There's a problem with field hockey in the United States.
That will continue through to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and possibly the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
What? A rising talent.
The field hockey prospects who didn't make the final Olympic roster are exceptionally talented, and several of them will likely return to their NCAA college teams and dominate the 2024 fall season.
Head coach David Passmore told FAN in June that it wasn't easy telling players who wouldn't be going to Paris that they hadn't been selected, and it's not likely to end anytime soon.
Below, we see the strength, speed and passion of the Junior Girls National Field Hockey Team, which this year placed second to Argentina at the recent Junior Pan American Games in Canada and qualified for the 2025 FIH Junior World Cup.
For example, Abby Tamar is on the 2023 junior team and scored the winning goal in Ranchi, India, earlier this year, securing a spot on the U.S. team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At the grassroots level, there are many talented clubs and clinics, camps and showcases being held across the country.
Young athletes want more experience.
To gain more experience, the club has begun to tour and compete overseas, participating in events not sanctioned by the United States Field Hockey Association, etc. That experience is then put to good use in controlled events and has two effects: first, it provides a visible display of innovation, skill execution and mental preparation, and second, it improves everyone's gameplay playing against more experienced teams.
Will the U.S. field hockey team finally break the curse of not winning a medal since 1984 this year?
perhaps.
U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach David Passmore told FAN he expects the United Eagles to win a medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. They're having fun in the 2024 U.S. Field Hockey Olympic Edition.
In an interview a few years ago, when Hershey's Maddie Zimmer had just been promoted to the U.S. women's senior team, Zimmer said she knew it was a cliché, but she loved the game. That's far more important than shouting your accomplishments from mountain tops. That said, going into the game with a love of the game might be just what the U.S. needs to break out of its pattern of fifth- and eighth-place finishes.
The U.S. women's team won the bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics with a victory over Australia, and then went on to compete in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2012 London Olympics, and the 2016 Rio Olympics, where Brazil placed fifth.
All players selected for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team have competed in USA field hockey competitions, including the AAU Junior Olympics, U.S. Club Championships and the Junior and Senior Pan American Games, and have progressed from club to collegiate level.
The 2024 Paris Olympic roster includes five current NCAA Division I players. Pennsylvania has the most players on the roster, specifically, nine of the 16 players on the roster are PIAA District 3 players. There are three reserve players: Sanne Karls (Netherlands), Jenny Rizzo (Hershey, Pennsylvania) and Kathy Samfest (Lewisburg, Pennsylvania).
Each athlete has a long and successful track record. Here is the roster of athletes who will compete in the 2024 Olympics:
Kelsey Bing – Houston, Texas
Goalkeeper No. 31, 86 caps
Year: 26
College: Stanford University
high school: St. John's School
club: Texas Pride
Leah Close – Virginia Beach, Virginia
No. 20 Midfielder/Forward, 48 caps
Year: twenty four
College: Duke, Maryland
high school: Frank W. Cox
club: TCOYO Hockey
Brooke DeBurdin – Millersville, Pennsylvania
No.8 Midfielder, 50 caps
Year: twenty five
College: Maryland
high school: Pen Manners
club: Nook Field Hockey
Emma DeBurdin – Millersville, Pennsylvania
No. 27 midfielder, 44 caps
Year: twenty three
College: Maryland
high school: Pen Manners
club: Nook Hockey
Fear Gladiator – Ollie, Pennsylvania
Number 23 forward, 5 caps
Year: twenty one
College: Pennsylvania State University
high school: Oley Valley
club: Excalibur
Amanda Gorrini – Randolph, New Jersey
No. 12 midfielder, 154 caps
Year: 29
College: Lafayette College
high school: Randolph High School
Club: Uprise
Allie Hamel – Houston, Texas
Number 21 defender, 69 caps
Year: 28
College: Boston University
high school: Duxbury High School, Loomis Chaffee School
Club: HTC Field Hockey
Ashley Hoffman – Monton, Pennsylvania
Number 13 defender, 123 caps
Year: 27
College: University of North Carolina
high school: Twin Valley High School
club: X Calibur
Carly Kisha – Hamburg, Pennsylvania
Defender number 25, 68 caps
Year: 28
College: University of Connecticut
high school: Hamburg Area High School
club: High Styx
Kelly LePage – Honeybrook, Pennsylvania
No. 24 Midfielder, Caps 42
Year: 26
College: Maryland
high school: Twin Valley High School
club: X Calibur
Ashley Sessa – Schwenksville, Pennsylvania
3rd place forward, 50 caps
Year: 20
College: North Carolina, Northwest
high school: Episcopal Academy
club: WC Eagles
Meredith Sholder – Fleetwood, Pennsylvania
No. 2 midfielder, 49 caps
Year: twenty five
College: University of North Carolina
high school: Emmaus High School
club: Firesticks, WC Eagles
Abby Tamar – Dexter, Michigan
No. 1 forward, 31 caps
Year: twenty one
College: Michigan
high school: Dexter High School
club: vertex
Megan Varzonis – Houston, Texas
6th-ranked forward, 35 caps
Year: twenty five
College: California
high school: Sera High School
Club: Rush
Beth Yeager – Greenwich, Connecticut
No. 17 Midfielder, 53 caps
Year: twenty one
College: Princeton University
high school: Sacred Heart Greenwich
club: WC Eagles
Maddie Zimmer – Hershey, Pennsylvania
No.9 Midfielder, 53 caps
Year: twenty two
College: Northwestern
high school: Hershey
club: Alley Cat
