Trust the Process

Of course, Collegiate’s varsity field hockey players and coaches want to win.

 

They expect to win, too, as they should.

 

After all, dating back almost a year, Coach Kelsey Smither’s crew has emerged victorious in 16 straight games: the last five in 2023 and the first 11 this season. To say they’ve done so with aplomb and spirit is an understatement.

 

A year ago, the Cougars ended their 17-5 season, Smither’s first as head coach, with victories in both the League of Independent Schools and VISAA tournament championship games, quite a feat considering that they knocked off higher seeds during their magnificent and magical November run.

 

This fall, the Cougars, ranked first in the LIS and second in the VISAA, have outscored their opponents 77-8 and recorded six shutouts. The only team that’s truly challenged them is Trinity Episcopal, which led 2-1 midway through the third quarter before the Cougars scored three quick goals to seize the momentum, then held the Titans at bay to win 4-2.

 

While expectations are high, they know that wishing and hoping and resting on laurels won’t guarantee future success. They know, too, that hard work, intentional training, and a one-step-at-a-time, one-rep-at-a-time mentality will and that striking a balance between confidence and humility, combined with an all-for-one, one-for-all attitude, is the secret sauce.

 

“I’ve only mentioned, maybe on one occasion, last year’s success and what it took to get there and what that journey looked like,” Smither said. “The cool part about high school and college sports is that you start each year with a new team, and you have to figure out how all the puzzle pieces fit together.”

 

They’ve fit together quite swimmingly thanks in part to strong senior leadership and a solid, experienced corps of midfielders (Callie Rogers, Alexandra Curtis, Katherine Martin plus newcomer Anne Randall Berkeyheiser) and forwards (Heidi Albrecht, Mary Katherine Brost, Katherine Rausch) who complement  a less seasoned defensive unit (freshmen Cabel Berkeyheiser and Eliana Moore bolstered by returners Alisha Pandya and Abby Carley, both sophomores).

 

“This is a new team and a new season,” Smither said. “What’s important is the very next practice, the very next game, keeping our eyes in front of us, taking advantage of the next opportunity, and not getting two steps ahead.  We’re focusing on what we need to do right now to find success and build on it.”

 

Smither’s (and her coaching staff’s) trust-the-process message isn’t lost on their players.

 

“Coach Smither really emphasizes the fact that how we play in practice will correlate to the game,” said Albrecht, a senior forward and tri-captain who’s contributed 10 goals and two assists.

“We all see that. We know that practices are where we’re going to get better, so pushing each other and challenging each other will make us better for games.”

 

Easier said than done, of course, but the Cougars have found a way.

 

“Our team wants to have fun,” said Albrecht, who’s verbally committed to Rhode Island for lacrosse. “We’re a super-energetic group. Using that energy but having fun with each other [creates] a good, competitive spirit. You know that by challenging the person you’re going against [in drills], you’re going to make them better and they’re going to make you better. There’re never any hard feelings. At the end of the day, we all want the best for each other.”

 

Staying in the moment, having fun, and striving for excellence are great in theory as well, but expectations loom.

 

“I haven’t blocked out last year, but I try to make sure it’s not a focal point and take it one game at a time, one win at a time,” said Brost, also a senior forward and tri-captain who’s delivered seven goals and two assists. “At the practices before each game, we’ve been focusing only on that game. We don’t underestimate any opponent. We know we have to maintain our competitiveness and take each game as an opportunity to learn.”

 

No one has been more the object of opponents’ attention the past couple of years than Rogers, a University of Maryland commit and the VISAA and Richmond Times-Dispatch All-Metro player of the year.

 

“It [the spotlight] can be stressful at times, but I try to remember that I want the team to win first,” said Rogers, a senior midfielder and the other tri-captain whose ledger reads 23 goals and 12 assists.  “We’ve had a lot of time to ease into the season. We’ve played some good games, but I don’t believe we’ve reached our potential yet. I’m really excited to play these next games to see what we can do.”

 

One of those comes Friday when the Cougars travel to Norfolk Academy. The Bulldogs, 12-0 and top ranked in the VISAA, fell 4-0 to Collegiate in the state finals last November.

 

“We’re getting ready for our biggest challenges,” Rogers said. “It all comes down to how we play together. That’s what will make us successful.”