Morgan Dwyer already had a primary sport when she took up field hockey as a freshman at Ewing High School.
“I just wanted to do something my fall semester of freshman year,” Dwyer said. “Field hockey, I knew it was my old gym teacher who was coaching and I knew they only had like 15 people on the team. So I was like, why not? It sounded fun.”
As she heads her final season of the sport and second season as captain of the Blue Devils, she couldn’t be any more pleased with her choice.
“I’m definitely happy,” said Dwyer. “It’s really fun and overall our team is amazing. We’re not too serious and harsh on ourselves. We work hard, but we know how to have fun and enjoy the game.”
This year the Blue Devils could be enjoying themselves even more. After having just three seniors on their roster in a three-win season a year ago, Dwyer is part of a senior class that is the backbone of the Blue Devils.
“We have 12 or 13 seniors including our managers,” said Ewing coach Amanda Garcia. “I have two senior managers as well. So it is going to be a very big loss next year, but I’m just excited to see who kind of shines as a leader on the field since there’s so many of them. I’m really putting a lot of faith in them to build up those new students that we have. A lot of them also play softball, and so they talked to those players. So I have a couple of softball players coming out this year, so I’m excited to see what they can do on the field. I was a softball player myself, so I know how those strong arms can get you a big old drive. I’m just excited to see what they do and how they help these younger girls coming up as well.”
Garcia is in her second season as head coach. She played for Ewing more than 10 years ago, but had the advantage of playing when there was a middle school program. Most all of her players now don’t have that luxury. They’re like Dwyer – taking up the sport once they come to high school.
“It was my first time ever playing along with a bunch of other people,” Dwyer said. “It was definitely really new, but with each game I got a little better and I enjoy it.”
Dwyer was a midfielder from the start. It gave her the chance to play both offense and defense, transitioning quickly from one end to another.
“I don’t mind running that much so they were just like, OK, you can go to midfield,” she said.
She’s grown each season and last year was a captain for the first time. When Garcia took over, she was impressed by Dwyer.
“She just came out with strong leadership,” Garcia said. “You could tell that the team really relied on her. And I thought it was very impressive that she was the captain. That was awesome. And she kind of just took over and she’s just a strong leader and she’s great on the field.”
Dwyer brought leadership to the field as a junior. It was her first season as a captain for field hockey, and she adjusted well to the role.
“It was fun. I enjoyed it,” she said. “We had a captain from each position. I don’t know if they meant to work it out that way, but we had one from like defense, offense and midfield and I think we all just worked really well together and had different personalities.”
She will be a captain again this year. She’ll bring last year’s leadership experience back as she tries to make the most of her final season.
“I just feel like I want to make the season fun for everyone,” said Dwyer. “Of course, we want to win games, but sometimes that’s hard because our team is pretty new still. But it’s just important to keep our energy high and just make sure everyone’s feeling included and having a good time.”
The good times have kept Dwyer coming back every fall for field hockey. She brings fond recollections of past years into the season as she looks to build more, but there are plenty of memories that stand out.
“Probably some of our games we played,” Dwyer said. “We won against Nottingham and just our fun practices. We had a spirit week just for field hockey where we all dressed up. And we did yoga one day. Just some fun memories like that.”
Dwyer will be surrounded by a team that returns with experience. The enormous senior class ensures that the Blue Devils have more games under their belt than many previous Ewing groups.
“It should translate because everyone’s improved and each game or in practice we get better and better,” Dwyer said. “And our team is always positive and supporting one another. So I think all the seniors would definitely help, but everyone else should be able to help on the team as well.”
The players share the experience of getting a later start than many of their opponents. That added to the challenge of last year when they didn’t have a lot of seniors on the roster, but Garcia enjoyed working with the group.
“The girls who come out to play this sport are special because they choose it, they want to be there,” she said. “It’s not something that they can play in middle school so they come in just ready to learn. And it’s fun. It’s great because they all want to be there. They all get along. We’re not the highest skilled team, but they go out there and they give it their all every single time. And that’s what’s beautiful to see.”
The Blue Devils tend to develop significantly from the start to finish of each season. It’s noticeable among the players and coaches, and they’ll be looking to take more steps this year.
“We had so much growth and it was so special to me when the girls would come to me and say, wow, I really see the progress I’ve made in my stick skills and just the ability to kind of keep up with the other teams because that’s one thing we’ve really worked on,” Garcia said. “And they were moaning and groaning at first, but we worked on our conditioning a lot and they were keeping up with everybody and that was all I could ask. You just can’t lose that steam on the field and so we’re just going to keep that up and do what we can this season. We have some new teams we’re playing this season switch up our schedule a little bit.”
Dwyer is among the players with crossover experience from playing other sports. Playing softball from a young age, she has developed into a player who was able to contribute in that sport from her freshman year on. She was a steady hitter with a .281 average last year, and she’s also a strong pitcher who had a career-best 2.80 ERA last year. Playing both has enhanced her ability to discern what her team needs.
“I would just say, like the mindset aspects of the game, just keeping a positive mindset because a lot of times softball is a game of failure and that can translate to field hockey a little with just staying positive when you’re losing,” Dwyer said. “Or just encouraging everyone and cheering for everyone.”
Not to be overlooked is what Dwyer can bring to the field with her play, not just her leadership. She has worked at her game each season and developed into a solid player in the middle of the action.
“She’s just strong,” Garcia said. “She’s fast in the midfield, she just moves the ball around, she’s good at kind of seeing plays before they happen and just getting the ball moving down the field. She’s so strong in that midfield. We need her.”
Dwyer is looking forward to making strong contributions in field hockey and softball before she looks to pursue studies in the medical field in college. When she’s not studying or playing either of her sports, she enjoys hiking and baking. She’s hoping to have the recipe for fun final seasons as she counts down the days until the start of official field hockey practices on August 18.
“I’m really excited to be back with everyone on the team,” Dwyer said. “We’re all really good friends, so that makes it really fun and I’m excited to get started.”
Morgan Dwyer.,
