As the youngest of four siblings — two of whom were baseball-playing brothers — Mackenzie Bendas took her lumps during family contests as a kid.
The Steinert High field hockey team has become the beneficiary of those early battles, as the young defender has no problem standing in front of a shot to block it.
“It’s like having a second goalie without pads on back there,” coach Lorraine LaMontagne raved. “She’s only a sophomore and the fact that we can rely so heavily on somebody in that sort of position on the younger side is pretty important to us. It’s really really nice to have.”
The coach reflected on a loss to Notre Dame, which is an offensive juggernaut.
“She had a couple of great defensive saves in that game,” LaMontagne said. “I lose my mind every time she does that.”
It’s safe to say the shooters lose their mind too, but in a different way as Bendas continues to perfect her craft.
“I really just try to work really hard when the ball comes, just do what I know best,” she said. “I keep my stick low, help my teammates.”
She helped Steinert recover from an 0-3 start with two straight wins as the Spartans had a 2-3 mark as of Sep. 23. That equaled their win total from all of last year.
Bendas’ maturity in the back has helped, including her courage to stand in front of hard hit plastic balls.
“That’s not something we have to tell her to do,” LaMontagne said. “I told her to do stuff like that to a degree. But how she sort of naturally did it and where she stood and how she’s even with the goalie and how she works with our goalie, it’s kind of unspoken and she took that on. That was really nice to see.”
Bendas became interested in field hockey in seventh grade through a program held at Reynolds Middle School.
“I really fell in love with it so I stuck with it,” she said. “It was hard to learn everything, all the rules, but I just kept working hard, trying my best every practice and in every game. It got better from there. I always played defense. They put me back there one time, I liked it a lot so I stuck with it.”
After playing rec hockey in Bordentown, Bendas honed her skills with Blue Star field hockey in Burlington County. Upon reaching high school, she became a starter her freshman season.
“I didn’t expect to make varsity,” she said. “I just tried really hard and any team I made I thought would be good. I just wanted to keep playing. I was thrilled to make varsity, I really enjoyed it.”
Making things easier is that she made the team with three other freshmen who all played with Mackenzie at Blue Star Field Hockey. They included forwards Ella Salzano and Gia Graziano and midfielder Bella Coniglio. Another 9th-grader on the team – though not a club player – was defender Aleyia O’Neal.
“That helped a lot because I could connect with them,” said Bendas, whose dad, Adam, has served as Nottingham Little League President. “We could talk each other through things if we were not doing really good. We can give each other advice and encouragement and I think that really helped me.”
And the youngsters have been aided by the upperclassmen
“They’ve been really helpful giving us little tips and tricks along the way and they’re all very nice girls,” Bendas said. “It’s been easy to adapt to them.”
LaMontagne said she knew there was an experienced group coming in last year, which saved her some time when it came to coaching.
“Just those few years playing together before ninth grade showed they had skills that we didn’t need to teach them,” the coach said. “They were able to step into varsity pretty seamlessly.”
Junior goalie Jada Oczkowski, a three-year varsity player, has done a nice job aiding the defense.
“She’s helped a lot,” Bendas said. “Even when we’re up she’s telling us stuff we don’t see on the field that helps – ‘Look left, look right.’ She’s very good back there.”
Bendas has been pretty good herself. She came in with a tenacious attitude and some talent, and has honed that nicely in just two seasons.
“She has grown quite a bit between this year and last year,” LaMontagne said. “I don’t want to say that she didn’t have that kind of spunk to her, but I think that with experience comes a bit of confidence.
“She’s definitely showing she’s more confident than last year. Not just her playing ability but her skills. That’s really helping. Our goal differential could have been a lot more than it was in our first three games and it was partially because of her.”
When it comes to defending, Bendas feels it’s more than just throwing the body around. Attention must be paid to detail.
“The key is making sure your stick is very low and watching the ball on to your stick and waiting for it to happen,” she said. “You don’t want to go quicker than the way the play is actually happening. Let it come to you, stop it and then do your next move. Don’t do it too quickly. Just do your little stuff and everything will follow.”
Bendas enjoys the best of both worlds in her sports activities. While she defends in field hockey, she is an offensive midfielder in lacrosse (but lists hockey as her number one sport).
She is also involved in the Miracle League and is a member of Steinert’s Tens on Fire Club, which helps those less fortunate with food drives and such. It’s part of her nature.
“I love the Miracle League,” she said. “It makes me really grateful for what I have. You realize not everyone is so fortunate. And it’s so nice watching their faces. They’re so happy.
Much like LaMontagne appreciates what Bendas brings to her program. In the Hamilton school district it’s rare to get polished players the minute they arrive.
“As a sophomore, compared to sophomores we’ve experienced in the past that come in as a freshman without having any knowledge of field hockey, it’s almost to the level of where that person is a senior,” LaMontagne said. “I’m very excited to see what that means for the rest of this season and the next two seasons.”
Especially considering Bendas is just one of five promising players in the Spartans strong sophomore class.
“They’re a good group to build off of and to build around,” LaMontagne said. “Their knowledge and skills are helping the older kids as well. We’re raising the level of where we were and expectations that we have. I think they are certainly pulling their weight.”
And Bendas is certainly excited to see what the future holds.
“I think there’s a lot of potential with us,” she said. “We’re all really good at working together and communicating and we have a lot of girls that will be back next year. I think we have a lot of hope for the future.”
Bendas is a big part of that future, thanks to some toughening up she went through in the past.
Steinert field hockey player Mackenzie Bendas.,
