Six With Sticks

by Six Kennedy kids and their parents

Category Archives: field hockey


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Championship vibes

Bryn Mawr meets Archbishop Spalding in the IAAM A Championship. Been several years since Bryn Mawr had been in a field hockey championship. Spalding beat them by a few goals early in the season. This is the first year since Maggie was in 6th grade that she has played field hockey. She made varsity because of her athleticism and her fitness and competitiveness. And she worked hard all season. By the end of the season and through the championship game, she earned a starting spot on the squad and played a key role on midfield in the championship game.

Maggie’s fanbase was awesome. The girls decorated signs and came out to cheer Maggie on. Kendall, Maggie’s longtime friend who played field hockey (and lax!!) all the way growing up together, came out to cheer Maggie on. Eden and Liz played together at St Pauls, and both helped Marcia coach the girls in field hockey in Catonsville over the years. Grammy and Pop Pop also came out to watch Maggie compete.

It was an exciting game, back and forth. And went into overtime. One of Bryn Mawr’s players got fouled going in for a shot and was awarded a stroke. She nailed it, and the game was over. Bryn Mawr won! Champs!

Amazing is that this is Maggie’s 4th IAAM Championship! Cross Country, Basketball, Lacrosse, and now Field Hockey. Kid is racking up the hardware.


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Maggie, new school, field hockey

Maggie switched schools from Gerstell to Bryn Mawr. She decided to play field hockey instead of cross country. This made Eden and Mom especially excited, as Eden took her up to the high school to help her prepare for tryouts. And lent Maggie her field hockey stick for the season. Maggie stepped up and it helped for a great transition to a new school. Here are some picks from the Cup Game.


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Last FH game …

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Liz played her last competitive field hockey game. Possibly the last field hockey game of her life. She played hard. So did Eden. She was especially great at center back. But they were overmatched in playoffs. And lost to Bryn Mawr.

Eden posted this pic with her sister. Both girls were pretty emotional. As was Maggie, who started at SPSG 7 years ago with Liz. It has been a long fun road. And these girls have earned some great victories, and an IAAM Championship.

I am proud of my field hockey players. I coached them when they were small and through their time in the rec program. And have loved every minute of coaching them, cheering for them, driving them to and from events, and living through the ups and downs along with them.


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Senior Day SPSG Field Hockey

Liz was celebrated yesterday, along with the other 4 seniors on her field hockey team. She was a team captain. And a leader on the field.

Marcia, Eden, and I accompanied Liz on the field before the game. And then Eden and Liz played. They played hard but lost. Marcia did a lot of the decorations for the team, including making special scrunchies for the team.

It was an emotional day for both girls. Eden made a poster for Liz, and also a gift basket. And gave a tribute speech to Liz at the party after the event. I am realizing more and more how real it is becoming for Eden that Liz is leaving next year for college. And how much Liz means to her.

It has been a great ride watching the two of my girls compete as teammates. Eden has always been good enough to play up with Liz, and so we have had several years worth of watching them as teammates. But this is the last ride for the sisters together on the same team.

I am grateful to SPSG for making this event special for Liz and her teammates. And grateful to her coach for recognizing her for her talent but even more importantly for her effort and leadership.

I filmed the coach’s tribute as well as each senior speech.  I have clipped below the most important speech, Eden’s.

And included the entire tribute, including the coach’s praise of Liz.

I am so proud of my girls. They are growing up.


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Senior Day for Liz

Today is Liz’s Senior Day. It is the last home game for Liz playing field hockey for St Pauls School for Girls. It also marks the last time Liz and Eden will play field hockey (or any sport) together. Although they are the oldest of our 6 kids, based on ages, sex, and sports played by our kids, this is likely the last time any of our kids will play on the same sports team from here on out. It is crazy that it has come this fast.

Recently, the girls were both featured together to promote a game. They have both been playing varsity sports since they were freshmen. And, Liz, as a senior, has been a standout performer this year.  And Eden has been a starter.

Their team has not performed as well as in years’ past, as it is not as deep with talent and with effort. But it has been a true joy and a pleasure as a parent to watch the two of them compete. And then see how they interact on the rides home. Liz is so supportive of her younger sister. And picks her up. And Eden looks up to Liz. And also helps her in ways in which she needs help.

I am not looking forward to the end of this road. The road has been long, but now on the last mile, I realize I was racing too much, rather than rolling down the windows and enjoying the cool breeze and the sun shining on my face. Good luck today, girls. And, Liz, thanks for the ride.


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2nd day of tryouts

Eden was headed to her second day of tryouts.  I sent her a note of encouragement beforehand.  In the note, I told her how proud I was of her.  And I reminded her of all of the good things she did in the 1st day of tryouts.  And, again, I gave her some advice.

Today, follow it up and work even harder. You now know what you are up against. But don’t worry about what you are up against. Work for yourself. Be the best you can be. You have two hours. Play the hardest you can play. Push yourself as hard as you can.

You have the stickwork. You have the athleticism. You are a smart field hockey player. Show them that you have the hustle. That you won’t give up on a play. That you can hound offensive players all game long. That you aren’t afraid. That you deserve to be there. Because you do.

I am glad that you have an older sister that sets the bar high for you. And I am glad that you sometimes pass that bar, and push her to set the bar higher.

I am proud of you. So is Mom. So is Liz. Now go make yourself proud. Show yourself what you can do. Give it everything you’ve got. There will be time to rest and recover, but not today. Today, make your mark. Whatever happens happens.

Oh … and eat lunch today 🙂 I got some bananas and lunch meat and cheese.


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On her first day of tryouts

Eden is going into her freshman year of high school.  She is trying out for varsity field hockey.  I drove her and Liz home from the beach so that they could try out.  Liz is a rising junior and was on the team last year.

Eden had a lot of nervous energy all week leading up to the tryout.  And also the week before, when she would drag her sister to the high school to practice.  She was most nervous about the MD test, a series of sprints (20 of them), which needed to be completed in a time frame (18 second 100 yd sprint, 42 seconds to jog back for the start of the next sprint).

I did not pay attention that Eden was so nervous she skipped lunch.

On the way to the tryout, I told the girls how proud I was of them, how much I believed in them, and I gave Eden a couple pieces of advice:

Go Hard.  No matter what you are doing, go hard and don’t give up.  Even if you get beat, hustle and make a play.  You only have two hours, put all your effort into every play.

Get to the front of the line.  When there are drills, don’t hang back.  Get to the front.  Get the most opportunities you can to shine.

Challenge the seniors.  Try to steal the ball from seniors (Eden is a defender).  Don’t back down because they are older.  Step up and challenge.

Talk.  Be loud and talk on defense.

Thank your coaches.  Seek out all the coaches and evaluators after.  Firm hand shake.  Eye contact.  Thank you.

 

I did not stay for the tryout.  But when I came back and picked them up, I could tell that Eden was upset.  Liz did well.  She finished first in the MD test.  Only a few girls finished, maybe 4 or 5.  Eden missed the time on the 9th sprint, but still continued on and finished the 10th and final sprint.  She was very disappointed in herself and upset.  Liz quickly reminded her how well she did in the drills (especially stealing the ball from a senior) and how much better she did in the MD test than most of the other girls trying out.  Eden felt though that as a freshman, you need to stand out big time in order to make a varsity team.


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First Day Wearing Green

St. Paul’s middle school field hockey teams played Notre Dame Prep today.  NDP had very good teams, and won handily.  This was Eden’s first day as a Gator.  She is playing middle school field hockey.  She played against much bigger and older players, and she stood her ground.  She competed hard, and showed lots of skill.  She never gave up and never looked discouraged, despite the score.  I am proud of the maturity and growth that she demonstrated today.