Hadley Flyge eyes the field during a 6-0 home win over WW-P South on Sept. 16, 2015. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
It’s safe to say that Hadley Flyge has embraced the dark side.
That is, the side of the field on which players are often left in the dark when it comes to publicity, as their goal-scoring teammates garner most of the headlines. But the Robbinsville High School senior has no qualms about being a field hockey defender after spending her first three years in the sport playing forward.
“When I was a sophomore, I was coached by one of my greatest inspirations, Amanda Sawasky,” Flyge said. “She was a defending midfielder at Rutgers for four years, and she convinced me to try defending. She taught me as much as she could in that short time frame that we worked together. Her encouragement helped me fall in love with the position and the feeling of being depended on back there, as well as the sport of hockey as a whole.”
Out of that has emerged a rock solid defender for Robbinsville, which went 22-7 during Flyge’s first two seasons in the back, including last year’s trips to the Mercer County Tournament semifinals and the Central Jersey Group II finals.
Flyge is playing for yet another new coach in Jennamarie Colicchia, although the two are familiar with each other from Colicchia coaching Flyge in lacrosse last spring.
“It was obvious Hadley brought a lot to the table when I was able to watch her play as a junior,” the coach said. “Since then, I was able to watch her grow into a more vocal leader in lacrosse. In field hockey, she is part of the glue that makes our defense so strong. She delegates and directs effectively on the field. Her teammates take her advice to heart and trust her in the back. She will never leave something to someone else that she can take care of herself.”
Flyge is the first in her family to play field hockey, but credits her dad, a former college football player, for being a tremendous athletic inspiration.
“He taught me everything I knew about what it means to work hard for success,” Flyge said.
She began playing field hockey in seventh grade and, through the friends she made there, decided to try lacrosse. She is also a defender in that sport.
During her freshman season she got one assist in field hockey before making the switch. Flyge has an excellent teacher, since Colicchia was a lacrosse defender for the The College of New Jersey dynasty, and knows what it takes to stop another team’s forward.
“The key to being a good defender in any sport is to have confidence and dictate what the other team does,” Colicchia said. “As a defender, you never want your attacker to think they have control of the situation they are in. Being a defender is a mental battle. You have to believe that you are the best to be able to stop the best.”
That is a message that has not been lost on Flyge, who feels that defending is as hard as any position on the field, maybe harder—defenders are involved more often with goals scored against their team, rather than for it. They have to be mentally tough, Flyge said.
“The last line of defense will always feel the most responsible for goals scored against them, but you have to brush it off, move forward and worry about the next play,” she said.
Aside from the mental aspect, there also has to be athleticism. But it still comes back to that mindset.
“The best defenders are explosive players with the best footwork, as well as some of the most patient and calm players on the field,” Flyge said. “I do my best to be as quick as possible, while staying as collected as possible.”
It has taken her a while to master the latter quality.
“Composure is something that I have worked on throughout my years of playing,” she said. “I finally understand the importance of composure. Playing frantically, dwelling on a past play, or playing without confidence only leaves you vulnerable. I stay composed under pressure by taking the game one step at a time. I try to anticipate possible scenarios to help me visualize how I can help the team next after each whistle.”
Colicchia feels that Flyge is one of those rare players who can walk the fine line of remaining cool under fire, while also maintaining a competitive fire. Her instincts and game sense allow her to figure out what may be going wrong and how to correct things for both herself and her teammates.
“That makes her someone the team can rely on,” the coach said. “She also has a way of balancing herself as a vocal leader and one who leads by example.”
Flyge feels she has to be a vocal leader just by the nature of the position.
“Being one of the defenders, I have vision of nearly the entire game,” she said. “I believe it is important to use my perspective to my advantage to help the team and tell them what they cannot see themselves.”
Flyge is playing with some new partners in the back in senior Loren Klein and junior Courtney Karagjozi and feels that their preseason exposure prepared them well for the campaign, which started Sept. 16. On the plus side, Flyge is in her fourth year together with goalie Abby Kirkpatrick.
“We have come to work well together because of our strong communication, our abilities to quickly adjust to situations and, most importantly, our confidence in one another,” Flyge said.
The Ravens are looking for another strong season, and Flyge feels one of the team’s best aspects is its diversity. Many players have different styles and have been trained differently from each other, but showed the ability to mold into one during the preseason scrimmages.
Credit that to Colicchia, who learned under one of the best in TCNJ coach Sharon Pfluger.
“Coach Colicchia has brought so much to the field hockey program,” Flyge said. “She is very understanding, yet never forgets to remind us of our potential. Coach reminds us of our capabilities every day as she encourages us to push ourselves mentally and physically every time we step on the field, and in all aspects of our lives too.”
Flyge is pretty busy in those other aspects as her social calendar is jammed. She volunteers at church, and at RHS she is part of the Project Unify Club that supports Special Olympics, and part of the Friends of Rachel club, which is a service oriented club geared towards spreading acts of kindness throughout the school and the community as a whole.
As for her future, Flyge hopes to continue playing in college. Colicchia feels that can happen—proving the dark side isn’t such a bad place to be after all.
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