Captains of the Week: Field Hockey

By JOONYOUNG HEO and LAUREN LEE

Senior captains Kate Nixon, Eden Welch, and Grace Puchalski have led the girls’ field hockey team to a successful start to the season. Their passion for the sport has driven an impressive record and created a strong bond within the team.

Behind the athletic and managerial excellence of these captains is considerable experience on the field. “I’ve been playing field hockey since the eighth grade,” Eden Welch said. “I’ve been on the team since I was a prep. Over the years, I’ve been able to find my voice and grow more comfortable using it on and off the field. Last year, as an upper, I successfully harnessed my leadership skills, and I think that had a positive impact on our team culture.”

Similarly, robust leadership came naturally with experience. “I made the team my prep year,” Kate Nixon said. “It’s been awesome to have a role on the team, and it’s one that I’ve grown into. I think people have come to respect my leadership.”

This has certainly not gone unnoticed by other members of the team. “They’re all very hardworking and dedicated captains,” upper Audrey Sim said. “When they step on the field, you know they’re bringing everything they have––but they’re also people. We all look up to them, but at the same time we’re just friends.” “The captains are amazing people,” upper Kate Rose said. “They have an incredible work ethic, and they lift the team up. The environment is very enjoyable. They’re all super nice and supportive.”

“Our captains have been amazing, especially Grace Puchalski,” upper Jessica Chen said. “She’s in her second year in field hockey, and she’s not only an insane goalie on the field––she also brings so much energy to the team.”

The captains have taken much inspiration from their predecessors. “I’ve been really inspired by the previous captains at Exeter,” Welch said. “They led by example and promoted a positive and energy-filled environment on and off the field. I try to emulate a lot of that in my own leadership, by setting a good example and being vocal and getting everyone up. We’re a team, and we need to look to each other when it gets tough.”

“Something I’ve observed over the years is that, if the captains were down and had low energy before a game, the game was low-energy,” Nixon said. “If the captains were hyped and supported the team, everyone did really well. So I’ve taken from past captains that being a leader really trickles down to the entire team, for better and for worse. I’ve become very mindful of what I put forward for the team to see, so that I can lead by example.”

This positive atmosphere has considerably improved the quality of their play. “We all bonded immediately at preseason, and our closeness seems to be helping us on the field a lot,” Welch said. “We’ve had a lot of tough, close games this season, and our ability to keep intensity throughout games, and even to make comebacks, has been incredible. Passing, corners, and team defense are going smoothly. There’s a lot of teamwork, and I’m really proud of everyone’s efforts so far.”

The team has thrived in training so far. “We lift twice a week after practice,” Rose said. “Practices are obviously physically challenging due to the demands of the sport. And it shows. The games we’ve lost have all been very close, and we have gone into overtime 3 times, which is crazy.”

“We work hard,” Chen said. “We practice a variety of skills and it’s really fun playing with talented players. The team this year is looking way better than in previous seasons.”

Their hard work and determination has paid off in their interscholastic games. “Every year we’re getting better,” Nixon said. “So many of our games this year have been incredibly close––and that’s not always been the case. We lost to Nobles in overtime, but it was just one of those games where you walk away feeling so accomplished and proud of yourself, because you gave it everything you had. No one walked away being like, shoot, I could have done more. Nobles is a powerhouse in field hockey, and to lose to them in overtime proves this year will be exceptional for us. It’s amazing to watch how the team is growing.”

“My favorite game this year was at Northfield Mount Hermon,” Welch said. “It was a long bus ride and we didn’t have our normal warmup because we were late, but that didn’t affect our play at all. We dominated every single quarter, and our passing was by far the best I have seen the entire season. Since we were missing players, people stepped up and took on new roles. We finished the game 5-0––really an incredibly fun game on a beautiful Saturday.”

Looking ahead, the captains are excited for the future of Exeter field hockey. “We’ve been talking as a team about taking every game as a playoff game,” Nixon said. “Everyone has their eyes set on getting to postseason play––making it to playoffs, basically. It’s been a little unfortunate because we’ve lost some really close games. It’s a long-term goal, but I hope it happens this season. Getting to play more field hockey after the season is a big deal.”

“We captains are setting that tone every game,” Welch said. “I have so much confidence in every player on the team, and I know that with continued hard work and perseverance, we’re going to accomplish many things this year.”