Didio struggles to inspire field hockey's seniors

There is a ladder in field hockey Head Coach Marisa Didio's office that is painted Yale blue. The season's opponents are taped on the side and there are three bricks on the rungs. The ladder represents the steps the team and the program have to take to become the best it can be. The bricks represent the team's success, effort and attitude throughout the season. Right now, the bricks are pretty low on the rungs.

The team has had a disappointing season so far, suffering espeically from missed opportunities against Providence and Harvard. "The fact that we were playing at home should have helped us finish those games off. We weren't outclassed skill-wise, but we didn't use all our advantages to turn around the game and bring in a win," Didio said.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Juniors like Nicole Davis, ES '01, must step up to lead the field hockey team.

Captain Suzanne Barnes, DC '00, agreed. "We were going out with an attitude to win but we have not been able to get the job done and score as many goals as I think we are capable of," Barnes said. "I think we've let too many opponents beat us too easily without the fight we've put up in the past." The biggest problem, according to the coaching staff and the players, has been finishing games. The offense has scored few goals in the past few weeks, and the team has lost key matches due to a decreased level of concentration in the crucial fourth quarter of games.

"It's difficult when everyone seems to be asking what's wrong and we can't really answer that question. Right now, the senior class has to step up and show what [winning] really means to us," goalie Courtney Lane, SY '00, said. "Regardless of what it has been in the past, the leadership must improve. At this critical point, the team can either pull it together or fall apart. Whichever happens falls directly on the seniors."

Although the present season has been frustrating, Didio and the coaching staff believe that the final scores are neither the best nor most important indicators of team success. They see the next four weeks as another chance to gain credibility. Didio agrees that the key will be for the seniors and juniors to assume leadership roles.

"Right now, we are not playing to make a difference. [The juniors and seniors] need to look inside themselves and be leaders on the field," Didio said. "I don't want to put the responsibility on the sophomores and the freshmen because they haven't had the experience and the training that the older girls have. In the end, it's all about taking control and making an impact."

Didio has been practicing that philosophy since she came to Yale three years ago. In her first year, she guided the team from a sixth-place Ivy League ranking to last year's school record 15 wins, a second-place finish in the Ivies, and an ECAC Championship. When she arrived, the program was suffering from instability and a lack of defined structure. Didio raised the level of training and put pressure on the players to commit more of their efforts to the team.

The challenges facing the team are familiar to Didio, for the Elis have been in similar situations before. Coming off last year's successful season can hinder team concentration. "The younger players felt the success last year but didn't necessarily understand what went into achieving and main-taining that success," Didio said.

Like any coach, Didio understands that her players are frustrated by their poor start and wants them to reap the rewards of their hard work. "The girls are fighting to win, and it is incredibly challenging to deal with disappointing results," Didio said. "My biggest challenge as a coach is to build up their confidence, but to learn from our mistakes and to not make them the next time around." The team will have to learn very quickly from its past mistakes, because the most difficult part of the season is yet to come.

"Our schedule is filled with tough competition, but I know that we can take them on," Suzanne Anthony, SM '03, said. "We still have a chance to prove that Yale has a great field hockey program but it will take a lot of hard work and dedication. The team is up to the challenge because we want this season so badly."

Yale field hockey faces off against two of the toughest teams in the nation this weekend: Duke University and the University of Virginia. "No one is expecting anything from Yale, so we have absolutely nothing to lose by going out and playing teams like Duke and Virginia as hard as we can. We have the talent to give them a run for their money," Erin Arruda, JE '00, said.

The players and the coaching staff believe that if the team continues to work hard, and carry over changes made in practice to games, then they can accomplish their goals. There is a sense of optimism mixed with frustration and disappointment. Four weeks and nine games remain in the season, while seven rungs are left on the ladder. And the Elis are always looking for vertical movement.

Back to Sports...