Determination

This past weekend, my field hockey team won the state tournament.  It was one of the most amazing moments of my life, and very rewarding.  All summer and fall, each one of my teammates and I had spent countless hours practicing and working out.  Regular season started the end of August, and that is when things really started kicking into gear.  We came into the season with great expectations, having won state the previous year, against our biggest rival, Lake Forest.  Last year, New Trier had lost to Lake Forest twice in regular season, but beat Lake Forest in the game that really mattered: state.

We were a strong team, and ended our regular season 12-1-1 (Wins-Loses-Ties), which unfortunately wasn’t as good as Lake Forest’s 12-0-1 (we tied to them 0-0 the first game, and lost to them 3-1 in the second game).  So as soon as playoffs came around, we were seeded number two, and Lake Forest, of course, number one.  We were all so determined to beat Lake Forest, and to ruin their “perfect season” that they had going into the tournament (with no loses). 

And on Saturday we proved to Lake Forest our passion, drive, and capability, beating them 2-0, and winning the state title once again.  It was not necessarily that we had better stick skills, (we certainly didn’t in the regular season, but by playoffs we might have), but more that we had the determination and passion.  We all became really close this fall, and were very motivated.  It goes to show that the “underdog” can win, and as cheesy it sounds, it mostly takes perseverance and passion.  Yes, we still had to be in shape and have good stick skills, but it took the togetherness of the team and the determination to become state champions.