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Highlighting the seniors who have been pivotal to the recent success of the DHS Field Hockey program
BY MADISON WINTERS & MORGAN STURMER
It’s rare to hear about a high school sports team winning four state championships in the last five years. However, that is the case for the state-dominating Dexter Field Hockey team. The seniors on the team have had overall success throughout their high school careers winning three state championships in their time playing for Dexter.
Last year, the field hockey team finished the season with a 9-4-1 record in the SEC and won the D2 state championship with a 2-0 win over University Ligget. They entered the playoffs this year as the number one seed in D2 and won the state championship with a 3-0 win over rival Chelsea.
Over the past five years Dexter Field Hockey has had 13 players go on to the collegiate level, along with several other players going on to play club field hockey in college. Senior Maddie Rokke-Smith thinks that a possible reason for this is being “conditioned like there’s no tomorrow.” Senior Marissa Skinner believes there is a “culture [of success] that has been created by not only current players but all athletes” who have been a part of the program. Going on to play in college has become the norm for the program with a head coach saying that she encourages players to play in college. “Sport enhances the college experience,” varsity head coach Keely Tamer said. There are six total seniors on the team this year, with four moving on to play in college. These include Marissa Skinner who’s attending Kent State University, Bailey Krueger who is committed to Central Michigan University, Emily Kate-Covert going to the University of Iowa, and Brooke Alexander who is going to play in Europe for a year before going on to play for the University of Michigan.
The team’s head coach, Keely Tamer is a former two-time captain of the University of Michigan field hockey team and currently a coach for Pinnacle Field Hockey Club. Taking from her years of field hockey experience Keely talked about how she has “confidence in our younger/returning players that they will find ways to fill the shoes of the graduating seniors.” A lot of work occurs throughout the season to develop every member of the program to “minimize the loss of strong players to graduation.” Skinner also has strong confidence for the team next year.
“The success doesn’t come from a single player or class but rather the tradition and expectation of hard work,” Skinner said.
This year’s group of seniors is exactly that, a strong group that will be lost to graduation. “The six of them are all starters,” with four of them making up the team’s offense on the right side of the field. The offense is run through these players and the team “counts on them for specialty plays,” Keely explained.
When the current seniors entered the Dexter field hockey program as freshmen, the team prepared for a state championship to come that season. When they experienced that first win, even though many weren’t all on varsity, the atmosphere was electric throughout the program. This expectation was set from the beginning and then carried on to their junior year where they won another state title. You can’t help but wonder what the class of 2020 and 2021 did for the team along with the expectations that the seniors set for the younger classes.
“We have a large group of sophomores on the varsity squad and the senior leadership has been valuable to creating a strong team with young players,” Keely said.
The precedent set by the classes before was what motivated all of the success, this will influence the program for years to come. The younger classes have now experienced the positive energy and excellent work ethic that these seniors exhibit every day. Keely hopes they will carry on the tradition of excellence.
Throughout the four years playing for Dexter, the seniors have had many highlights and favorite moments. Bailey Krueger’s favorite moment was winning the SEC title this year. The team had “fought so hard for it,” and she enjoyed celebrating their hard work and victory as a team. Both senior Analisa Leadbetter and Skinner agreed in saying that “winning states” was a highlight of both of their times playing field hockey. Rokke-Smith was sure to give props to past seniors by mentioning her favorite memory was “playing with the seniors from Team 13.”
Many of the players, not just seniors, play for the club team Pinnacle to keep their skills sharp during the off-season.
“Playing for Pinnacle helps build a stronger team dynamic because we play together year-round. We know each other’s habits on the field giving us an advantage, I feel like I can predict what some of my teammates are going to do at times. Compared to other teams who just have high school season to play together and build that team dynamic,” Krueger said
Krueger believes this gives Dexter a huge advantage over the other teams. This trust is built year-round with the girls, helps with confidence in their teammates, and gives them the ability to feel comfortable making big moves on the field. Any athlete who plays with a team knows that with a trustworthy team behind you, there is a sense that the sky is the limit.
The Dexter Field Hockey program has created strong teams and collegiate athletes. The Class of 2024 has achieved nothing less and it has become clear that excellence is expected throughout the next generations of Dexter Field Hockey.
