Coral Gables is known as a diverse community bursting with appreciations of many cultures. The school is occupied with a myriad of students with different personalities and hobbies that makeup the schools environment. Three of Gables’s students show their diversity as they kick off the year on a field hockey team. While both ice hockey and field hockey are more well-known as a male sport, Valeria Gutierrez, Julene Valmaña and Sofia Salvatore challenge the gender role. Valmaña and Salvatore play for the same team, Doral Field Hockey, while Gutierrez plays for the Key Biscayne Field Hockey team.

Valeria Gutierrez: 

A junior in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, Valeria Gutierrez, plays center defense of center middle for the Key Biscayne Field Hockey team. She has been playing this sport since she was five years old because her mom played for the Venezuelan national team and made Gutierrez develop a love for the sport. The Key Biscayne team is very supportive of each other and is always there for every single member. In her opinion, the most important skill in hockey is to be able to know what to do with the ball before you receive it. When you receive the ball, you need to have already lifted your head and have an idea of what you are going to do with the ball afterwards. Gutierrez is able to handle it if she does not procrastinate. It’s not easy managing school, practice and games, but it is manageable. Not only does Gutierrez play field hockey but she also runs on the cross country team at Gables. She also coaches the peewee field hockey division for girls and boys from ages five to seven for community service hours. Fortunately, Gutierrez does not mind sacrificing her afternoons and weekends to play the sport she loves.

“Field hockey for me isn’t just a sport its a passion. It takes a lot of dedication to handle IB school work, extracurricular activities and hockey at the same but since I love the sport so much I put up with it. I enjoy my time when I’m playing, not letting it be a waste of time that I could be doing other stuff,” junior Valeria Gutierrez said.

Julene Valmana:

A senior in the International Baccalaureate (IB)program, Julene Valmaña, takes part of Doral’s field hockey team. Valmaña usually plays defense on the left side, she has been playing this sport for about nine years. One of the most important traits her team has is commitment because although they are a small team with no competition at all, most of the players are always at practices/games and have such positive attitudes towards the team. Valmaña has no problem balancing doing well in school and having fun out on the field.  She believes it is an advantage to have practice twice a week, while one of the practices are on every Friday because she does not have to stress about homework due the next day. Since the team does not have any competition at all for U19 because they are the only team in Florida, they barely have any games allowing Valmaña to have a flexible hockey schedule. For Valmaña, the most important skill is definitely footwork because you need those skills to move quickly across the field and to know how to get away from your opponent. Also, teamwork is an important skill to have as a whole because the field is immense that you can’t make it from one side of the field without passing the ball to your teammates. Since field hockey is a rare sport, it allows Valmaña to feel different from those who play “regular” sports. What she enjoys the most about the team is that the same people have been in it since the start of the team which allows her to create new memories with her friends, while playing her favorite sport.

“I really like that it’s such a rare sport so whenever people ask me if I play a sport, I respond with hockey and they automatically think it’s ice hockey. They always look at me with a face of confusion because they could never imagine me playing that kind of sport—it’s a nice feeling proving them wrong,” senior Julene Valmaña said.

Sofia Salvatore:

Sofia Salvatore is also a senior at Gables in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Salvatore plays center back (defense) for the Doral Field Hockey team. She has been playing for nearly 11 years. If there was one word Salvatore could use to describe her team it would be “insane.” She manages school, practice, and games by being able to manage time wisely and working on classwork/homework earlier so she won’t let insomnia get the best of her. They key of having a good time management schedule is to not be indolent and to not fall into procrastination. Salvatore also believes that it is important to know what things to give up, for example sometimes it is crucial to miss out on a practice because you have to do an Internal Assesment (IA) or sometimes you miss out on an assignment because the team requires commitment. Attitude is the most important thing while playing hockey for Salvatore because if  you don’t have a good mindset of being competitive and getting better then you will never win or improve. The thing she prefers the most about hockey is getting to be aggressive while having fun at the same time because no one will call you out if you push/play rough against someone.

“It’s my life, honestly it is a piece of me. I wouldn’t be the same without it, my personality has field hockey inscribed in it,” senior Sofia Salvatore said.

All three students are passionate about this sport that has taken over their lives. They all share a conscientiousness personality when it comes to getting things done right in both the field and a classroom. Be on the lookout because this will not be the last time we will hear of these formidable players.