There’s only one way to say it.
Jordan Bates is a Steinert field hockey legacy.
Well, there might be a few other ways, but that will do for now. And it’s not a bad title to have.
Bates’ mom, the former Janine DeLorenzo, was a Spartan standout in the 1990s as she made the varsity as a freshman and became Steinert’s leading scorer.
Janine’s daughter is maintaining the family tradition in only her sophomore year. Through the Spartans 3-3 start she was tied for the team lead with three goals after collecting four goals and two assists as a freshman.
“Her skills have been developing a lot,” Spartan coach Lorraine LaMontagne said prior to a mid-week practice. “She’s gone to lots of camps and clinics and all that. From last year to this year she’s developed quite a bit of confidence in how she plays. You wouldn’t know she was a sophomore unless you asked her.
“She’s really important as our center-midfielder as someone who helps distribute the ball and she’s very strong on the ball. Her skills in being able to move it throughout the midfield has allowed her to get it up to our forwards and help us score some more goals.”
Bates came into the program with experience, having played in the Bordentown and Allentown recreation leagues. She was a dancer in her youth, but sports were always more her thing, as witnessed by her joining the family to watch football each weekend.
When she decided to abandon dancing in sixth grade, Janine was there with stick in hand.
“With dance, I just did it; and I just felt sports was more my thing,” Bates said. “I wanted to play when I was young because my mom played in high school. She has her articles in a little box of things she kept. We used to go out in the yard and play or we’d come over to the turf (at Steinert) or on the grass and practice.”
When Bates first began in Bordentown, she was baffled by all the whistles. But that’s par for the course with young players. “I remember there was a lot going on with the rules and I was a little confused,” she said. “I had some good coaches who explained things to me; and my mom and I would watch films of other teams playing and it helped me pick it up a lot quicker.”
While Bates was in middle school, LaMontagne got word from the Allentown rec coaches that she had a good player coming her way.
“Her having that ability to play from such a young age is just so great,” the coach said. “She earned a varsity spot last year and was able to hang with all the upper classmen. She slipped right in and played behind a senior, Gia DiMeglio, and she was able to keep up and hang skill-wise with her. I don’t know if there were any growing pains, maybe just adjusting to the varsity level, but I think she adjusted pretty seamlessly.”
Bates had no grand illusions of what could happen in her first year.
“I was just coming out here to have fun and enjoy my time,” she said. “I didn’t have too many expectations. I loved the team and I was very honored when I found out I made varsity.
“It took me a few games to get used to it, since some of the girls are very physical players. One game, I was marking up a senior who was a D-1 commit and that took some getting used to. My coaches helped me so much, the team encouraged me nonstop. I just love playing with them.”
LaMontagne immediately put Bates at center-midfield, which probably ranks with goalie as the most important position on the field. She not only has to help set up the offense, but also get back on defense.
“I figured if she knew what she was doing as a freshman why not put her at center mid so I could groom her over the next four years to be that important player for me,” LaMontagne said. “She’s still willing to learn and is open to evaluating how she played and making adjustments.”
Much of Bates’ time is spent quarterbacking the offense, but as a freshman she had to walk a fine line of trying to take control while deferring to the upperclassmen.
“She’s very respectful of her line and she’s very quiet and soft-spoken,” LaMontagne said. “That’s just not her personality. She understands she’s still got years ahead of her but she also knows what she’s talking about and can help. People look at her and want her help.”
Bates gave her teammates props for helping her carry out her duties with minimal pressure.
“I know that my team trusts in what I say and we all have such a close relationship I know that if I tell them to do something, if I’m directing something, they’re not gonna get mad at me,” she said. “That helps a lot.”
Although Bates had more goals than assists in her first one-and-one-third seasons, LaMontagne still considers her a distributor whose main offensive purpose is to get her teammates the ball.
“I think putting her in the place we’re putting her on offensive corners she’s gonna have more ability to score,” the coach said in mid-September. “It’s still early in the season so we’re still working on that. But really, her job is to collect the ball, get it around who she needs to get it around and get it to the forwards.”
Bates has figured out a nifty way of doing that. Her signature move is dribbling the ball up in the air to herself to get around defenders.
“That’s always fun to watch,” LaMontagne said. “Even if I wasn’t coaching I’d be like ‘Oooh! Aaah!’ She taps it up and around people. It’s super-duper.”
It must be, to get someone to use the term super-duper.
“That’s one of my favorite skills I picked up,” Bates said. “I practiced it a lot, especially going into this year. I’ve had a lot of games where it comes so natural. I’m happy in a game to use it to get around girls.”
Making it more impressive is that the move was self taught. “I learned it in my room and my backyard,” Bates said. “I was just working on it.”
Bates feels she has been less passive this year in the offensive end, which has allowed her to score more goals. But as a center-mid that is only half the game.
“She’s playing north, south, east, west; everywhere,” LaMontagne said. “She’s able to get back quick. Her block tackling skills are great.”
Due to having responsibility throughout the field, Bates knows one of her most important jobs is to stay in shape.
“I’m always running,” she said. “After practice sometimes, or on the weekends I run. I used to run track so that helps a lot. A lot of times on defense you can get stuck, when you’re getting the ball out and you pass it off and there’s a fast break you have to be in shape to keep up with it.”
In assessing the most important aspect to center-mid, Bates said: “You really have to have your eyes everywhere on the field.”
Bates plays the same position in lacrosse, so she is honing her skills in fall and spring. She is also a sophomore representative for Steinert’s student government, and a member of the Teens on Fire Club that volunteers at elementary schools.
And oh, by the way, she is the proud owner of a 4.8 grade point average. That should help with college admissions, and Bates hopes to play lacrosse and/or field hockey at the next level.
But for now, she is trying to raise Steinert out of its recent doldrums with a strong core of young players.
“I’m very excited,” she said. “I love this group of girls so much, we have so much fun together and such good connections. I’m excited to see where we can go.
One thing is certain. Bates knows where she came from.
And she’s living up to the family legacy her mom established several years ago.
