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10/02/2024 08:30 AMFor the first time in five years, Old Saybrook Middle School (OSMS) has a field hockey program thanks in large part to coach Heather Warnke.
In the summer of 2024, Heather received an email alerting her to an interesting problem. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, OSMS’s field hockey team had been disbanded and never reformed. For the first time since 2019 there was finally enough interest among kids to have a team. However, the email stated that a coach was needed.
For Heather, a former high school and collegiate field hockey player, the opportunity was too good to pass up.
“They had been looking to restart their program for years, and the lack of a middle school team was impacting the high school team now. I was immediately drawn to the opportunity. I love the game and what it did for me growing up and how it taught me leadership and team-building skills. My heart was immediately drawn to it,” Heather says.
Heather volunteered for the role along with fellow coach Jenna Brodeur and took the required training in July.
For Heather, the initial focus has not been on the wins and losses. The team has about 30 girls between fifth- and eighth-grade, some of whom had never played the game before.
“We’re really trying to rebuild the team, so the focus has been on the positives and just having fun and learning the game,” Heather says.
Heather proudly notes that the girls have quickly picked up the sport and the team has already won two games, quite an accomplishment for a program that hadn’t been in existence for five years.
“It’s been great; I’m really proud of the team. We have a really good mix of ages and abilities on the team and the girls are really taking it to heart with everyone finding a place. We won a game 1-0 where a fifth-grader was the one who scored the goal, and it’s great to show that no matter the age or experience level, you can contribute if you work hard,” Heather says.
Field hockey is perhaps not as mainstream as other sports, but it provides a fun, athletic outlet for girls who are not drawn to traditional team sports. Heather can empathize with the girls who come to love the game even with no previous experience because that’s exactly what happened to her.
“I just happened to get pulled aside in gym class, and the coach asked me if I had considered playing field hockey. I was in ninth-grade and never had before,” says Heather.
She then went on to play in high school as well as at Worcester Polytechnic Institute at the collegiate level.
Heather says that helping to spread the love of the sport to other girls is the best part of coaching for her.
“I just absolutely love watching the girls learn and make improvements every day,” Heather says.
Even in aspects of the sport like running warmup laps, which can be dreaded at first, Heather says she now sees enthusiasm from the athletes.
“It’s so amazing to witness them to put in the work and try hard to have a positive attitude at all times,” she adds.
While the program has been restarted in Old Saybrook, some of the other towns have continuously had a team. That means some games Old Saybrook is at a disadvantage of experience level, but Heather reiterates that for her, the goal is about making sure the kids have fun learning the game.
“It can be hard to go against teams that have years of experience, but our most important thing is having fun and improving, which we are doing,” Heather says.
Additionally, Heather says the support the team has received in the community has been fun for her and the team to see.
“We’d love to have as many supporters out at our games as we can,” Heather says. The season ruins until the end of October.
Heather grew up in Rhode Island but moved to Old Saybrook from Australia, where she was stationed for a job, about three years ago.
“It helped that it was a post-COVID world, so you could work remotely now. Part of it, too, was my husband and I had lived away from family for 19 years, first in Cincinnati, then Australia. We wanted our son to grow up around family and Old Saybrook was kind of in the middle of my family and my husband’s family,” Heather says.
In her spare time, Heather can be found running, working out, cooking, playing pickleball, and attending her son’s soccer games. She also enjoys helping volunteer wherever help is needed.
“It’s something that fills my cup,” Heather says. One cause she is passionate about is the Lorraine S. Splain Filed Hockey scholarship, which helps support field hockey camps and scholarship opportunities for high school senior field hockey athletes.
Heather and her family may be somewhat new to town, but she says they’ve quickly come to love Old Saybrook.
“For me, the community has been the best part. It was unexpected to me, coming from outside of town and not knowing anyone; it was like being the new kid at school. But I’ve met some amazing and great friends right away and I just really love the community we have here,” Heather says.