Erica Weber defends the goal during a game at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North on Sept. 18, 2015. North won 1-0. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
Veronica Wilson keeps the ball away from a WW-P High School North player on Sept. 18, 2015. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
Ewing High School field hockey captains Natalie Jessman, Erica Weber and Veronica Wilson all said they each have a unique role they embrace as leaders on the field. Jessman is known as the “encouraging one,” while Weber keeps practices lighthearted with her sense of humor, and Wilson helps the squad stay on-task.
Though their leadership styles are different, the girls—the only seniors on a young, small Blue Devils squad—and their dispositions are a good match for their younger teammates, said head coach Leslie Conant.
“The great thing about this is that everyone on the team has someone they can relate to,” she said. “Because of their different approaches to the game and their personalities, everyone has someone.”
The trio agreed. All three girls, who have been playing together since they were in sixth grade at Fisher Middle School, recalled previous captains who led with fear.
That is not what they wanted to emulate.
“If you messed up, you were so scared,” Wilson said. “Now, it’s like, ‘Okay, try again. You’ll get it next time.’ It’s more about learning from your mistakes. We’re trying to keep ourselves on the same level as the younger girls. I know I make mistakes. How can I yell at someone for making the same mistake that I could make?”
Ewing High School field hockey captains Natalie Jesseman, Erica Weber and Veronica Wilson all said they each have a unique role they embrace as leaders on the field. Jesseman is known as the “encouraging one,” while Weber keeps practices lighthearted with her sense of humor, and Wilson helps the squad stay on-task.
Though their leadership styles are different, the girls—the only seniors on a young, small Blue Devils squad—and their dispositions are a good match for their younger teammates, said head coach Leslie Conant.
“The great thing about this is that everyone on the team has someone they can relate to,” she said. “Because of their different approaches to the game and their personalities, everyone has someone.”
The trio agreed. All three girls, who have been playing together since they were in sixth grade at Fisher Middle School, recalled previous captains who led with fear.
That is not what they wanted to emulate.
“If you messed up, you were so scared,” Wilson said. “Now, it’s like, ‘Okay, try again. You’ll get it next time.’ It’s more about learning from your mistakes. We’re trying to keep ourselves on the same level as the younger girls. I know I make mistakes. How can I yell at someone for making the same mistake that I could make?”
Weber agreed.
“We don’t like to be these authority figures,” she said. “Seniors in the past held that superior position, and the other girls don’t respond well to it. We’ll run stretches and stuff like that, but we don’t boss them around. We try to keep the same respect level. As older girls, it’s natural to run things and keep pushing, but we’re not really hard on them. They can relate to us more.”
When the bulk of the team is made up of freshmen, sophomores and juniors, being able to relate to one another is important for overall cohesion, the girls added. Holding a “superior position,” like Weber said, can only lead to friction between players.
This is Weber’s second season as the team’s goalkeeper. She took up the position last year after the previous starter graduated. A former defender, she was used to some aspects of the position, but others, she had to adapt to, like footwork and agility workouts.
“You’ve got to protect the cage, but it’s a different kind of work,” she said. “In a game, if we lose, I put all the pressure on myself, but it’s a whole team thing. There are 10 other girls the ball has to get through. That’s something I had to learn because I would always put all the pressure on myself.”
Conant said Weber has evolved after a year in the net under her belt.
“She has certainly stepped up this season and has become more confident, which is super important in the goalie position,” she said.
Jesseman played for the team her freshman and sophomore years, but she took last year off to try cross country. She missed the intensity of the sport, though, and decided to return for her senior season.
And Conant is happy to have her back.
“She is a very dependable player and a joy to have back on the field,” she said. “She has a whimsical way about her, but when it comes down to getting the ball in the cage, she is so determined. Nat is all about the team.”
A team that Jesseman is also happy to be back with.
“I love it. I missed it a lot,” she said. “It’s not the same without such intense workouts and waking up at 6 a.m. to be here and practice not only as a team, but kind of as a family. I definitely missed that, and I missed the coaches.”
Conant called Wilson the “backbone of the defensive unit.”
“I kind of try to control the back end and help everybody up, push everybody forward,” Wilson said.
She does all that and more, said Conant.
“She is like a bulldozer on the field,” she said. “V has really worked on her fitness over the summer, and she came into the preseason fit and ready to go. This enabled her to hone in on her stick skills.”
Wilson said she made it a point to improve on her fitness and endurance this summer because she knew the in-game breaks would be few and far between, with only four substitutes on the bench.
The girls recongnize that Ewing might not be the biggest or most experienced squad, but after an 3-0 opening day over Winslow on Sept. 12, they are feeling confident in their ability to at least improve over the course of the season.
“We lost four good seniors last year,” Weber said. “That always happens. But there aren’t a lot of girls coming up from the younger levels. We might not win every single game, but the goal is to just keep up the morale, even if we’re losing. We want to always give our best so we can say that we tried and gave our all, even if it didn’t turn out how we wanted it to.”
The squad also has its annual Play for the Pink game, which raises funds for breast cancer research, set for Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 4 p.m. against Nottingham. Parents will be selling baked goods and other items, the proceeds of which will all be donated.
“We would love a big turnout to bring awareness to breast cancer research, as well as a great way to bring the community together and enjoy a great game of field hockey,” Conant said.
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