Whitney Ooms is entering her second season as Red Bank Regional High School’s field hockey coach.
In 2017, like many first-year coaches, she planted seeds, filling her starting lineup with young, talented, but inexperienced players.
The Buccaneers took their lumps, especially in big games, losing in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament and the North Jersey Section 2, Group 3 state sectional tournament.
But with seven starters and five other rotation players back, Ooms expects to “surprise people” in 2018. Red Bank Regional will be the host to Long Branch High School on opening day, Sept. 4.
“It was a growing year last year. We just tried to maintain a positive practice environment and get done what we needed to get done,” Ooms said. “This year we are better at basic skills, which should lead to scoring more and playing better defense against the teams in our division.”
Ooms’ experienced lineup includes senior midfielder Penelope Buchanan, junior forward Mara Senkeleski and senior goalie Tara Clark.
Buchanan is Red Bank’s leader and a “true utility player,” Ooms said. That’s why Ooms is moving her from forward to center midfield.
“She’s the core of our team. She motivates and leads by example,” Ooms said. “If I asked her to play goal, she’d do it. She’s one of the most coachable players I’ve had.”
Senkeleski led the Bucs in scoring last year. She will be depended on to do the same in 2018.
“I’m still debating whether she’ll be inner or outer line. She’s a very strong offensive player and is very intense,” Ooms said. “When the ball is open, she gets to it or makes space to receive it. She knows where to be on the field and helps younger players do the same.”
Clark started in goal last year and showed two of the most important goalie attributes: Communication skills and a level head.
“She tells defenders where they need to be and what they need to be,” Ooms said. “And she doesn’t crack under pressure.”
Senior defender Aislynn Butler is Clark’s co-leader along the backline.
“She’s experienced on defense and levels out the defense,” Ooms said. “She has a killer drive, which is great when we need to clear out the ball.”
Juniors Abby Nooney and Maxine Lloyd also started last year and will add experience to the group.
Ooms’ foundation-building, though, was not limited to juniors and sophomores in 2017. Two freshmen, Brianna Sumner and Molly Sauer, who are now sophomores, also saw significant time last fall.
Sauer will help Butler on defense. Sumner is an intense, aggressive forward who could become an elite finisher near the net.
“It was definitely intimidating last year, but I feel like I’ve adjusted pretty quickly,” Sumner said. “I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on my stick skills. I hope to play more of a mentor role this year, too.”
Sumner’s statement reveals the dual nature of Red Bank’s approach this season. The experience is there, and winning is not an unrealistic expectation.
But Ooms is still building a foundation. A host of other sophomores and even freshmen could see varsity time this fall.
The upperclassmen are ok with that.
“I try to lead the younger people,” Senkeleski said. “I tell them they can always ask me questions. If I see them doing something they need to fix, I try to nicely put how they can fix it.”
“We’re trying to get that fire in them and teach them to be fierce on the field,” Buchanan said. “They just need to get the basics down and go from there. We need to work on our stick skills because we play on grass instead of turf.”
The young players will develop as the season continues. The Bucs, though, are already rounding into form.
“We have already improved so much from our first scrimmage to our second,” Clark said. “In the second scrimmage, our attack pushed the ball down into the offensive zone and kept it down.”
