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10/24/2024 12:00 AMWhen it comes to an athletic challenge, Tate Jones truly takes it on to its fullest. She is an individual who has an undying tenacity to be one of the best at her craft–whether that means doing multiple mile runs each week or having a field hockey stick in her hands 365 days a year.
There was not a sport Tate did not try out when she was growing up. She did it all: from soccer to basketball, softball, tennis, and swimming. Yet over time, she began to lose interest in those endeavors and needed a new fall activity once she dropped soccer. After being introduced to field hockey through her babysitter, her search was over. Tate is now a junior midfielder for a 12-2 Branford squad that only surrendered one goal during a nine-game winning streak that ensued after an Opening Day loss.
“I love the competitiveness of the sport. It is a difficult sport with a lot of skill involved. Always being able to work towards something is when I am motivated, and so I try to be one of the best with field hockey,” says Tate. “I am also a year-round player for field hockey. I do offseason club teams and clinics. To me, that is a very key part to succeeding in the sport because you are always practicing, learning, and getting better.”
Tate is someone who is never afraid to shift her primary focus on a given play. No matter if she is trying to put the ball in the net, or prevent it from crossing the Hornets’ goal line, she is ready and willing to do it all at the drop of a dime.
“I love where I play because I am always where the action is,” Tate says. “When I am helping on offense, I have my stick right on the ball ready to shoot. If I am on defense, I am right there and ready to stop the ball from getting toward the cage, along with turning around right then and there to stop a breakaway. The constant running is hard with playing midfield, but starting my freshman year, I went on two or three runs a week, with each run being a mile or two. I did conditioning camps and lifted weights at home, but the endurance was really strengthened by the runs.”
Tate’s biggest individual performance in her tenure at Branford came as a sophomore. Under the bright lights of the postseason, Tate notched a tandem of tallies that proved to be the difference in a historic 2-1 win over a conference powerhouse.
“Last year in SCCs [quarterfinal round], we faced Cheshire, and we knew it would be tough because we had never beaten them since I had been here,” Tate says. “We knew it was a big game, but I scored two goals. It was so great to finally beat them, and I felt so proud of myself and the team.”
Tate has gotten a better grip on things when it comes to in-game action over the years. Yet she explains that she needs to expand her diversity of skills on defense.
“I have been working hard and getting good at my stick skills,” Tate says. “One thing I have struggled with is playing 1-on-1 when I am on defense. Trying to stop the ball in that scenario is difficult for me, but it is something I am working on daily.”
Fortitude is paramount to overcoming any lengthy commitment or immediate task. Tate explains that no matter the odds that are stacked against her on any given day, she defies them by telling herself that any small hurdles allow her to scale taller mountains over time.
“For me, in every aspect of my life, mental strength is key,” says Tate. “When you mess up, you have to stay strong and just keep going. I just tell myself that everyone makes mistakes. You have to learn from them, move on, and not let them affect your play for the rest of the game.”
Speaking more to her heart and desire as a competitor, Tate has reasonable expectations that she will never be the perfect person for her position. Still, she uses that truth to forge her fire and leave it all out on the turf.
“I have learned as an athlete here at Branford that you will not always be the best. There will always be others that are better than you,” Tate says. “But that is the reason why working hard every day is so important. You may not always be the best, but you can be the person that works the hardest.”
Branford field hockey Head Coach Pete Frye explains that Tate brings it all with her durability. From being a key reserve during the team’s state title run to being an unsung hero on the field in terms of driving the offense, she is such a focal point of Branford’s prominence.
“Tate Jones is slight of stature but has the heart of a lion! Tate is one of the toughest kids I have ever met,” says Frye. “She was a key substitute for us as a freshman in 2022 when we won the Class M state championship. She was someone who could play any position and help our team. She has grown into a player who makes our whole team go as our center midfielder. She is our main ball-mover in the middle of the field. We count on Tate both offensively as well as defensively. Her efforts don’t always show up in the scorebook. Yet our other players would absolutely not be able to do what they do without her. She continues to grow and improve each week. She is one of the best players in our conference, and we are lucky to have her.”
Tate and the Hornets would love to corral the momentum from their marvelous regular season to bring home the program’s second state crown in three campaigns. But the one thing that will determine the final fate of their on-field run will be how they function away from it.
“Our goal is, of course, to win the state championship again,” says Tate. “But we also want to be the best team on the field that is also close away from it. We want this team to be a sisterhood. That part of it is important because if you like everyone and you all get along away from the field, you will have better flow as a team on it. I do feel this season, our team is bonding very well, and we want to keep building that.”