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High school field hockey
Mohawk sticks out
WVC’s only male starter, McCalla makes big strides with his play.
JAMIE A. RAUB jraub@timesleader.com
[IMG]http://media.timesleader.com/images/300*216/McCalla_09-18-2007_526AK91.jpg[/IMG]
Meyers field hockey player Jamaica McCalla is the only male starter on a Wyoming Valley Conference team. He has scored two goals this season for the 2-3 Mohawks. (Pete G. Wilcox/The Times Leader)
Times Leader Photo Store
WILKES-BARRE – As he had done countless times previously in the game, Jamaica McCalla lowered his body almost parallel to the ground in a defensive position.
Staring wide-eyed at the player dribbling the ball toward him, he made his move in one single sweeping motion.
With that, McCalla’s opposition was forced to move on, without the orange sphere she previously controlled with such ease.
The defensive aspect of field hockey has come easily to the Meyers junior – it’s handling the stick, keeping the ball low, and scoring that the Mohawk back is still trying to come to terms with.
After one year on the junior varsity team, McCalla has worked his way into the varsity starting lineup for Meyers (2-3). Although there have been others in recent years, McCalla is currently the only male starter on a WVC field hockey team.
“Right now, he’s just learning,” said head coach Sue Elias. “He only played enough last season to earn his (varsity) letter, but if he had started in the seventh grade, he would have been awesome. Some of these girls have been playing for years.”
McCalla, a native of the island of Jamaica, says he would have liked to play soccer or football, but injuries to the cartilage in his knee forced him to search for a different sport. When he found out he could play field hockey, he decided last summer he would give the sport a shot.
“I played soccer for 14 years,” he said. “I just wanted to try something new and I ended up liking it.” McCalla’s presence on the field and at practice wasn’t exactly a welcome one at first, though.
When he first showed up at practice last year, the rest of the Mohawks gave him a difficult time, said Elias. She said it wasn’t until McCalla started to show promise on the field that the other players warmed up to him.
“It took him a while to break into the lineup,” Elias said. “The girls weren’t nice to him at all. In fact, they were pretty brutal.”
Things seem to have changed for the better with the Meyers squad, as McCalla and the rest of the players appear to be working in sync with each other.
In a recent contest against Northwest Area at Kistler Elementary, McCalla played a large portion of the 60-minute game.
During that time, he and his teammates successfully defended 12 penalty corners from a potent Northwest Area offense.
And earlier in the season, with Meyers hosting city rival GAR, McCalla scored his first field hockey career goal. His second came on Friday in a 2-1 overtime loss to perennial power Crestwood.
“I’ve been improving over the past few weeks of the season,” said McCalla, following the 2-0 win against Northwest. “I’ve been playing midfield a lot lately, so while I’m playing defense, I’m also improving my skills playing offense.”
There have been times when the Meyers midfielder shows his frustration on the field.
In the Northwest game, McCalla made several attempts to reset the ball after penalties. As if swinging for a home run, he was repeatedly called by the referees for a raised ball, a penalty called when the ball is hit by a player more than 18 inches off the ground.
The penalties frustrated McCalla and at one point he dropped his stick and let out a scream, clenching his fists and flexing both arms in front of his body.
“When I get frustrated, I just listen to my coach’s advice from the sideline and my teammates,” he said. “They keep me going. The goalie, Erin Conrad … whatever she says goes. I listen to whatever she says. She really helps me improve.”
McCalla will need those recent improvements to his game as he prepares to compete against some of the best players the Wyoming Valley Conference – and the state – has to offer. Besides facing Crestwood, Meyers will play defending state Class 2A champion Wyoming Seminary (Oct. 1) and Dallas (Oct. 8).
McCalla isn’t worried about any change in the level of play. Having already played perennial power Lake-Lehman (a 4-0 loss) in the season-opener, the Mohawks know the caliber of players they will face on those dates.
McCalla is confident the Meyers defense will hold up well when tested. “I went against Lake-Lehman and other girls that were ranked in the state,” said McCalla. “They are a lot more skilled, but I just turn on my defensive mode.”
Mohawk sticks out
WVC’s only male starter, McCalla makes big strides with his play.
JAMIE A. RAUB jraub@timesleader.com
[IMG]http://media.timesleader.com/images/300*216/McCalla_09-18-2007_526AK91.jpg[/IMG]
Meyers field hockey player Jamaica McCalla is the only male starter on a Wyoming Valley Conference team. He has scored two goals this season for the 2-3 Mohawks. (Pete G. Wilcox/The Times Leader)
Times Leader Photo Store
WILKES-BARRE – As he had done countless times previously in the game, Jamaica McCalla lowered his body almost parallel to the ground in a defensive position.
Staring wide-eyed at the player dribbling the ball toward him, he made his move in one single sweeping motion.
With that, McCalla’s opposition was forced to move on, without the orange sphere she previously controlled with such ease.
The defensive aspect of field hockey has come easily to the Meyers junior – it’s handling the stick, keeping the ball low, and scoring that the Mohawk back is still trying to come to terms with.
After one year on the junior varsity team, McCalla has worked his way into the varsity starting lineup for Meyers (2-3). Although there have been others in recent years, McCalla is currently the only male starter on a WVC field hockey team.
“Right now, he’s just learning,” said head coach Sue Elias. “He only played enough last season to earn his (varsity) letter, but if he had started in the seventh grade, he would have been awesome. Some of these girls have been playing for years.”
McCalla, a native of the island of Jamaica, says he would have liked to play soccer or football, but injuries to the cartilage in his knee forced him to search for a different sport. When he found out he could play field hockey, he decided last summer he would give the sport a shot.
“I played soccer for 14 years,” he said. “I just wanted to try something new and I ended up liking it.” McCalla’s presence on the field and at practice wasn’t exactly a welcome one at first, though.
When he first showed up at practice last year, the rest of the Mohawks gave him a difficult time, said Elias. She said it wasn’t until McCalla started to show promise on the field that the other players warmed up to him.
“It took him a while to break into the lineup,” Elias said. “The girls weren’t nice to him at all. In fact, they were pretty brutal.”
Things seem to have changed for the better with the Meyers squad, as McCalla and the rest of the players appear to be working in sync with each other.
In a recent contest against Northwest Area at Kistler Elementary, McCalla played a large portion of the 60-minute game.
During that time, he and his teammates successfully defended 12 penalty corners from a potent Northwest Area offense.
And earlier in the season, with Meyers hosting city rival GAR, McCalla scored his first field hockey career goal. His second came on Friday in a 2-1 overtime loss to perennial power Crestwood.
“I’ve been improving over the past few weeks of the season,” said McCalla, following the 2-0 win against Northwest. “I’ve been playing midfield a lot lately, so while I’m playing defense, I’m also improving my skills playing offense.”
There have been times when the Meyers midfielder shows his frustration on the field.
In the Northwest game, McCalla made several attempts to reset the ball after penalties. As if swinging for a home run, he was repeatedly called by the referees for a raised ball, a penalty called when the ball is hit by a player more than 18 inches off the ground.
The penalties frustrated McCalla and at one point he dropped his stick and let out a scream, clenching his fists and flexing both arms in front of his body.
“When I get frustrated, I just listen to my coach’s advice from the sideline and my teammates,” he said. “They keep me going. The goalie, Erin Conrad … whatever she says goes. I listen to whatever she says. She really helps me improve.”
McCalla will need those recent improvements to his game as he prepares to compete against some of the best players the Wyoming Valley Conference – and the state – has to offer. Besides facing Crestwood, Meyers will play defending state Class 2A champion Wyoming Seminary (Oct. 1) and Dallas (Oct. 8).
McCalla isn’t worried about any change in the level of play. Having already played perennial power Lake-Lehman (a 4-0 loss) in the season-opener, the Mohawks know the caliber of players they will face on those dates.
McCalla is confident the Meyers defense will hold up well when tested. “I went against Lake-Lehman and other girls that were ranked in the state,” said McCalla. “They are a lot more skilled, but I just turn on my defensive mode.”
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