Lower Dauphin never enters a field hockey season under the radar of its Mid-Penn opponents. But with the Falcons coming off of their fifth state championship in 2012, the proverbial target on the back of their jerseys is bigger than ever.
One of the keys to facing the extra pressure and challenge of being the defending AAA PIAA champion is having strong senior leadership, and it appears that Lower Dauphin does have that.
The Falcons have six seniors who not only were contributors to the state title run last year, but have been playing varsity from their freshman year up to today.
“They are excellent leaders,” Lower Dauphin head coach Linda Kreiser said. “They lead by example. The understand our team philosophy and how to strive for excellence.”
The six seniors who are entering their fourth full season as varsity players are Maggie Mostoller, Devyn Barry, Mary Kate Skitka, Delani Higgins, Taylor Lister and Anna Smuda.
“I think that the underclassmen really look up to you as role models,” Barry said. “They watch the way you play, they watch you away from the field. We need to be really good role models.”
Seniors setting the example for underclassmen happens on many teams, in field hockey and other sports. But in some ways, the Falcons purposely empower their seniors.
“This program puts a lot of emphasis on senior leadership,” Mostoller said. “Coach Kreiser gives seniors a lot of responsibility and ability to lead.”
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It is not that they can make big decisions independently of the coaching staff, but upperclassmen do have some authority.
“The coaches have to oversee things, but we encourage senior leadership,” Kreiser said. “They can create their own plays, but I have to see them practice them.”
Just as these seniors hope to teach the underclassmen, they learned how to lead from previous senior classes.
“You've just spent three years watching other seniors lead championship teams and go on to college” Mostoller said.
The leader of the state championship team last year was Hunter Bracale, who is now a freshman on Duke's field hockey team. Mostoller, who called Bracale her best friend, said she learned how to lead a team from Bracale's example.
“She's missed,” Mostoller said. “It's an honor for me to play on this field and take everything I learned from her and give it another shot.”
The first challenge for these seniors in particular and the Falcons in general is taking a balanced approach to being the defending state champions; to take inspiration from that without taking anything for granted.
“I think we need to stay composed,” Barry said. “We don't want to assume that we're better than anyone else, because everyone will be coming after the state champions.”
Lower Dauphin opens its season on Friday with a home game against Hempfield.
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