Temple University Athletics
Photo by: Trish Sexton
Temple Field Hockey is Ready to be Relentless in 2019
8.28.19 | Field Hockey
Each season is a chance for a fresh start, and that has never been truer for the Temple field hockey program. Under the direction of energetic, first-year head coach Susan Ciufo, the Owls are only looking forward and have chosen a team motto of "relentless." Since Ciufo's arrival earlier in the calendar year, the team has undergone a transformation in its fitness and in its culture, and they look for those strides to pay dividends on the field in the 2019 season.
"From February, through the end of spring, to now, it's really been a focus on who we are culturally as a program and who we want to be," said Ciufo. "We've been defining what that is and what it takes to get there. For us right now in preseason, the big change is the focus on our fitness level, which is something we began introducing early on."
There are plenty of veterans on the squad who are experiencing these changes late in their collegiate careers, which has been an adjustment.
"Of course there are hard days," said Ciufo, "but it's really fun to see them bought in to the process and then see the fruits of their labor when they see those improvements and those small successes. They've had tremendous growth from spring to now, and a lot of buy-in, which starts with our upperclassmen coming in ready to go and fit. It sets the standard for everyone else."
Learning from the Past
Coming off a 2-16 season that saw the Owls go without a BIG EAST Conference win for a second year in a row, Ciufo and her staff are really pushing the team to get better at the transition game.
"Our focus is on how we're going to attack and how we're going to create those opportunities," she said. "As much as you want to focus on the play in the circle, we've struggled tremendously in the past to even get the ball there. But if we can threaten in transition, we can create opportunities in the circle. For us, it's figuring out that finishing piece and how to get from A to B before we get to C."
In keeping with that theme, Ciufo is careful to consider any big-picture goals with a mindset of the little things that must be done along the way.
"We're focusing on building our roots," said Ciufo. "Our goals are really descriptive. If our players want to go to the BIG EAST Tournament, we have to break that down and see what that actually looks like every day. We need to make sure we're relentless in our tackle back, we need to make sure we're giving 100 percent at practice every day. That's how you get there. Our goal-setting isn't about one big-picture goal but instead about what we can do daily. If you can't see the daily successes, you can't get to that next level."
New Look on the Field
Many Owls found themselves occupying new positions on the field in the spring, and those changes are continuing through to the regular season. Ciufo sees the team through fresh eyes and wants everyone to play where they will be most effective and not necessarily where they're used to.
"We're evaluating our top players and not worrying about what position they've primarily played but what positions we need them to play," she said. "We saw a tremendous amount of players that weren't utilizing their full skill set in the positions they were in. We moved Nienke (Oerlemans) from forward/midfield to center back, we moved Dani (Batze) from back to midfield and moved Claire (Thomas) from the back to mid as well. Grace (Shanton) and Annie (Judge) went from mid to back. We found a lot of success with those changes in the spring so hopefully that continues into the season."
Leadership
Senior Kathryn Edgar and junior Dani Batze are the Performance Captains for Temple this season, and are two members of a five-person Leadership Team. Edgar will be serving in the role for a second straight year, and was the Owls' offensive leader last season with 13 total points. Batze has been dominant in the backfield in each of her first two years and ranked third in NCAA Division I last year with seven defensive saves.
The Unity Leader is senior Cristen Barnett, the Commitment Leader is senior Becky Gerhart, and the Organizational Leader is senior Lucy Reed.
"You can't have a program that ticks without the leadership in place," said Ciufo. "Those ladies are the direct connection from the coaches to the team. They're keeping them in order whether it's what they're wearing at practice, who they are at practice, the overall vibe. They'll call each other in if things aren't going well and I think that's the mark of a true leader. They're doing a tremendous job with that and they're bought into the process."
Preseason Thoughts
The Owls returned to campus on Tuesday, Aug. 13, and began official preseason practice the following day. Ciufo has been impressed overall with the fitness level of the group and has already seen a few Owls emerge as possible impact players this season.
"We knew our upperclassmen were going to come back ready to go and we're really proud of the core group that we had," she said. "Coming into preseason and showing a lot of potential we have freshman McKenna Burkhardt who is just crushing tests and everything in practice. Same thing with Megan Phillips, a player we brought on late in the process. Sophomore Tali Popinko is coming back with great fitness which is putting her in a position to play harder. Of course we have our seasoned vets as well who are doing what they need to do."
How to Define Success
The mental side of coming off a tough season can be a tricky thing to manage. It's important to Ciufo and her staff that confidence be built and lessons be learned no matter the result on the field.
"For us, the focus is on what are those small successes? What is a win for us without it being a W? We talk about winning the battles in order to win the war and focusing on those 1v1s and 2v1s and our transition game. As we go into season it's that opportunity to see improvement every single day. We've been seeing it in the preseason through fatigue and how we respond physically and mentally to reach that next point."
"From February, through the end of spring, to now, it's really been a focus on who we are culturally as a program and who we want to be," said Ciufo. "We've been defining what that is and what it takes to get there. For us right now in preseason, the big change is the focus on our fitness level, which is something we began introducing early on."
There are plenty of veterans on the squad who are experiencing these changes late in their collegiate careers, which has been an adjustment.
"Of course there are hard days," said Ciufo, "but it's really fun to see them bought in to the process and then see the fruits of their labor when they see those improvements and those small successes. They've had tremendous growth from spring to now, and a lot of buy-in, which starts with our upperclassmen coming in ready to go and fit. It sets the standard for everyone else."
Learning from the Past
Coming off a 2-16 season that saw the Owls go without a BIG EAST Conference win for a second year in a row, Ciufo and her staff are really pushing the team to get better at the transition game.
"Our focus is on how we're going to attack and how we're going to create those opportunities," she said. "As much as you want to focus on the play in the circle, we've struggled tremendously in the past to even get the ball there. But if we can threaten in transition, we can create opportunities in the circle. For us, it's figuring out that finishing piece and how to get from A to B before we get to C."
In keeping with that theme, Ciufo is careful to consider any big-picture goals with a mindset of the little things that must be done along the way.
"We're focusing on building our roots," said Ciufo. "Our goals are really descriptive. If our players want to go to the BIG EAST Tournament, we have to break that down and see what that actually looks like every day. We need to make sure we're relentless in our tackle back, we need to make sure we're giving 100 percent at practice every day. That's how you get there. Our goal-setting isn't about one big-picture goal but instead about what we can do daily. If you can't see the daily successes, you can't get to that next level."
New Look on the Field
Many Owls found themselves occupying new positions on the field in the spring, and those changes are continuing through to the regular season. Ciufo sees the team through fresh eyes and wants everyone to play where they will be most effective and not necessarily where they're used to.
"We're evaluating our top players and not worrying about what position they've primarily played but what positions we need them to play," she said. "We saw a tremendous amount of players that weren't utilizing their full skill set in the positions they were in. We moved Nienke (Oerlemans) from forward/midfield to center back, we moved Dani (Batze) from back to midfield and moved Claire (Thomas) from the back to mid as well. Grace (Shanton) and Annie (Judge) went from mid to back. We found a lot of success with those changes in the spring so hopefully that continues into the season."
Leadership
Senior Kathryn Edgar and junior Dani Batze are the Performance Captains for Temple this season, and are two members of a five-person Leadership Team. Edgar will be serving in the role for a second straight year, and was the Owls' offensive leader last season with 13 total points. Batze has been dominant in the backfield in each of her first two years and ranked third in NCAA Division I last year with seven defensive saves.
The Unity Leader is senior Cristen Barnett, the Commitment Leader is senior Becky Gerhart, and the Organizational Leader is senior Lucy Reed.
"You can't have a program that ticks without the leadership in place," said Ciufo. "Those ladies are the direct connection from the coaches to the team. They're keeping them in order whether it's what they're wearing at practice, who they are at practice, the overall vibe. They'll call each other in if things aren't going well and I think that's the mark of a true leader. They're doing a tremendous job with that and they're bought into the process."
Preseason Thoughts
The Owls returned to campus on Tuesday, Aug. 13, and began official preseason practice the following day. Ciufo has been impressed overall with the fitness level of the group and has already seen a few Owls emerge as possible impact players this season.
"We knew our upperclassmen were going to come back ready to go and we're really proud of the core group that we had," she said. "Coming into preseason and showing a lot of potential we have freshman McKenna Burkhardt who is just crushing tests and everything in practice. Same thing with Megan Phillips, a player we brought on late in the process. Sophomore Tali Popinko is coming back with great fitness which is putting her in a position to play harder. Of course we have our seasoned vets as well who are doing what they need to do."
How to Define Success
The mental side of coming off a tough season can be a tricky thing to manage. It's important to Ciufo and her staff that confidence be built and lessons be learned no matter the result on the field.
"For us, the focus is on what are those small successes? What is a win for us without it being a W? We talk about winning the battles in order to win the war and focusing on those 1v1s and 2v1s and our transition game. As we go into season it's that opportunity to see improvement every single day. We've been seeing it in the preseason through fatigue and how we respond physically and mentally to reach that next point."
Players Mentioned
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/ Field Hockey
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/ Field Hockey
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/ Field Hockey
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