Field Hockey Present and Future

As the Brentwood year races to a start, many sports begin to compete in tournaments in the first weeks of September. Brentwood’s term one Field Hockey teams recently participated in the Friendship Cup, a two day tournament between local high school teams. Brentwood used these games as an opportunity to sort the girls into their potential teams for the future as there had only been one practice beforehand to see if the girls were ready to play for the first XI or if they would play for the second XI.  Mrs. Whitney and Ms Ostopovich led the second XI to 3 victories, a considerable feat for such a new team. The members of the team were proud they were able to work together and adjust to the change so quickly and seamlessly.  This year the second XI had four inexperienced players who learned the ropes of the game easily and were quick to impress the older members of the team. Pressure for the returners increased even more as three sweet but feisty Grade 8s joined too, putting everyone on the team to shame. There is nothing like overconfidence squashed by a 4 foot girl in braids showing a senior player how to properly hold their stick.  The development team has had their fair share of work cut out for themselves too, practicing hard at the turf or back a Brentwood with Fuzzy and Mrs. Warner. They focused on building stick skills by practicing passing, dribbling (controlled, loose and Indian), dodging, pull backs, and cone weaving. This year's team is larger than in the past and is sure to grow Brentwood’s incredible Field Hockey program in the future years. Once you get a taste of field hockey it’s hard to kick it.  Phoebe H, Hope ‘19