On Saturday, September 23, 2023 The Lindbergh Varsity Field Hockey team brought home a win. Captain Zoe Earley described the game as exhausting, explaining how challenging it was to keep her motivation and hope high the entirety of the game.
“The biggest challenge I faced during my game on Saturday was not giving up. As the game
went into overtime and shootouts, I had to keep playing my game, even if I was exhausted,” Earley said.
Earley kept her head high, strategizing with her team to win against Eureka. Coach Andrew Shipp explained that the flyers relationships, teamwork and ability to change quickly is
amazing. The girls usually prepare and discuss game play strategies on their own without an
adult in play. Shipp and Earley both described this game as a learning opportunity.
“For me, there isn’t a better feeling than getting to see our team play together and make the
adjustments in their team huddle with minimal input from adults,” Shipp said.
Along with the girls, Shipp explained that he felt the pressure the girls were under but he did not allow it to affect his coaching. To him, seeing the girls grow as athletes and make adjustments to game play is all that matters. Overall, the flyers plan to make big changes in their season outcome, continuing to train and condition for their upcoming games and tournaments.
Coach Shipps’ hope is to train his players to the best of their abilities. He strives to watch them work together without struggling to come up with solutions to possible game-time problems. Shipp also explained how the team switched up their game play and tried different things in the second half. The flyers had not only made a change in play but also in energy. The girls went from giving their 100% to their 110% and it was quite noticeable to both spectators and coaches.
“They were stymied for the first half, struggling to connect passes effectively and often over-shooting their teammates creating deep defensive turnovers for Eureka. They didn’t capitalize on these deep offensive turnovers and kept the ball in the Eureka end which created a game of transition keeping Eureka in the game. Second half, the team did better, creating more scoring opportunities but were too unselfish with their play in the circle, trying to pass the ball across rather than take the open shot. This continued through the over time period. The team created many scoring chances but looked for a pass rather than a shot in the 7v7 overtime,“ Shipp explained.
All in all, the girls are excited to continue their season and hope to see lots of wins and change throughout the season.
