PARIS — Communication is key in virtually every sport, but there are few where the athletes, coaches and fans talk as much about the importance of talking than in field hockey.
The Oxford Hills Vikings take communication to a whole new level.
Like their peers in the stacked Eastern Class A tournament, which for fifth-seeded Oxford Hills (9-5) begins with Thursday’s quarterfinal at No. 4 Lawrence (8-5-1), the Vikings are at their best when they keep the lines of communication open on the field.
“When our communication is on, we play really well. When we don’t communicate, that’s when we start to break apart, when people start to get frustrated,” senior forward Tayla Smedberg said. “It won’t happen for a playoff game.”
But the talking doesn’t stop for the Vikings when the game is over. And they think that’s a big part of their success, too.
Minutes after the game has finished and they’ve walked through the handshake line with their opponent and collected their equipment, the players find a secluded corner of the sidelines and sit in a circle. Coach Cindy Goddard and assistant Hayly Holman give the team some space, leaving the players to themselves to review what just happened.
And everyone has their say, even on a team dominated by 10 seniors.
“Everybody gets a chance to speak. The coaches usually stay away, so it’s just the team,” senior sweeper Sholie Hanscom said. “It’s a really encouraging atmosphere. I think that helps people build their confidence and open their eyes to what people are doing well so they can do it also.”
“We’ll talk about something we did good in the game and then something we can work on in future games,” senior forward Caitlin Bernier said. “One of the most common (topics) is communication, and it’s just a way for everyone to have input on what they saw during the game and what they think we can work on. Sometimes someone sees a game differently, so it puts us all on the same page.”
Goddard encourages the discussion to foster team unity but also allow individuals to be heard. Having a veteran team usually helps keep the conversation flowing.
“There are a lot of skill players that have played on other teams so they can critique the game a little bit more, so that helps,” Goddard said. “I think we’ve just given them leeway to go ahead and express themselves. You are the team, so how you feel and what you think is important. I think the more they can own into their own decision-making, it makes them buy in a little bit more.”
It isn’t just an exercise in ego boosting, though. Finger-pointing isn’t allowed, but players aren’t discouraged from being frank with their teammates, either.
“It helps that we’re friends off the field, too, so the team atmosphere stays strong,” senior sweeper Claire Gregory said.
The Vikings were brought closer together under the most unfortunate circumstances in January, 2012, when their teammate, Rebecca Mason, was killed in an auto accident at age 16. She was a sophomore at the time.
“This is a special group. Losing Becca brought them together, and they’ve stayed very close,” Goddard said.
A tragic loss of that nature makes a teenager look at everything differently, including the ups and downs of a field hockey season. The Vikings have had some frustrating losses — 1-0 to Lawrence, a pair of 2-1 defeats at the hands of Mt. Blue — but the players haven’t let those discourage them.
“There were a couple of close games that it were anybody’s game, but I’m happy with where we are and I think we have a great chance going into the playoffs,” senior midfielder Jesse Murch said.
One of the reasons the Vikings feel good about where they are is actually another loss, their biggest in terms of score differential this season. Class A superpower Skowhegan beat them, 5-0, on Sept. 26, but Oxford Hills kept the three-time defending state champions scoreless for the first 28:47 of the game, a Herculean task against a team that averaged over nine goals per game.
“We held them off, only 1-0 at halftime, and ended up only losing, 5-0, which is very good. We had a great game,” Murch said.
“Obviously, you have to do it for a full 60 minutes, but I think that was the longest period of time that we’ve played really well against them,” Goddard said.
The Vikings wouldn’t mind another shot at Skowhegan, which they would likely get if they make it past Lawrence. But then with a long layoff from their last regular season game (on Oct. 14 against Mt. Blue) to the quarterfinal 10 days later, they are just eager to see some different faces than the ones that sit in their circle of trust.
“Honestly, I just want to play. I don’t want a break,” senior sweeper Sholie Hanscom said. “We played (last) Monday and so it’s going to be a week until we play another game with our scrimmage on Monday against Lisbon. It’s kind of lagging.”
At this point, the Vikings are pretty much talked out.
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