strengthen bonds, according to The National Institute of Health, who stated, “Team-building interventions have been shown to enhance team functioning, particularly in fostering cohesion among sports teams.” From team dinners and sister bonding activities the team has had plenty of opportunities to grow outside of practice. A shining example is Clare Doherty’s Dress Up Dip Night, a quirky team tradition in which each sister dresses up together and they have a dip buffet. Doherty’s dip night is an annual team bonding activity. The entire Woodgrove field hockey team goes to Doherty’s house, dressed up in themes for each family/sister. Each family is made up of some upperclassmen and some lowerclassmen. The families all bring their own dip (some are savory, some are sweet), and they all have a dip buffet.
Junior Kenzie Boccia spoke about how much she loved the team activities, saying, “Team dinners are really fun and we always do interesting stuff like dressing up as a team.” She is a team captain and the unofficial “hype man” of the team. Boccia, like many others on the team, loves her teammates and especially loves her coaches. “They have definitely helped me grow as a player, every year they tell me how much I’ve improved, and definitely as a person too they always encourage me and are very supportive and never rude. They care about us growing more than winning or losing,” Boccia explained.
Natalie Harrison, the resident Liberty University commit, has been playing since 5th grade and agrees that Woodgrove helped her reach her Division I dreams. She explained, “It is really competitive and my coaches helped set this up by being really hard on me, improving my game, and helping me be a better person.” Throughout the entire team the distinct factor is their bond. The relationship of this team is incredibly strong and they are always together outside of school. As Boccia puts it, “On the field our connection is way better, we have connected with each other off the field and now we’re connected on the field, we all can tell we are more a team than just individuals.”
The team has a long season ahead of them and are approaching it head on with the will to defend their winning record.
