Diary of a Lakeland Player: Emma Bozek

Emma Bozek is a junior forward for the Lakeland field hockey team.

She played on last year's Hornet squad that won the Class B state championship and was a member of the Hudson Valley team this summer that won the Empire State Games in Buffalo.

Sharon Sarsen, Hudson Valley and Lakeland coach, said that she was the best player in the games.

Bozek was also named to the under-17  junior national team and played for the Lakeland Gold squad that won the Hudson Valley Summer Field Hockey League crown.

Emma reflected on the summer and looked ahead at the upcoming season:

Not a day went by this summer when I didn't participate in some type of organized or individual type of physical activity. I played for the Junior Women's National Championship Pennsylvania team which consisted of weekday practices at Bucknell University, lasting about three hours each day. 

At the end of this session, the team spent a week in Virginia Beach where we competed against other top level teams from around the United States. Beginning in early July, I practiced daily with the Hudson Valley Empire State Team. 

This awesome team was fortunate enough to win a gold medal in Buffalo at the end of July. During National Junior Camp, the workouts were extremely grueling especially during the heat of the day. 

The first week in August found me playing in the Junior Olympics in Virginia Beach, along with a number of my teammates from the Empire State Team. 

In addition, I participated in Albany University Six and Side Tournaments, which help to keep up my stamina and skill set. In addition to the organized venues, I worked out at Lakeland High School and Putnam Valley High School with neighbors and teammates from my school and tournament teams just to have some fun and stay in shape.  

Six players, including myself, who played on the Lakeland varsity field hockey team were also selected for the 2010 Empire State Team from Hudson Valley. So even though we didn't practice as a full 20-person team, the six of us did play together for those four weeks in July. 

About half the team would meet for pickup games at various times during the summer months. Captain's practices started the middle of August, where our four senior captains would get everyone together for a two-hour workout at Lakeland. Although it wouldn't be considered practice, two Lakeland teams were formed to play in the summer league at Putnam Valley High school. 

Summer league allows the younger, less experienced players to get a feel for what it will be like to play at the JV or varsity level. It also enables the veterans to get re-acquainted with one another and start the familiarization process again from where they left off in November. 

One of the most important qualities of any winning team is chemistry and I believe summer league enhanced our team's chemistry. The Lakeland team is a perfect blend between seasoned veterans and new players who are hungry to prove themselves at the varsity level. 

I try to work on new plays and shots that may come in handy down the road and also try to "get a feel" for how I can best work with teammates. The more experience our team has on the field before the start of the season, the better we will play as a poised and cohesive unit once the competition begins. 

There are essentially no organized team practices or full field games in the summer in this area. The summer season consists of playing field hockey for club teams, camps, and tournaments whereas the high-school season is spent with the same teammates from August through November. I played on approximately seven different teams during the summer season and look forward to getting back with my Lakeland team as soon as possible.   

We have a very strong and experienced group of forwards and mid-fields who can put a lot of goals on the board. However, we lost almost our entire starting defense to graduation last season. 

Our senior goalie is back for her last year and has been playing amazing all summer. She will be the leader of the defense all year. We have to work on defensive communication, positioning and marking with the new group of defenders. 

They will be a work in progress through the year, but I know they are up for the challenge. I expect our team to finish very strong during league play and believe we are good enough to "make some noise" in November. 

The team has a tremendous work ethic and one of the finest coaches, Sharon Sarsen, in all of high-school sports. We are setting the bar high for ourselves this season and expect to be a team to be reckoned with all year.