On November 10th, varsity field hockey fell short to Canton in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. The loss ended the careers of the seven players in the class of 2025, including Emily Watson, Zoe Adams, and Lainey Valutkevich. Even though they felt heavy sadness for the end of their season and careers, they are grateful to have been a part of the field hockey program.
“My favorite part about field hockey was the relationships that came out of it,” defenseman, Emily Watson, said. “Obviously, it’s a sport that we all love to play, but I think it’s most importantly a sport where we get to meet great people.”
“Our teammates were always there for us no matter what. You could have had the worst day and they would make you feel happy,” captain Zoe Adams said, “I will definitely miss that the most.”
Along with the positive team culture they experienced, the three seniors also felt high gratitude for the relationships they created with their coaches, Ally Valencia and Sam Breen.
“We had a bit of a rocky start this season, but they kept faith in us and kept encouraging us. They pushed us to be the best versions of ourselves,” midfielder Lainey Valutkevich, said.
“They were people we looked up to, like, yeah I want to be like them,’” Watson said.
Like any sport, field hockey brought ups and downs for the three seniors, including big wins and memories, making it all worth it.
“Beating teams that we weren’t expected to beat was fun,” Adams said. “Like sophomore year, we lost to Longmeadow in the round of sixteen and then last year we beat them in the regular season, which was so inspiring for the program.”
Big wins were not the only aspect that made the hard moments all worth it though. Valutkevich recalled the first couple weeks of the season and the happiness it brought her.
“Those first couple weeks in the season, when everyone’s just so excited to be on the team and congratulating each other, I feel like that’s when you really get to see the team start to come together. And that’s what makes field hockey so great.”
Having been a part of the field hockey program for all four years, they faced challenges they had to overcome through balance and leadership.
“Sometimes I had a little bit of trouble balancing school and field hockey,” Valutkevich said. “It’s all about finding that balance between spending time with the team and staying on top of schoolwork, which can be difficult.”
“Some days the energy on our team was kind of low, and it’s a part of being an upperclassman to go and cheer everybody up. So I think those days were hard, but they built perseverance,” Watson said.
Since field hockey brought Watson, Valutkevich, and Adams many positive memories, none of the three girls foresee it permanently leaving their lives. Whether playing club or intramural field hockey in college, or hoping to coach in the future, they are sure to keep their sticks close.
“It would be so fun to organize practices, and even though I don’t know where I’ll be after college, possibly coaching here in some form would be really fun,” Valutkevich said.
Looking back on their careers, they offered advice they would have wanted to hear freshman year and to current underclassmen on the team.
“Don’t take any moment for granted, because things like team bonding events and spaggers, you’ll never get back after you graduate,” Adams said. “So always be grateful for that.”
“High school really does fly by, so always be kind and positive, because that’s how our team camaraderie is built and that’s why we’re family,” Watson said.