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HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES On a Whim By Peter Guiney
There was a time not so long ago when senior field hockey player Katie Schoolwerth wasn't certain she was good enough to play in college. "It wasn't until my junior year in high school that I decided to focus on field hockey, but even then I didn't really think I'd be able to play at a Division I school," she admits. How wrong she was. Over the past four years, Schoolwerth has developed into one of the country's finest players while helping Harvard climb back up the Ivy League ladder. This season with Schoolwerth as a tri-captain, the Crimson has jumped out to a 7-3 start, including a 3-1 League record – and a No. 18 national ranking. This young season already has the potential to be one of the best in the program's history. And Schoolwerth has been a big reason why. In her career thus far, Schoolwerth has twice garnered First Team All-Ivy League and Second Team Regional All-American accolades. At the same time, her play has invigorated the Crimson, which last year finished second in the League and qualified for the ECAC Championships. And with this year's move to Jordan Field, the recently completed synthetic turf facility that is the new home to Harvard field hockey, optimism abounds for even greater accomplishments this fall. Schoolwerth is noted as a quiet leader with the ability to control a game, even though she plays the sweeper position, the last line of defense before the goalkeeper. "Katie has made an impact on our program since the beginning of her freshman year," says 12th-year head coach Sue Caples. "She is an extremely gifted athlete who consistently performs at the highest level." Although she has never thought of herself as a scorer, Schoolwerth returned this fall as the team's top point-getter. After chipping in with four and seven points, respectively, in her first two seasons, Schoolwerth broke out for 20 points in 1998, notching five goals and assisting on 10 others. This season the team's top scorers and points leaders are forwards Dominique Kalil '00 and Kate Nagle '01, but Schoolwerth is still finding the net from her place in the backfield. This season she has already contributed three goals. Being classified an "offensive threat" is both a new and welcoming experience for the Richmond, Va. native. "I've never been thought of as a scorer," notes Schoolwerth. "And I used to be a lot more shot-shy than I am now. Hopefully, I will be able to have some sort of offensive presence this year, even as a sweeper." There is nothing timid about her shot, which has become her trademark skill. Plenty of goalkeepers have experienced nightmares about Schoolwerth's booming blasts off penalty corners. One reason Schoolwerth is such an outstanding and gifted player is because she took to the field at the tender age of 5 . . . and never left. In the early years, she decided to give soccer and swimming a go. It wasn't until several years later that field hockey entered her life. Schoolwerth began playing as a seventh-grader, but didn't see much action in the first year of her career. Things changed dramatically the following fall. Prior to starting eighth grade, Schoolwerth moved to Amsterdam with her family (her father is Dutch). Without knowing more than a few words of the language, Schoolwerth entered school just a day after arriving. Her father helped her quickly become comfortable in the new environment, and her field hockey skills improved tremendously. "I played for several different teams in Amsterdam," recounts Schoolwerth. "We always played on turf, and everyone was a lot better than me. But that's probably when my biggest improvement took place." On returning to the United States and starting at Collegiate High School in Richmond for ninth grade, Schoolwerth cracked the varsity lineup for the final third of the season, a very uncommon occurrence for a freshman. While at Collegiate, Schoolwerth earned 11 varsity letters: four in field hockey; two each in soccer, lacrosse, and indoor track; and one in gymnastics. Throughout her youth and those various endeavors, Schoolwerth believed her athletic future was on the soccer pitch, but those views changed before her junior year of high school. "Even in ninth and tenth grade, I still thought I wanted to play soccer in college," Schoolwerth notes. "But then I decided to focus on field hockey because I felt I had plateaued in soccer. I was at the point where I just wasn't getting any better." That decision has led her to Harvard's Cumnock and Jordan fields, instead of across the street to the soccer team's Ohiri Field . . . or even farther away to New Hampshire's Upper Valley. "I was intent on going to Dartmouth, and almost went there Early Decision. My guidance counselor talked me out of going Early, and my Dad suggested that I apply to Harvard. "It was more on a whim than anything," says the Leverett House resident. Coach Caples, for one, is thankful for that "whim." For even though Schoolwerth is not a very vocal leader, the coach knows her actions on the field speak volumes. "She doesn't need to be vocal," explains Caples. "Katie leads by example and sets a tone for the team by how she plays on the field." Then the coach pays the highest of all compliments: "Katie is the most talented player that I've ever coached – bar none." There are few who feel that Schoolwerth has anything left to prove in field hockey. But there are some agenda items remaining on her list. Caples believes Schoolwerth could be in line for national All-America honors, but, more importantly, the team is striving for an Ivy League title and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth. For someone who had doubts of ever being able to play at this level, Katie Schoolwerth has quietly become one of the game's best. But she'll probably never tell you that, so you'll have to come out to the new Jordan Field and see for yourself.
Copyright 1999 President and Fellows of Harvard College |
