Spotlight on Field Hockey - Kristen McCormick

Dartmouth field hockey senior co-captain Kristen McCormick has one thing to say to Cornell ? thanks ? and Dartmouth head coach Amy Fowler agrees.

"It is a very interesting story," McCormick said about her experience with the recruiting process and how she became an athlete for the Big Green.

During her junior year of high school, she played for a club team out of Massachusetts, and most of her teammates were committing to Division I schools.

"The other players had brothers and sisters who understood the recruiting process, and I was this little girl from Stoughton, Mass., who happened to make it on the team," said McCormick. "I didn't have any outside experience with the recruiting process, and my parents stood back and let me do things myself."

Once she got the hang of it, she went on official visits to four schools, not including Dartmouth. Cornell and Holy Cross were interested. Those two schools issued her a deadline, which was the National Field Hockey Festival. The festival provides high school players from around the country a chance to meet and play in front of college coaches. Most coaches like to have players commit before the festival so they don't get scooped up by another school.

"I called the Holy Cross coach to tell her that I was going to commit before the deadline," said McCormick, "which was that night. For some reason I heard the phone ring and hang up. She probably felt someone was prank calling her. I was sitting there and decided I couldn't do it."

McCormick also decided not to commit to Cornell, so she went to the festival without signing. While there, she met with Fowler in the lobby of her hotel and found out that Dartmouth had been recruiting her all along. During the college night at the festival, Dartmouth and Cornell were in the same room, which made it awkward.
"So I told the Cornell coach I was going to talk to the Dartmouth coach and she said that they unfortunately could not hold a spot," said McCormick. "I ran away crying, but when I was with my dad, one of the players that I played with on the club team and her parents said Dartmouth would be a great fit."

As it turned out Dartmouth was the perfect fit for which she was looking. McCormick's take on the process is that things happen for a reason. In a way, thanks to Cornell she ended up at Dartmouth, and now she can't imagine being anywhere else.

McCormick was a consistent player for the Big Green for three years as a back. But this season she moved up to midfield and has become the team's primary stick-stopper on penalty corners. In her career, she has played a total of 45 games and recently earned her first collegiate point with an assist against Vermont on Sept. 24.

When asked what her memories are of her four years at Dartmouth, she said it was all about field hockey and her teammates. "I will never forget the amount of fun I had with my teammates. I have had the most fun at practice or at dinner afterwards, and also being there for preseason with everyone," she said.

She also mentioned that competing in athletics has been a great way for her to clear her head when it comes to balancing school and athletics.

"For the two-hour block in the afternoon," mentioned McCormick, "I know I only have to concentrate on one thing and that is field hockey. It means so much to me that when I get there I will be 100 percent focused on just that. I have always been a fan of being on a team and being active ? I don't know what I would do without it. I think it is has been great for my mental health."

Field hockey is a difficult game to understand, and many people ask how one deals with all the whistles and stoppages. McCormick says, “People always say ?How do you play,' ?You can only use one side of the stick,' and ?There are so many rules.' But I really love those things. It makes the game different from any other and so challenging."

McCormick comes from an athletic family. Her cousin, Mary Casahian, played field hockey at Big Ten powerhouse Iowa, which is the alma mater of Amy Fowler.

The Dartmouth coach played for the Hawkeyes from 1990-93, while Casahian arrived the year after she graduated. Although the two never played together, they did know each other through field hockey. McCormick's father, Richard, was a great athlete as well, having played football at the University of Maine.
Her sister, Lauren, was a year ahead of her in school and was a dancer before McCormick got her interested in playing field hockey. The two were actually co-captains in 2003 for Stoughton High School.

Field hockey wasn't her only sport. She was a very successful runner who was the leading point producer for Stoughton track in 2003 and was voted captain of both the indoor and outdoor squads as a senior. However, she decided to not to run in college because it was taking up too much of her time.

"I always liked to run and thought I would do it forever," said McCormick. "I did enjoy parts of it, including being the anchor on the relay, but it didn't fit with who I am. The team-oriented stuff that I enjoyed was not present in track."

Luckily for Dartmouth she is a great leader and communicator that chose to play field hockey. McCormick has been an excellent player and person both on and off the field.

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