Sports
Falkner Builds H-F Field Hockey From Ground Up
Despite the lack of youth feeder programs and local competition, the Vikings still have managed to be successful over the years thanks to the work of coach Ronnie Falkner and her staff.
Imagine being a high school baseball coach and you're given a team where most of the players have never swung a bat. Or that you're the basketball coach of a team whose players don’t know how to dribble. Or that you're the swim coach and none of your new recruits has jumped in a pool before.
That is the situation Everlyn "Ronnie" Falkner and her fellow field hockey coaches at Homewood-Flossmoor High School face every fall at the start of the season.
“Most of the girls don’t know how to use a stick," Falkner said. "We have to teach them. It is like starting at the very beginning as most have never been exposed except for the few that come to our camp.”
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The Vikings hold a camp every summer for two weeks at the high school. This week, there is a camp going on for two different age groups. The morning camp is for girls from fifth grade through ninth grade and the afternoon camp is for girls from 10th grade through 12th grade.
There is another camp scheduled for the high school team in July.
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Field hockey is a sport that is played predominantly by girls in the U.S. and is popular on the East Coast as well as pockets in the Midwest, including in the northern suburbs of Chicago.
The Vikings are in a precarious position in that they are the only team in the Southland that has a program, and they also don’t have a feeder program. Contrast that with the north suburban programs. Many offer varsity field hockey and have feeder programs.
On the Road Again
The difference equates to two problems for H-F, long bus rides to games and a complete disadvantage when it comes to game experience.
The closest school that the Vikings could possibly play is Chicago Latin (60 miles round-trip). Last season, the Vikings traveled approximately 1,150 miles to and from their home games.
Last season, H-F took trips to Deerfield (112), Glenbrook South (98), North Shore Country Day in Winnetka (94), Woodland Academy in Lake Forest (96), New Trier (96), Lakes–Lake Villa (156), Antioch (162), Highland Park at Deerfield (112), Deerfield (112) and Stevenson (116).
The Vikings also travel to Oak Park-River Forest and Lake Forest Academy some years. But the interesting story for the Vikings is they have had relatively good success over the years despite the lack of options in the area.
Falkner ('82) played field hockey while attending H-F and has come back to her alma mater to be the head varsity coach. The program is believed to have started after the passing of Title IX in 1972.
“Once it started in Illinois, it pretty much started here,” Falkner said. “But we have pretty much been the only team around here for the last 25 to 30 years.”
Slow to Catch On
Despite gains in popularity in recent years for lacrosse, field hockey never has seemed to draw the same kind of interest in the area even to neighboring schools like Marian Catholic or the Lincoln-Way schools.
Despite the lack of a feeder program, the Vikings try their best to manage.
“We tell the local junior high schools about our summer camp during the year to try and convince them to come out to the camp," Falkner said. "But for a majority of the girls the first time they are exposed to it is at the start of their freshman year.”
Falkner has seen all types of girls come out for the sport.
“We have a wide range," she said. "Some girls are extremely athletic and some girls have never played organized sports.”
Over the years, the Vikings have had freshmen come in clueless of how to play the sport and leave as some of the most accomplished players in the state. Two such players are Ellice Boskelly and Rachel Greenebaum.
“I liked ice hockey and wanted to try the closest thing,” Boskelly said. “I think sitting in a bus to go to the games can be tiring, but it is a great time for the team to bond.”
Greenebaum has learned to play confidently and not be scared of the ball.
“You have to be aggressive and believe in yourself," she said. "I know it sounds corny, but you just have to believe in yourself and stop the ball.”
The H-F field hockey program is in a unique situation. But ask anybody on the team and they will smile and tell you they are lucky they made the decision to take up the sport.
