Returnees and first-years meshing well during Lehigh field hockey preseason
8/19/2019 4:06:00 PM | Field Hockey
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – With nearly half of its 2019 roster being newcomers, the Lehigh field hockey team is in the midst of a strong start to preseason as the Mountain Hawks prepare for their season opener on Friday, Aug. 30 at Rider. The Mountain Hawks' hard work this summer has allowed them to hit the ground running.
"One of the things we're really happy about is the way our returners came back ready to play," said Lehigh head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer. "They all passed the fitness test on the first round and they're really confident in the skills they worked on last spring. They put so much time into developing those skills during the spring, and it really showed in the first few days of preseason with their confidence."
Junior preseason All-Patriot League honoree Lenke Havas has already noticed the team's collective skills are at another level.
"The pace of practice is really high, and I think higher than last year too," she said. "The 10 freshmen have been big contributors to that. They've been using their voice a lot and they've been really speeding up the pace of practice."
Building a program takes tangibles such as skills, along with intangibles such as chemistry. Meshing as a unit has been a focus of preseason, especially with so many first-years.
"It's very important we spend a lot of time together, feel out the chemistry and build up a lot of chemistry," said Havas. "Being in the grind together the first few weeks is really good for bonding."
Last season, the Mountain Hawks won two of their final five games, which included wins against Colgate and at Towson. Lehigh also defeated Ball State earlier in the season for the first time since 1984. But that was last year.
The 2019 Mountain Hawks are focused on the present and helping the program take the next step into the future. To keep progressing forward, Dallmeyer knows they have a lot to accomplish in the next couple weeks.
"One of the goals of the coaching staff is figuring out positions," she said. "We have a lot of people who can play a lot of different positions, which we always preach to our returners (that we need to be versatile) and obviously in recruiting (looking for players who fit that mold as well). We have a lot of people who can play multiple positions and we're starting to figure out chemistry, structure and what will work best.
"We're going to have a really young backfield this year," Dallmeyer continued. "We're excited about that, so they can continue to grow together over the next couple years with us. But we need to make sure we have the right fits at each position."
Most importantly for the Lehigh field hockey program is that these student-athletes are bought-in to the program's philosophies.
"We're happy about our returnees' confidence in the philosophies of the program, the structure and the things we're trying to do on the field," said Dallmeyer. "We see that relayed when they're pulling some first-years aside, having conversations and teaching them. It's been really nice as a coaching staff for us to be able to take a step back and trust that they are implementing, teaching and trying their best to be great leaders to help the first-years acclimate.
Energy has been a theme of this group in the early going.
"There's really great energy, including from the first-years," said Dallmeyer. "We're really happy so far with the relationships we're seeing built and how that's translating to the field."
Lehigh will open the 2019 campaign at Rider on Friday, Aug. 30. The Mountain Hawks return home the following Friday, welcoming Towson on Sept. 6 at 5 p.m.
Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Gallery: (8/16/2019) 2019 Field Hockey Preseason Practice
"One of the things we're really happy about is the way our returners came back ready to play," said Lehigh head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer. "They all passed the fitness test on the first round and they're really confident in the skills they worked on last spring. They put so much time into developing those skills during the spring, and it really showed in the first few days of preseason with their confidence."
Junior preseason All-Patriot League honoree Lenke Havas has already noticed the team's collective skills are at another level.
"The pace of practice is really high, and I think higher than last year too," she said. "The 10 freshmen have been big contributors to that. They've been using their voice a lot and they've been really speeding up the pace of practice."
Building a program takes tangibles such as skills, along with intangibles such as chemistry. Meshing as a unit has been a focus of preseason, especially with so many first-years.
"It's very important we spend a lot of time together, feel out the chemistry and build up a lot of chemistry," said Havas. "Being in the grind together the first few weeks is really good for bonding."
Last season, the Mountain Hawks won two of their final five games, which included wins against Colgate and at Towson. Lehigh also defeated Ball State earlier in the season for the first time since 1984. But that was last year.
The 2019 Mountain Hawks are focused on the present and helping the program take the next step into the future. To keep progressing forward, Dallmeyer knows they have a lot to accomplish in the next couple weeks.
"One of the goals of the coaching staff is figuring out positions," she said. "We have a lot of people who can play a lot of different positions, which we always preach to our returners (that we need to be versatile) and obviously in recruiting (looking for players who fit that mold as well). We have a lot of people who can play multiple positions and we're starting to figure out chemistry, structure and what will work best.
"We're going to have a really young backfield this year," Dallmeyer continued. "We're excited about that, so they can continue to grow together over the next couple years with us. But we need to make sure we have the right fits at each position."
Most importantly for the Lehigh field hockey program is that these student-athletes are bought-in to the program's philosophies.
"We're happy about our returnees' confidence in the philosophies of the program, the structure and the things we're trying to do on the field," said Dallmeyer. "We see that relayed when they're pulling some first-years aside, having conversations and teaching them. It's been really nice as a coaching staff for us to be able to take a step back and trust that they are implementing, teaching and trying their best to be great leaders to help the first-years acclimate.
Energy has been a theme of this group in the early going.
"There's really great energy, including from the first-years," said Dallmeyer. "We're really happy so far with the relationships we're seeing built and how that's translating to the field."
Lehigh will open the 2019 campaign at Rider on Friday, Aug. 30. The Mountain Hawks return home the following Friday, welcoming Towson on Sept. 6 at 5 p.m.
Like Lehigh field hockey on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Players Mentioned
D/M
/ Field HockeyPlaying for something bigger than the game
Thursday, October 23
MHT EP3 - Field Hockey
Thursday, October 16
Field Hockey vs. Boston U.
Saturday, October 04
Field Hockey vs. LIU
Sunday, September 28
