The Glenbard West Girls Field Hockey program recently wrapped up a season filled with determination, growth, and standout performances. Under the guidance of Coach Judge, Coach Paterakis, Coach Hay, and Coach Marchesi, the program excelled. As the team reflects on their season, Coach Judge and Coach Paterakis shared insights into the highlights of their season.
Led by their senior captains Mira Alcorn, Marin Tusher, Sydney Commo, and Megan Antonacci, the varsity team ended their season with a 14-9-2 record. According to Coach Judge, these captains led the team to a very successful season.
JV1 Coach Paterakis described the program’s performance to be good overall this year, highlighting her JV1 team, who only lost one game in the regular season. She shouted out both the “younger girls on the team who really rose to challenge” and the “successful seniors” who “took the team to the next level in many ways.”
One significant strength she highlighted of the JV1 team was their ability to transition from a defensive end to offensive players during games and work together as a team. She elaborates on this aspect of their ability, stating the importance of “being able to really quickly transition and possess the ball was something we did well.” One standout game during the JV1 season was a game against New Trier, in which they tied. She praised the team’s performance, saying their “ability to hold them was really great.”
In regards to players who consistently led the team or had breakout performances, Coach Paterakis shares that at the varsity level Mira Alcorn, a senior at Glenbard West, “is one of the strongest players on the team” and even goes on to exclaim that she “is one of the best players to ever play at Glenbard West’s Field Hockey program.” Additionally, Coach Paterakis recognizes athletes on her team like sophomore Julia Holter, a midfielder, who “did an excellent job” and “rarely came out of the game.” As well as, junior Aubrey Phillips who plays center back and “did a really nice job” and “was another standout” player.
Coach Paterakis expresses it is hard to pick which players to recognize from so many of her students but these were three players she looks at and can “say those are really hard working players that contributed in so many different ways.”
As for areas of focus for next season, she discussed physical fitness. She said that in order to outperform top teams, “physical fitness is what’s going to take [the team] there.” One way that the program works on this component of physical fitness is through a physical fitness test which the girls complete after their summer training and conditioning: The Gauntlet. This test includes the following timed tasks:
- 1 mile
- Half mile
- Quarter mile
- 200 meter dash
- 100 meter dash
One after the other, with little breaks in between, is a great way to show them that “they can do all those [hard] things,” according to Coach Paterakis.
Overall, Coach Paterakis values not only the team’s performance, but also their sportsmanship and team culture. As a former Glenbard West Field Hockey player, Coach Paterakis asserts that she of course wants to be the best but something she values more is the camaraderie and sportsmanship implemented into the team’s atmosphere and game, particularly what her students morally gain from the sport.
In addition, Coach Paterakis explains that the team, having played many high intensity games where tensions are rising, wishes her students to extract the ultimate lesson from these situations: “teaching [them] to be good sports” and to always “take the high road.” Ultimately, Coach Paterakis wishes for her team and players to culture a program that emphasizes “[uplifting] women and helps them realize their strengths” while also “empowering others” – she credits this as to why the field hockey program is so strong and revered!
