GoHeels Exclusive: Hayden's Success Has Foundation In Family

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

No matter who picked up the house phone, Catherine Hayden and her older brothers, Will and John, were taught to answer it the same.

"Hayden residence, this is (name)."

So, when the time came a few years ago to name the family's text messaging group, Will, the oldest of Mark and Diana Hayden's children, knew exactly what it should be:

Hayden residence, this is Will.

The name stuck. And ever since, every member of the family has been reminded of that inside joke whenever a new message appears. That happens to be a lot.

Throughout each day, the chat is buzzing with the latest updates. The children, Will said, love hearing about the family dogs. And whenever any of the Haydens are together, there are sure to be a few selfies taken in an effort to make everyone else a little jealous.

Nothing, however, dominates the conversation more than their athletic accomplishments and games. That's the way it's always been.

Will, a Wake Forest alumnus who now works at a film studio in New York City, no longer participates in competitive sports. But he'll occasionally run a marathon or do a 100-mile bike ride, proving he can keep up with his younger siblings. John, the middle child, plays in the NHL for the New Jersey Devils. But even he admits he's not the best athlete in the family.

That distinction, John and Will agree, belongs to Catherine, a senior on the North Carolina field hockey team.

"I think she's the best at everything – on the field, socially, just in general," John said. "Will and I both consider her the best out of us three, and for good reason."

'Always a competitor'

Before she even finished learning how to walk, Catherine learned how to skate.

Born in Denver, she and her family spent days at a time during the winter on the homemade rink in their backyard. Will and John constantly played hockey. And as soon as she was old enough, Catherine joined them, as she proceeded to do with several other activities as they grew up.

"Because we had that brotherly bond," Will said, "it was really incredible the way that she almost went out of her way to not only insert herself, but to exceed our abilities from a super early age and start beating us up."

As the youngest, she took some lumps, too.

Looking back, Catherine jokes that she was "kind of like a punching bag." Whenever her brothers wanted to practice shooting on a goalie instead of a shooter tutor, they padded her up and threw her in front of the net. There was also the one time, Will said, when he and John were swinging her around by her arms and both of her shoulders came out of socket.

At that point – and surely several others – Catherine could've backed off and explored other interests. Not one to sit on the side and watch, though, she never did. And she never asked her brothers to take it easy on her.

"She had a choice where she could either get tough and compete or go do something else," Will said, "and she was always a competitor."

That became even more evident when she started playing organized sports.

Diana put together all the teams that her children played on in Denver, and at the time, there weren't many opportunities for girls to play ice hockey. So, Catherine played on a boys' team. She also played baseball, lacrosse and soccer with boys. That, however, was no different than what she was used to.

Not until the family moved to Greenwich, Conn., when Catherine was about 6 years old, did she start playing girls' hockey. She still enjoyed it, she said, but it was less intense and she was "getting kind of bored." It also wasn't a sport that was offered by her school.

She continued playing it at the club level, though, along with lacrosse and squash. Then, just before entering middle school, her father introduced her to field hockey.

"I remember thinking, 'There's so much to this game. It's so complicated and it's hard," Catherine said. "And I loved it."

'Something special'

Even now, Will isn't sure if you could convince Catherine that field hockey is her sport; she's such a natural at every one she tries and has the work ethic and leadership skills to excel. But shortly after she started playing it, it became apparent that she'd settle on it.

"Once she started to play at a high level in high school, you could tell there was something special there," Mark said. "It looked like it was the right direction."

Catherine said she'd never really considered playing squash after high school. And by the time her sophomore year at the Convent of the Sacred Heart rolled around, she was starting to grow tired of lacrosse, which she was then playing in high school and at the club level.

So, when deciding which sport she'd play in college – an option that she realized was available to her when John committed to Yale as a high school sophomore – she was torn between her first love, ice hockey, and her newest, field hockey.

Many of the things that initially drew her to the latter still fascinated her. One thing working against it, though, was there weren't many field hockey opportunities in Connecticut. That's why she chose to spend her junior and senior years at The King's School in Canterbury, Kent, England.

"I kind of made that decision based on, 'I can stay here and keep playing both or I can go get really good at one,'" she said. "The idea of going to play somewhere where I could play on astro all the time and I could play for a club and my school with people who have been playing since they were 6 years old was really appealing to me."

She might not have considered it had John not gone down a similar path a few years earlier. He left home and spent his junior and senior years at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Mich., while skating for U.S. National Team Development Program.

"She knew that I enjoyed my time in Ann Arbor," John said, "and I thought, as an athlete but more importantly as a person, it was great for me to be on my own to an extent and to fast track some of the maturity away from sports. I think it was great for Catherine."

Catherine started attending Carolina's field hockey camp as a high school freshman. Even back then, UNC was a dream school, she said. But she wasn't sure if Tar Heel coach Karen Shelton would be interested in her. So, she kept her options open.

She visited several other ACC schools and a few in the Ivy League. Will, of course, pushed for Wake Forest, where Shelton said she thought Catherine would end up when she saw her at one of the Tar Heels' matches against the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem.

Ultimately, Catherine couldn't turn down Carolina and its track record of success.

"They've always been the best …" she said. "Just coming and seeing the facility, Carolina blue, a great color, and just knowing they're always fighting to win a championship made me want to come here. I came here wanting to get a title."

Finding her place

When Catherine reflects on her first season in Chapel Hill, back in 2015, she doesn't mince words about the state of her game.

"I was not good," she said.

Compared to her teammates, she said, she wasn't nearly as developed. So, knowing she wasn't ready – or necessarily needed – to contribute, she decided to redshirt when the opportunity was presented to her at the end of the preseason.

Considering how driven she's always been to be on the field and make a difference, Will said Catherine had a tough time not being able to do that. But he, John and their parents did their best to offer support. They all tried to "toe a pragmatic and reasonable line" in regard to her redshirting and assured her that it wasn't a bad sign for her future on the team.

That's certainly proven to be the case.

"I wouldn't get to be here right now if I hadn't taken it," said Catherine, now a fifth-year team member for the Tar Heels. "I wouldn't have been able to add anything to the team back then. So, I'm glad to have had a year to get used to it, get into the transition and feel it out."

Over the next two seasons, during which she came off the bench to play in all 49 games, Catherine struggled to find her place as she bounced between playing midfield and forward. But entering last season knowing a starting spot was within reach, she said she started feeling more comfortable and confident. The coaching staff also figured out how to bring out her skill.

Shelton said Catherine has always had a knack for scoring in front of the goal. So, with her insertion into the starting lineup, UNC started sending more balls into the circle for Catherine to get on the end of and deflect into the net. That led to her scoring 16 goals last season, tied for the second most on the team and four more than she had scored in her first two seasons combined.

Entering Friday's matchup with No. 7 Louisville, Catherine is tied with sophomore Erin Matson for the team lead with six goals. Three came against William & Mary last Sunday, when she recorded her third career hat trick.

A lot of people, Catherine said, are shocked that she's not afraid to stand in front of the goal. Even new UNC assistant coach Robbert Schenk was taken aback when he first saw her stand in front of his shots during a practice. But considering the amount of time she spent playing ice hockey with her brothers, it never fazes her.

"I think some people just have the fearlessness," Shelton said. "I don't think she's crazy at all. I think she's got the ability to get out of the way. I think she thrives in that position. She's not one to dive – she's very upright in the way she plays. But she doesn't get whacked very often.

"She nips and tucks and gets touches on the ball. And her knack has gotten so much better, her understanding of angles and where the stick needs to be positioned in relation to the goal."

No one is prouder of how Catherine's career has taken off, though, than her family.

Mark and Diana do their best to attend every game. Will missed only a couple last season and will be at the game on Friday. Although John can only go to a few because of his hectic NHL schedule, he streams as many as he can. That included last season's national championship game.

When the final buzzer sounded in the Tar Heels' 2-0 win over Maryland last November in Louisville, Will, who was there with Mark and Diana, expected a huge celebration. So, once Catherine emerged from the handshake line, he leapt over the fence and stormed the field.

"I didn't think about it," he said. "It was just like, 'There she is. She did it. I'm going to go get her.' I ran out there and she jumped up and we had a big hug, and then they kicked me off the field. No one else ran out. … But one of the blessings of being so close is that her dreams are my dreams, too, and watching one of her dreams come true is a dream come true for me. The emotions that she felt at scale ran through me at 100 miles per hour."

About 300 miles away, John experienced a similar level of excitement.

Then a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, he was preparing for a home game against the Minnesota Wild. On most game days, he naps. But he passed on the extra shut-eye that day to watch Catherine and her teammates cap their undefeated season.

"I remember sitting in my bedroom watching it on my laptop," John said, "and when they won, I shed some tears, talked to my family and went and played my own game. … Even without being there, that was a special memory, watching that game."

It motivates him now as he enters his fourth NHL season.

"I definitely want to be a champion in hockey," he said, "so it was really fun to be a part of her success and a part of their team as, I guess, a witness. I'd like to join the club."

Bought in

First, Catherine will join her brothers in a different club – as a college graduate.

A media and journalism major who's concentrated in public relations and sports journalism, she's on track to graduate in December. As a fifth-year senior, she said she's had a bit more time to accept that she'll soon be leaving Carolina and that her field hockey career is nearing its end. She's not in a rush to jump into the "real" world, though.

John also acknowledged that it'll be "different" when Catherine is no longer playing field hockey. But he knows she'll benefit from the lessons she learned at UNC.

"The intangibles that come from playing a sport like field hockey at a place like UNC will definitely stick with Catherine for the rest of her life and serve her well," he said. "I think the mentality that she brings to field hockey she'll bring to whatever the next chapter has in store. Catherine will definitely find success in anything she does in life."

Will agrees.

"One thing that's been instilled in her at Carolina that maybe we didn't expect was a degree of intellectual and experiential curiosity, a willingness to get out in the world and engage with things," Will said. "She was always more excited about getting to practice, getting on the field than reading a book, but I've seen her become engaged in the subject matter that she's working on, thinking about solutions to problems that she sees in the world and really dialing it in."

Catherine's internship this past summer is an example of that.

A recipient of the Carolina Blue Honors Fellowship, she traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa to work with Levergy, a sport and entertainment public relations agency that delivers high-impact creative ideas to some of the world's biggest brands. She said the internship gave her "a good broad experience," which included working with clients, assisting with photo shoots and writing press releases. It also confirmed what she already knew: She wants to work in sports.

How exactly? She's not sure just yet. Upon graduation, she's planning to go to Australia for about four months. She's thinking she'll then try to find a job in New York City.

But no matter what she does, she knows her family will support her, just like they always have.

"Family is probably the most important thing in my life and I'm so lucky," Catherine said. "Every day I thank God for the family I have. … Just the fact that they know everything that's going on with my team and stuff, it just feels good that my whole family has bought into this process, the same way we're all bought into John with the Devils. I'm glad that they love sports as much as I do and that when we win, they feel like they've won."

Players Mentioned

Catherine Hayden

Erin Matson

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