Rebecca Schiff '20 Recruiting Profile

There was a short little girl with her 32” stick (which went up to her chest, mind you) who had just been thrown into field hockey with no knowledge whatsoever.  She looked up to the third graders with a mixed sense of wonder… and utter fear. Nine years later, and that stick has grown a mere 3 and ½ inches (Too big, yet again) and that fearsome wonder is still going strong.  If that girl had never acknowledged that fear and met it with a need to prove people that she’s not just “a short little girl”, she wouldn’t be holding a stick in her hands today.

Always being underestimated for my size has given me this fire that wouldn’t have otherwise been ablaze to the extent that it is now.  And field hockey has definitely become a vessel to concentrate that desire. A coach tells me to run a mile? I run two. When practice ends, find me on the field working on that top-left-corner stroke, reverse chip, or a simple pull.  And most surprising is that I owe it all to not being on varsity my freshman year. That year I showed up to tryouts after a bit of a downward spiral, resulting in an 8:43 mile and unpracticed stick skills. I had wanted that 4-year-letter since I had met my coach in 5th grade, and was torn down and lost all confidence with myself in the months following.  Sure, I got called up to varsity, but I still had so much more to prove. To my team and my coach, yes, but more so myself. This began a year’s worth of training, whether it be days filled with offseason hockey or 4 am runs in sub freezing temperatures, and daily 5 mile runs and training in the summer. And it worked. I made varsity sophomore year. I’m on track to bring my mile down from 8:43 to 6:43.  I start on the team that has made the state championships for three years in a row. I have so many to prove myself to, from parents to coaches and players. But most importantly myself. Sure, you may still see a short little girl, but remember this: I’m just getting started.