Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Podcast Co-Host Wanted!

As you are all aware, the college field hockey pre-season is underway all across the country and teams are taking the field. As you are probably less aware, this site has undertaken the noble venture of having a podcast to cover all of the news. The first two episodes were solo shows aimed at providing a preview of the defending champion, UCONN, and the runner-up, Syracuse. Now that the regular season is quickly approaching, we are looking to change the format of the show, and we need your help. In the first two episodes, it was simply me sharing my thoughts and going over the information. I enjoyed doing it that way, however we are always trying to make this site better, and that includes the new podcast. Because of that, we are looking for an ambitious person who would like to co-host a weekly podcast with me. The ideal candidate is someone who is knowledgable about the sport of field hockey (either through playing experience or by other means) and who follows the NCAA DI conferences. The ideal candidate is also willing to commit an hour a week for recording shows and light research. No previous podcasting experience is needed whatsoever, just a simple desire to talk about a great game. Having fresh ideas for show segments is definitely a plus as well as general creativity. Unfortunately this would not be a paid position, but who knows in the future if we ever have sponsorship?

If you are interested in this, please email me at collegefieldhockey@gmail.com or reach out on twitter (@CollegeFHtoday). I am so excited to bring you all a weekly podcast devoted to college field hockey, so please help out if you can.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

College Field Hockey Today Podcast

At this site, we are constantly trying to come up with ways to better cover the sport of field hockey. We love it, you love it, and we want as many people as possible to love the sport because it is such a fun game. Recently, we have been toying with the idea of a podcast for the site. This became an idea about 6 weeks ago but was an immediate "now how would that even work?". Well, after much planning I am glad to introduce the first ever College Field Hockey Today Podcast. Between now and the start of the regular season, we will be posting season previews for as many teams as possible. Our starting point, is the UCONN Huskies, the defending national champions. What better way to start then with the team who won it all?

Here is the Link (http://www.podomatic.com/media_library/get_media/10753179?dl=1) to the podcast.

We are working to get the podcast posted to other platforms and will hopefully have it be on iTunes soon. Please listen and let us know what you think!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Boston College's Kelly Doton is Ready

Late night flights and early morning tasks are all part of the job for a college field hockey coach. Kelly Doton may be new to the job at Boston College, but she has all the preparation she needs. Coach Doton is ready to take on the biggest challenges of the ACC and possibly no one is more enthusiastic than she is for the job.

When I talked to her on Monday morning I asked her how she felt about taking over as head coach at Boston College. She immediately began sharing words of excitement about the job. “I am really excited to be the head coach, this is an institution that I love and I am very excited for this opportunity,” she said. “I absolutely love the people that I work with and we are all on the same page with our goals.”

But enthusiasm is not the only quality needed to thrive in field hockey. Kelly Doton got the chance over the last three years to work with Coach Ainslee Lamb and learned as much as possible from her. “There’s an endless list of reasons why Ainslee is a great coach,” Doton said. “She has a sense of professionalism and always loved to see student-athletes grow. She based everything on sound principles and was always able to get the best out of her athletes.” The list truly went on and on for Doton as she explained what she had learned from Coach Lamb.

Before Doton joined the Boston College staff, she was an assistant at Indiana. But what about her playing career? Not every great coach had a great playing career. Luckily for Doton, her playing career was truly elite. During her time at Wake Forest, she won two national championships and won the Honda Award in 2003. Her accomplishments on the field did not end during college though, Doton went on to play for the national team and earn over 100 caps with the senior team.

“I think that with my playing career, my players have immediate respect,” Doton said. “Respect is something that is earned and that goes on and off the field. You have to show respect to earn respect”.
So at this point, Kelly Doton has the mentorship and a distinguished playing career, so what is necessary to be a good coach? The drive. I asked Coach Doton whether she was excited or nervous to be a first time head coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Without hesitation she told me that she wanted to be challenged. “I would never take the easy road,” Doton said. “I know that it is not going to be easy in the ACC and I do not want that (to be easy).”

With such a strong background, Doton seems truly ready to lead. She’s not the only one who believes this though. “Ainslee used to always tell me that one day I would take over for her,” according to Doton. And now, it is her time.

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Spring of 2015 Plans

Last November, UCONN defeated Syracuse to end the NCAA field hockey season. The season had so many great story lines and drama even from the beginning. Because of that, I began searching for resources that highlighted the game and focused on NCAA division I. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I failed to find a site that covered the sport with a voice (side note: there are a ton of amazing websites filled with stats, scores, and schedules) and that lead to the creation of this site and subsequent twitter account. As the season grew the match-ups became more exciting and entertaining and it made running this an absolute blast.

As many of you who followed know, this site focused on games. Who is playing who, which players could make an impact, and what to watch for. With the NCAA tournament closing, there was obviously no more NCAA games for 2014 to talk about. The season was exciting, but I felt that it was best to take a break from writing to help recharge. Initially the plan was to take a break for the rest of 2014 and pick back up in 2015, but that obviously was extended through the month of January.

So now we are here, and I need your help. Winter is (slowly) coming to an end and many teams are back in the gym training and getting ready. I would like to keep this site active during the spring, but I want to know what you, the readers and field hockey fans want to read about. Recruiting, team previews, interviews with coaches and players? Club hockey news? National team? Something else? I am starting to come up with plans for the spring, but I need your help in knowing what you would most want to be reading about.

Let me know in either the comments here or on twitter. I am looking forward to hearing from you and I hope that your winter training is going well!