University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heel Olympians Talk With THB.com
August 11, 2008 | Field Hockey
Aug. 11, 2008
It has been a whirlwind year for Rachel Dawson, Katelyn Falgowski and Jesse Gey. All three started for the 2007 Carolina field hockey team that finished 24-0 last fall, winning NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference titles. The trio spent the spring training with the U.S. National Team in California (Dawson graduated with distinction in December and Falgowski and Gey will return to classes this fall) and in April helped the U.S. earn a berth in the Summer Games, the country's first since 1996. In late June, they were among 16 players - six of them Tar Heels - named to the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.
Shortly after being named to the team, Dawson, Falgowski and Gey talked with TarHeelBlue.come about the thrill of being named to the squad and the excitement of being headed for Beijing.
On finding out she'd made the team in a meeting with coach Lee Bodimeade following the USFHA National Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.:
"On Saturday after you finished your last game you went and had a personal meeting with the coach and he was going to tell you then whether you made or didn't make the Olympic team. So it was kind of nerve-racking all week long, knowing you were going to face that. I was anxious all day."
On being the least-experienced member of the team:
"It's a little intimidating, but it's awesome to see the progress that I've made from when I joined the team in January to now. To see that the coaching staff thinks I'm ready for something like that is a really big compliment, but also a tribute to how much I've learned and how much I've grown in the past six months."
On her role on the team:
"I'm a reserve forward. I come in sometimes with five minutes in a half to give forwards some rest time. It's an important role to be able to keep the intensity up for that time. I think I'm pretty versatile. [Coach Bodimeade] can put me in the midfield, too, if he needs me there. I just have a lot of different aspects to my game.
On the transition from college play:
"It was hard at first going to a place where you have to prove yourself every day and show them that you belong. It's been a tough transition, but it's been really good for me."
On the moment she found out she'd made the Olympic team:
"The initial feeling is excitement, then you kind of get nervous. It was a lot of feelings all bunched into one. It's such an honor to be able to represent your country. You're just thankful for your coaches and teammates and parents and family who have pushed you along the way."
On the importance of this Olympic appearance for USA Field Hockey:
The U.S. last played in the Games in 1996, but received a berth that year as the host country. The American team last qualified in 1988.
"We're definitely trying to start putting things in motion and put U.S. hockey on the map. In the world it's a pretty big sport, so we're really hoping to do well at this Olympics and get girls inspired to play."
On being the youngest player on the team and the only one still playing in college:
"It's definitely a huge honor. It says a lot for the coaches to have that kind of faith in me that they believe I have that ability to do it. It's kind of a crazy feeling to know you're the youngest, but our team has such great chemistry I don't feel like I'm young at all. We're so diverse, but we come together so well."
On the feeling of finding out she'd made the Olympic team:
"I was ecstatic. There's no guarantee when you go into your meetings with the coaches. You never know what they're thinking going into each tour and each tournament. They make their decisions based on what they think is best for the team and you may or may not be part of that, so there's always the doubt. I was just elated and ecstatic and relieved."
On helping the U.S. get back in the Summer Games after so long:
"I think the U.S.'s history and how we've been out of the Olympics for so long enriches the experience. What's so special about our team is that we're not all young. There are players who have been through the trying times of the USA program. For us young kids, it's just incredible to be able to help your older teammates reach that point in their careers, something that they have yet to achieve. I just feel like they kind of brought me along for the ride, but I also helped them get where they are."
On UNC having so much representation on the team:
There are six current or former Tar Heel players on the team and they span the roster in terms of experience. Among the veterans are captain Kate Barber, vice-captain Carrie Lingo and Amy Tran. At the other end of the spectrum are Dawson, Falgowski and Gey.
"The University of North Carolina field hockey program just breeds a culture of values. You can see in each individual a values system of what's important - hard work, staying focused, being there for your teammates, the pursuit of excellence. I think Coach Shelton has done a great job making that the foundation of the Carolina program. All players who come in and out of it have this special quality and values system from having been part of this program."
On the excitement of the past year:
"It's been an incredible year. Sometimes at night, I think about the fact that all the things that I said I wanted to do in my hockey career, they're all coming to fruition. You don't ever know if you're guaranteed to play another day, so you just have to enjoy every day."
