AUBURN – Bre Chabot listened intently, with a sense of awe and wonder.
As a wide-eyed freshman field hockey player, Chabot couldn’t help but be mesmerized as she heard teammate Emily Houtz recount her journey abroad.
Houtz, a senior at Gordon College when Chabot was just a freshman, had played field hockey in Australia as part of a USA Athletes International team.
“She’d come back and the coach was all proud of her and all excited and happy for her,” recalls Chabot. “He would often have her tell us about her experience in Australia. I remember as an impressionable freshman thinking Wow, that was so cool. I want to be able to, by the time I’m a senior, grow to improve so much that I could go to something like that too.'”
It was an idea that never left Chabot’s mind. The former Edward Little player had begun thinking about ways to extend her career after the Fighting Scots wrapped up the fall season. Then came a forwarded email from her coach in mid-January.
Chabot, along with three Gordon teammates, had been chosen to play on a USA Athletes International team in Australia this summer.
“I thought My goodness this is a dream come true,” said Chabot. “When I got picked for this and found out it was the same thing, I thought This is perfect. This is what I’ve been working the past four years for.'”
Chabot had two weeks to mull over the opportunity. She would have to pay $4,000, just to cover costs. Two of her teammates opted out but fellow senior Lauren Cecilia chose to go. Though the expense was a consideration, Chabot barely blinked. She planned on going immediately and says the decision was a “no-brainer.”
“It was kind of a silly goal of mine to just play a big national tournament,” said Chabot. “You think It could never happen to me. I go to a small Christian school on the East Coast in New England. No one’s ever heard of it. How would I get picked out of all the awesome field hockey players?’ This is pretty cool that I was picked.
“I feel like I can now represent these small schools and small states like Maine and Massachusetts.”
USA Athletes International is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing amateur athletes and coaches the chance to participate in International Olympic-style sporting events throughout the world.
Chabot was a second team regional All-American selection last fall as a sweeper. Chabot and Cecilia were both first team all-stars in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. They are joined by fellow Division III and Division II players on the field hockey squad.
The players leave for Australia in late June. The first week will include training with her team on the Gold Coast, sightseeing and some surfing lessons. The second week, the team moves to Cairns and competes in the Northern University Games.
Though she isn’t familiar with any of the other names on the roster, having Cecilia on the squad gives her a friendly face and someone to train with.
“I have to keep reminding myself that even though I’m not in season for a sport, this is like my preseason,” said Chabot, an English major at the school in Wenham, Mass. “So I’m trying to keep working out.”
She’s also trying to raise money for the trip. She’s begun a fund raising campaign to drum up support. USA International gives athletes hints at raising funds. Chabot has compiled a list of friends, family and potential donors to contact. She’s tried the college, her church – Marston’s Corner Baptist in Auburn, teammates and any other avenue imaginable. Her coach, Cory Ward (cward@hope.gordon.edu), is accepting donations on behalf of Chabot and Cecilia. Donations that don’t specify for one player or the other are split between the two.
Making it more of a challenge for Chabot is that she was part of a missions trip to Wales in March. She had to raise $1,350 for that.
“It’s a little bit harder to get people to give you money,” said Chabot. “For missions, they say That’s a good thing you’re doing.’ But just to play field hockey, they’re like It’s good that you’re playing field hockey…’ but it’s a littler bit harder for them to see the need for support. So I’ve had to be a little more creative and think of other people to ask.”
Ever since she was in grade school and first saw the sport of field hockey played, Chabot has been determined to compete. She transferred from Calvary Christian Academy to Auburn Middle School just so she could play field hockey. She can’t quite explain her affinity for the game, but is bound to do whatever she can to keep playing. She’d like to play professionally in the future but already has plans to attend graduate school next fall at the University of Southern Maine.
“All I know is when I’m not playing, I wish I could be playing,” said Chabot, whose license plate reads GCFH 12 – Gordon College Field Hockey #12. “When I get that stick in my hand, I get this weird energy. I get a kick when I’m out there, and I just go.”
Donations can be sent to Ward or Chabot at 255 Grapevine Road, Wenham, Mass., 01984.
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