SHS Field Hockey Goes Undefeated Before an Unexpected Pause to the Season

Scituate High School Field Hockey is back in the game this season. The team started off the season strong and is currently in a position to advance to the playoffs. However, because of the new COVID-19 regulations, the game is completely different. 

This season the team is faced with several adjustments to the game, including face masks, new rules, and a new field formation. According to varsity field hockey player junior Hannah Gillis, “The biggest change is wearing masks because now it is a lot harder to breathe on the field. Everyone gets tired a lot quicker during games.” Gillis also stressed the challenges that came along with the 6-feet social distance regulations during practices and games. Another adjustment has been the elimination of penalty corners, “I think eliminating corners and game situations where players have very close contact was a good compromise,” says Coach Amanda Kent, Assistant Varsity Coach. 

The hardest part of this season has been the change from playing 11v11 to 7v7, varsity field hockey player junior Kiera Reidy says, “It is so hard to be down four players on the field, it seems like they are being over-cautious by having us all wear masks and play 7v7.” All of these adjustments are definitely taking a toll on the team as no one could prepare and train for these changes. However, the team is definitely making the most of the situation during this time.

The field hockey team experienced another challenge when one of their coaches tested positive for COVID-19. Out of an abundance of caution, the entire field hockey program, 45 players and 3 coaches, had to quarantine for two weeks from October 6th-19th. All athletes and coaches since tested negative and are back from quarantine. This caused a big setback for the team, having them miss four games and two weeks’ worth of practice. Many members of the team had been “going for runs, doing stick skills in our backyards, and working out to keep ourselves in shape,” according to Reidy. To keep the team in shape during the two weeks, the field hockey coaches put together workouts as well as an “air-dribbling” video that everyone took part in from home to keep in touch. 

Overall, the general consensus from the team is that everyone feels safe with the new COVID-19 regulations for field hockey this fall: “I think that now that we know that someone in our program has gotten it, it makes us all want to be even more cautious than before, although we are all definitely excited to get back,” says Gillis. The field hockey team has its final regular season on Friday, November 6th, against Plymouth South High School.