Lindsay Reed didn’t start playing field hockey for Bordentown Regional Middle School until seventh grade.
She was too scared to try out in sixth grade.
“I think I was just scared that I wasn’t good enough,” Reed said. “And looking back, I just wish that I told myself, ‘you can really accomplish anything,’ because here I am and I feel like I’ve come a long way.”
Six years after shying away from her first middle school opportunity, Reed is two-time senior captain for the Bordentown high school field hockey team as well as a member of a strong club team, and she’s weighing her potential landing spots to continue to play in college.
“I’m definitely trying to figure out everything with playing after high school, but I know that I’m definitely not OK with this being the last time that I touched my stick,” she said. “So whether that means me playing in the collegiate level or playing college club field hockey, I definitely would love for it to be a part of my journey.”
It’s difficult to imagine Reed shying away from anything these days, especially on the athletic side. She grew up doing gymnastics and playing basketball, and began putting energy into field hockey in sixth grade when she played, but only recreationally at first.
“I’ve always just been in an athletic environment and I wanted to pick something new up,” Reed said. “Field hockey just really stuck with me and it became my passion.”
She went out for the middle school team in seventh grade, practiced whenever she had a minute to herself when the pandemic cut her eighth grade season, and by freshman year she was on a club team and playing year-round, though she also has played basketball and run spring track and field and intends to do both again to finish out her senior year. She’s also top 10 in her class and balances a rigorous course load.
“At times it gets difficult to handle three sports and school, but I think I’ve learned how to work through it, and I’ve learned a lot about myself throughout that process,” said Reed, who enjoys drawing and watching Netflix in her free time. “I like to keep myself busy and I just thrive with the schedule and under pressure. So I think that’s why I love that environment.”
Add to it trying to bring along a young team this year, and it’s a lot to handle. The Scotties weren’t allowed to meet with their coaches over the summer due to the district contract dispute, and that left offseason practice up to the captains. When the season began, the Scotties had to work to find their roles on the field and how to mesh in their positions with a strong crop of freshmen playing significant roles.
“We definitely have had some growing pains and games where things did not go our way and you learn how to deal with those setbacks,” said Scotties coach Amy Fisicaro. “But every day, those kids are coming out and they’re working and our seniors and our upperclassmen have really taken the young ones under their wings and guided them and put them in the best position possible to make an impact early.”
Bordentown opened with four straight losses. They won six of their next nine games, however, to inch a game away from .500 as the second half of October hit. The switch in fortune came with an attitude change from being underdogs to being tougher physically and mentally. Things started to click.
“Our team chemistry is great,” Reed said. “We’re all friendly. We all love each other. Also this year we have the best winning streak that we’ve had in the past four years, so it was really exciting, especially for us seniors to kind of go out with a bang and prove that we can win more games than we did the years previous. And I’m really excited to see how the underclassmen girls bring up the team in the next few years.”
After 13 games, freshman Sloan Smylie paced the team with eight goals and four assists. Reed was just behind with six goals and six assists, and junior Emma Kadubec posted six goals and five assists.
“They’ve started to gel,” Fisicaro said. “They got a couple wins under the belt, which gave them some confidence that they could do it and they’ve been steadily becoming more competitive with those challenging teams. Once they got that first win, I feel like the confidence piece really started to click and help.”
Fisicaro credits Reed and her four senior classmates for helping the team stay upbeat through a tough start this year. The class has been able to contribute in their own ways to a culture and mindset that manufactured team success. Reed has been valuable in the middle of the field and the middle of it all.
“Lindsay’s been on the field since freshman year,” Fisicaro said. “She has kind of run the gamut. She is our speaking captain, our leader. She’s our center mid so she’s on attack, she’s on defense. She’s a little bit of everywhere.”
The others impact the Scotties primarily on the defensive end. Raylyn Hardy, Juliette Furch, Raena Viteritto and Annalise Arce make up a strong senior group.
“Raylyn is a defensive giant,” Fisicaro said. “She’s like 6-foot tall, so metaphorically and physically. She really takes that defensive unit and is the voice in the back. Juliette is the unsung hero of the team. She can literally go anywhere and does. I can throw her on the front line. I can throw her as a mid. She just can seamlessly fill in wherever I need somebody to step up.
“Raena is probably the most unassuming player on the field that I’ve had. And when you don’t think anybody’s going to be able to come up with the ball, she’s the one that does. She’s super quiet, never wants any attention and just is not a flashy player. She just does what she needs to do to get the ball out defensively. Our fifth senior is Annalise, and she actually started playing as a sophomore, so she is just a workhorse trying to get better every day, pushing herself and her teammates to improve. So I really have a solid group of five seniors that have taken the lead on the team and try to bring everybody together, to work hard and improve.”
The development has shown on the field. Bordentown has been sharper each game.
“The big improvement overall is just the connection on the field passing wise,” Fisicaro said. “They know where each other’s going to be a little bit better. Now defensively, they have learned that they can be patient and still come up with the ball. And then just the team chemistry, which you know you can’t coach, that just has to develop, and that needed some time.”
It’s Reed’s own efforts to develop her play that has put her in position to consider joining a college team. She has taken on a bit more each season. She moved around during her career for Bordentown, starting at left wing as a freshman, then moving to link as a sophomore, playing center forward last year and now center mid. She wants to be as big of a presence as possible.
“I’m kind of everywhere on the field,” she said. “And in club as well, I’m definitely either on the midfield line or the forward line, but I think I adjust pretty well to wherever I am on the field and I just know how to get the job done and what needs to be done.”
She has adjusted to a leadership role as well. Being a senior gives her a stronger voice. She follows those who led before her. “The seniors last year were great role models and I knew I had big shoes to fill, changing from just being a captain to now being a speaking captain,” Reed said.
Reed got a later start than many top players, but was able to make up time with her work ethic and background.
“Having that demand from gymnastics and everything really helped me kind of catch up,” she said. “And field hockey is a growing program in Bordentown. I know now the girls start a lot younger than when most of the girls I was playing with previously started.”
She soaked up everything that she could during the pandemic and it was like a switch came on in high school. She began to see a future in field hockey beyond Bordentown if she could progress enough.
“I was so eager to get better and I would just watch videos or plays from college field hockey on the TV or something and I was like, I want that to be me one day or I want to play at that high end level,” Reed said. “That’s when I decided to make the transition to a club team.”
She played for three good clubs over the years, eventually landing with the top-end Princeton Field Hockey Club. The competitive club environment helped her further grow. She’s brought all her experiences back to Bordentown where her interest originated, and she could add to her enjoyment with a playoff run in sectionals.
“I just am so grateful for all of the memories and lessons and everything that this program and the girls and the coaches have taught me,” Reed said. “I feel like that’s really where my love for the sport came from.”
Lindsay Reed in action for Bordentown field hockey.,
