Freshman Judy Collins Hits Field Hockey High Note

It's enough of an accomplishment just to be the starting center forward on the Harvard field hockey team. But freshman phenom Judy Collins will do you one better.

Actually, one better than any other freshman field hockey player in the Ivy League--Collins was just named Ancient Eight's Rookie of the Week.

Collins has always excelled at sports. In addition to her field hockey prowess, she was also a track star in the mile and a point guard for a two-time state champion team for her high school in Walpole, Massachusetts.

But those feats shouldn't come as a surprise. Her family introduced her to sports at a very young age.

"My family is very athletic," Collins says. "Everyone in my family has played sports since they could walk."

Sports were a large part of family life when Collins was growing up. They would often go together to play softball or to run. They even entered competitive races together. Collins ran her first 10-kilometer race at the age of six.

"I loved it," Collins says of her early introduction to athletics. "It definitely got me interested in sports."

Collins started field hockey in the fourth grade as part of a summer youth league.

"My older sisters played, so it was in the family," Collins says.

Over the past 10 years, field hockey has grown into an important and welcome part of her life.

"Basically, it's one of my strong points in life," Collins says. "It's like a hobby. I love doing it. I play all year round so it's not like a one-season thing for me."

Collins enjoys the opportunity to play for Harvard. She was also recruited by nationally-ranked Old Dominion, but she ultimately decided on Harvard because of its extra-athletic opportunities.

"At Old Dominion I would have been playing hockey all the time," she says. "Here I have time to do other things."

Harvard is lucky to have her.

Collins was instrumental in helping the squad break out of a two-week-long scoring slump, as she registered her first collegiate goal last week in a 3-1 win over New Hampshire. She followed that up with a goal and an assist in the next game, a 3-0 blanking of California.

Kiss that proverbial monkey good-bye.

"I was relieved," remarks Collins on her first goal. "I had so many chances to put them in. To finally get the first one under my belt relieved lots of pressure."

At 4-8 (0-3 Ivy), the Crimson players will be the first to admit that their record is disappointing, but the team has lots of offensive potential. The players just haven't had much luck in the scoring department.

"It's kind of frustrating," Collins says. "Everyone is so good, but we can't get the ball in the net. It's not like any team has dominated us. We look back on each game and think we could have won it."

While Harvard definitely could have won more games so far this year, it has good reason to be optimistic about the future.

With only three seniors and four juniors on the squad, the Crimson will have an experienced nucleus in upcoming years.

"We have kind of a young team," Collins says. "If we continue to develop, we're going to be good."

As for short-term goals, Collins need look no further than tomorrow's game at home against Ivy rival Princeton.

This game takes on a special significance for her. Her older sister Karen Collins--one of her first field hockey mentors--will be on the sidelines as an assistant coach for the Tigers.

"I hope we win," Collins says. "I think it'll be fun, since she'll be cheering for me."

Maybe Karen Collins should rather be fearing that she has trained her younger sister too well.