Colorado field hockey teams and players are lining up for a new season, one filled with a lot of new faces.
File photo by Patrick Miller
With a bevy of the state's top players having moved on and the rosters of most of the usual contenders starting at thorough overhauls, there will be a changing of the guard during the 2012 field hockey campaign.
Perhaps no one exemplifies this shift better than Daan Polders.
Polders is the new head coach at
Colorado Academy (Denver), which lost last year's state final in a 1-0 decision against perennial power
Kent Denver (Englewood). A veteran coach at Wake Forest and, before that, Michigan State, Polders arrives at Colorado Academy with a wealth of field hockey experience yet very little knowledge regarding the local scene.
The Mustangs, like most of Colorado's traditional powers, lost much of their firepower from their 2011 squad. Yet the new faces suit Polders just fine as the native of the Netherlands begins his first season in the Centennial State.
"I'm enjoying the challenge of developing the program and developing different kinds of athletes," said Polders, who moved to the United States in 2001 to pursue field hockey coaching opportunities. "I'm trying to be careful with predictions since I'm so new, but we're developing well. With my staff, we're trying to provide the tools to be successful, but I'm sure like everyone else we still have some work to do."
Among the 12 players honored by the Denver Post in 2011 on the All-Colorado team, 10 have graduated. That list includes former Colorado Academy standouts Bear Aragon and Jackie Murphy, along with honorable mention honoree Brooklyn Batey-Johnson.
"We still have very talented players on the roster," Polders said. "It's my job and the job of our staff to develop those players. I think the experience the returning players have from last year can have a benefit for our younger players coming up."
Defending state champion Kent Denver lost Colorado Player of the Year Lucy Dikeou in addition to fellow All-Colorado selection Molly Coates, although the Sun Devils will welcome back
Catherine Ellis, who led the state with 20 goals last season.
Among last year's All-Colorado selections, only Jenell Murphy of
Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) and Casey Deeds of
Palmer Ridge (Monument) are expected to return to the field.
"I always feel confident we can do well, but we did lose 15 varsity players from last season," said Palmer Ridge coach Paul Lewis, whose club lost to Colorado Academy in the state semifinals. "We have a younger team coming in, but they are looking sharp. Last year, we had an effective defense but fell a little short on offense. Now we have younger players on offense and we need to get that shored up."
