Co-ed Chaos on the Field Hockey Pitch

16 June 2023Carla W, Alexandra ‘24

At Brentwood, Field Hockey is a sport possible for girls in the first term. However, in the third term, Brentwood offers a co-ed field hockey team that plays in a Duncan league once a week, sometimes even twice, and meets regularly for practice.

At the beginning, when boys heard about this team, they were skeptical since it seemed that only girls would play it – and they might have been a little scared that they would not be as good as the girls – but some brave boys signed up and started practicing regularly with the girls and soon we had seven boys who discovered their passion for field hockey.

Every Wednesday we played one of the other teams of the league. At the beginning, it looked more like some energetic young players running around on a field – before actually knowing the game – but after some practices, the team got closer, and better, each time and we quickly progressed.

Considering the other teams had players that grew up playing field hockey and Brentwood’s team was a diverse mix of beginners and advanced players, Brentwood battled really well. Although we did not win every game, we learned and laughed together: the water turf was really slippery and a lot of players just fell over other people’s sticks or even over their own feet, which could be a scene pasted for a Mr Bean episode.

Nevertheless, the co-ed worked out really well, and none of the girls felt insecure or overwhelmed by the boys. On the other hand, the boys were first restrained, but then they got braver each game and, at the end, did not hesitate to battle with the girls.

The entire team was happy to be able to play those games. It is such a unique experience and everyone stepped out of their comfort zone by trying at least one new position in the game, which sometimes led to chaos but which also made it funnier. Goalkeeping was especially difficult sometimes because the shots were fired at one consistently – it is like being a human piñata, except instead of candy, one gets pelted with a hard ball.

So, if you’re looking for a sport that combines laughter, athleticism, and boys & girls, then co-ed field hockey should be your choice for next Spring, when you will run around under the sound of Mrs Whitney’s whistle and, thanks to her great leadership, succeed.

Carla W, Alexandra ‘24

Where Students Choose To Be