Postseason for girls field hockey begins Oct. 18, and the team hopes to make into the top 16 in the state tournament.
“To accomplish this goal we just need to push ourselves and our teammates outside of our comfort zones and keep working on improving everyday and believing in ourselves,” coach Dawn Callahan said.
With nine players graduating in 2016 and moving up a division, the team has experienced change.
“We just really hope to improve on playing together as a team and communicating with one another. To do this we are practicing game speed and practicing our strong push pass or hit,” varsity player and sophomore Jessica Wolf said. “We are also working on boosting each other’s confidence by complimenting and encouraging one another when they are playing well.”
Fourteen freshmen joined the team, not enough to form a freshman team, which meant that all freshmen were placed on the JV team.
“JV came together as a group of girls who had never played before and most of us are freshmen, so it’s kinda been really difficult for us because the other JV teams we are playing have juniors and sophomores who just have more experience,” freshman Carly Anderson said. “We’ve lost the majority of our games, but we have tied and won a couple. It has definitely been a learning experience for all of us and we have learned a lot about the sport.”
The team focused on bonding so that they can play better together as a team.
“We did a team building ropes-type course that focused on teamwork, communication and trusting one another,” varsity captain Ally Wagner said. “Also, we have had our annual pasta dinner night to bond and raised money for the team and we also had a team sleepover where we did a fun scavenger hunt.”
Wagner aspires to encourage every player on the team so that they are able to play to their full potential.
“My goal is to continue to lead the team as a captain and really work on motivating every player to work as hard as they can, whether it’s with running back on mid-field to help defense, the forwards working on positioning or defense taking the ball out wide,” Wagner said. “I and the team will work towards these goals by going hard at practice, communicating with each other effectively and having confidence with everything we do.”
![Holding the disc, senior Nathan Thompson waits for an opportunity to pass to senior Timmy Fry. Parkway United’s ultimate frisbee team is made up of students from each of the four Parkway schools. “The one thing I really like about ultimate [frisbee] is the community because it’s so different from any other sport I've been a part of. [My] national teammates are people who we play against in the regular season, so we see each other all the time. It's always fun hanging out with [them],” Thompson said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/C96A6823-1200x800.jpg)
![Senior Josie Grunzinger watches the football game intently from the sidelines on Oct. 18. Grunzinger stood out to the crowd as the only girl on the football team, encouraging other girls who want to play football to take a chance and go for a sport outside of their comfort zone. “If you think you could [play football] and you want to do it, just try it, because all it takes is to actually try it out,” Grunzinger said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Untitled-design-1200x675.png)
![With her arms held high, junior Jenna Rickelman throws the ball across the pool during a girls water polo practice. With hours of practice after school and over the summer, Rickelman saw many improvements in her water polo skills. “When I look at [my] stats, I'm so much better than I was last year,” Rickelman said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Untitled-design-2-.png)
![Putting on his helmet, catcher and senior Tommy Eschbach prepares to get in his primary stance. Despite losing 6-1 against Eureka on April 16, Eschbach didn’t let the tough loss affect his playing or mental health. “It's [so] easy to get caught up in the sport and what you're doing that [after] one bad game or a stretch of games it is hard to remind yourself that your worth as a person isn't directly related to your performance on the field,” Eschbach said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC_0415-1-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Sports organizations have changed lives on and off the field, improving athletes’ muscle strength, reducing their risk of diseases and building energetic work capacity worldwide. However, many student-athletes struggle to balance schoolwork and athletic commitments, hoping to seek more understanding and support from their teachers and coaches. “To lessen mental strain student-athletes [face] and create a healthier, more comfortable lifestyle, there shouldn’t be any homework. I'm already [at school] for eight hours and [homework] creates a bigger load for student-athletes in AP or honors classes,” track and field sprinter and sophomore Lucy Penton said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_0095-1-e1713883278514-1200x847.jpg)
![At the Spring Pep Rally on March 8, boys varsity water poloist and junior Jack Brau stands with the boys water polo team. The group, hoping to include everyone — whether boy or girl, varsity or JV — cheered on the girls water polo team during the sports team runouts. “Even though we all play separate games and have different practices, we like to see ourselves as one big group who represent one water polo [team],” Brau said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_8810-1-1200x800.jpg)
![Looking for an open teammate, freshman Patrick May passes the ball across the court at the Nov. 28 game against Parkway Central. May started in the game against the Colts. ”Growing up, [my parents] always gave me a basketball, [and] we had a basketball hoop outside. I grew up playing [all the time], playing on the [driveway] and shooting hoops with my dad.” May said.](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/image2-1-1200x801.jpg)
