The Watertown Middle School’s girls’ field hockey team did a great job this year with a 5-3 final record. With practices and games four times a week at Saltonstall Field, the girls were busy working hard to improve the many skills needed to be a successful team.

The team did well, but without the help of the two coaches, Leah Zaino and Michelle Darocha, they would not have gotten very far. The coaches were a great help, encouraging the players if they needed it. They also push the players to make them a better team. Teamwork is a big part of field hockey.

Said Zaino, “To me, teamwork is the most important thing you can have on a team. Obviously skill is a factor in our success as well, but you can’t win games alone on skill. I was always taught that a team is about everyone on the team, not just individuals, and I fully believe that.

“Our field hockey program seems to have phenomenal teamwork, and it really shows in our success.”

Running was a big part of practice. The team ran nearly 2 miles each practice, not including sprints. All the girls were hard workers and always willing to try new drills, and they tried hard to push through all the pain.

Katherine Tolman, a seventh-grader, said, “We had an amazing team this year. We were very successful. Practices were very tough, but every girl tried. “It was not the easiest thing having 55 girls on one team, but everyone did a tremendous job being a good teammate and putting up with everyone.”

Some practice drills required hard work and good listening. Some drills focused on the younger girls, talking them through the right positions and the rules of the game. The girls worked on 5-on-4 drills, passing, dribbling, and they played scrimmages.

Lots of support came from the eighth-graders, who helped out lots of girls who were having trouble or had questions about anything. Having so many kids on the team helped at practice.

“The advantage to a big team is it allows for us to practice multiple drills with more players on at the same time,’’ Darocha said. “It also allows for teammates to look up to each other and see the different levels of playing field hockey they can achieve.

“In addition to this it allows us to scrimmage and rotate players into practicing different positions — for example, forwards can play defense and vice-versa.

“Finally, it allows the field hockey program to grow and create great athletes.”

–Nov. 19, 2010–