Junior Koedi Shakir started Montclair State’s club field hockey team with one of her former high school teammates.
Photo courtesy of Koedi Shakir.
“Field hockey is the kind of sport—it’s kind of like riding a bike—you don’t really forget how to do it,” said Koedi Shakir, a junior English major who is president and co-captain of the new club field hockey team.
Since playing varsity field hockey at Montclair State her freshman year and quitting for personal reasons, Shakir longed to get back on the field. She explained that, during class last semester, she and her former high school teammate Emily Meszaros were reminiscing about high school, when they decided to start a club field hockey team at Montclair State.
After a summer of sending emails, pricing equipment, recruiting interested players and compiling paperwork, Shakir submitted her application for the new team to the Student Recreation Center on Aug. 1, and it was approved by September.
Shakir, along with Meszaros, who is now vice president and co-captain of the team, hosted tryouts earlier this semester. They had a “good turnout,” according to Shakir, and kept 20 of the 25 girls who tried out. Each of the players was required to pay a $200 fee to cover tournament fees for the National Field Hockey League, equipment, apparel and travel expenses.
This team finished their first three-game tournament at University of Connecticut with a 1-1-1 record on Oct. 1. The first game of the tournament was a 0-0 tie against University of Connecticut, the second was a 3-2 win against University of Massachusetts Lowell, and the third was 2-1 loss against University of Connecticut. Montclair State Club Field Hockey will play at TCNJ on Oct. 23, Rutgers on Oct. 30, Lafayette on Nov. 5 and Lehigh on Nov. 13.
“It’s been a part of my life since sixth grade, so I’ve been playing for about seven or eight years,” Shakir said, explaining her passion for field hockey. “It’s hard to get up and just leave something completely when it’s such a big part of your life and it really makes you the person that you are.”
Shakir, currently acting as co-captain and president for the team, is also coaching and playing in the games. Though she described the added responsibility as “an adjustment,” for her, it’s all worth it just to be back on the field.
