Starting in Fall 2020, Meredith College will have a field hockey team. Meredith announced its plans to create the team in September 2019 and immediately began recruiting students to join. According to Head Coach Courtney Hexter, there have been “almost 30 interested Meredith students since early November,” and Meredith strength & conditioning coaches started leading workouts for current students right away. All other Meredith teams compete within the same conference, USA South Division III, and play the same schools throughout the different sport seasons. While field hockey is not sponsored by the USA South Division III, according to Coach Hexter “there is some buzz from a few other USA South Schools about [their] interest.” She plans to have the team play some local Division II schools and other Division III schools in places such as Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
The launch of the field hockey team hit a snag this spring, as most activities did. The team has yet to have any on-field practices; so far there have only been conditioning sessions held for interested students. Due to COVID-19, Coach Hexter says that the team is “behind in building the foundation, since we have not yet been able to practice on the field.” Not only has this affected current students, but Coach Hexter’s recruiting efforts are dampened by the virus because students are unable to visit campus to meet her in person. Despite this major obstacle, Coach Hexter seems hopeful and jubilant about the future for Meredith field hockey.
By Ell Shelp-Peck, Staff Writer
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