With a record of twelve wins, eight losses, and one tie, the Kingswood-Oxford Girls’ Varsity Hockey team has proven that they can compete with some of the best schools in New England. These top schools, such as Choate, Westminster and Greenwich Academy, are part of their tough schedule, which includes twenty-four games, according to the Kingswood-Oxford website. After crushing Southfield 6-1 at Hockey Night on January 19th, the girls’ team has now begun preparing for playoffs.
Although the team is mostly made up of high school players, the seven middle school students that currently play on the team, Allie Byrne, Sarah Byrne, Nina Gozzi, Emily Howard, Emma Kulowski, Katie Morgan, and Meg Sequino, will provide depth and experience for years to come. So what’s it like being on a varsity team as a middle school student? In hockey especially, the size of your opponents can make a big difference, but it doesn’t seem as if size is affecting the play of the middle schoolers. Seventh grader Katie Morgan says, “It is really cool to play as a middle schooler because the [high school] teammates kind of treat you differently in a way. They aren’t as hard on you as the other girls on the team. Also, the coaches try harder to play you. It’s really cool.” To play a varsity sport, a middle school athlete must possess the responsibility to be efficient with her (or his) work during school because practices occur after school, unlike middle school sports. Furthermore, a middle school athlete playing on a varsity team must have the determination and desire to work through grueling practices with older athletes she (or he) she shmay not know at first. Even though she has to work hard every practice, Form I player Emma Kulowski comments, “It is a lot of responsibility and hard work, but once you get a hold on it, it is like any other team.”
The team’s focus and determination in practice has been reflected in their performance at the Northfield-Mount Herman and Canterbury Tournaments. At NMH, the girls won the whole tournament, and they came close to doing the same at Canterbury, losing by only one goal to Wyoming Seminary in the final, as the team was awarded the 2nd place trophy .
It may seem hard, but playing a varsity sport has been a good experience for these middle school girls. Even though they didn’t know many people at first, Nina Gozzi, an eighth grader, says, “All the high schoolers made me feel welcome; I honestly can’t think of one person who didn’t make me feel like a part of the team.”
Without any seniors on the team this year, the juniors have had to take the seniors’ place. Sarah Byrne, another eighth grader, says that, “The juniors, especially the captains Leah Hallet, Sarianne Lynn and Celia Colman-McGraw are the leaders on the team.” Since the juniors had to be even more mature and responsible this year, the middle players have been exposed to players who have taught them how to step up and take responsibility for the team’s success.
The middle school players have not only gained experience by playing twenty-one games on this prestigious team, but they have had the chance to improve their game. Nina Gozzi says that the high school players “are always willing to take some time off during their practice to help you improve,” and Coach Meghan Barringer says, “Being exposed to a higher and faster level of play will help all of the middle school students, regardless of their skill level, improve their game.”
With such a young team---no seniors and six middle school players---the girls’ varsity hockey team provides great promise for upcoming years.
~ Cayla Hatton
(Note: After the writing of this article the girls’ team lost in the first round of the playoffs 6-1 to Rivers School on February 28th and the team’s win loss record changed.)