Field hockey standout is first to earn honor
By: Neil Hay
It is not every day that an athlete has his or her number retired.
At Allentown High School, it had never happened. Until Monday night.
At the school’s spring sports awards night, Katie Nicholson, the Redbirds’ star field hockey player and a two-time All-American, had her number 4 jersey retired. Nicholson, the 18-year-old senior who will attend the University of Virginia in the fall, thus becomes the first Allentown athlete so honored.
Awards and honors come to Katie Nicholson in bunches. The leading career scorer with 71 goals and 56 assists. Athlete of the Year as a junior. MVP for field hockey. Named All-American two years in a row. Now her jersey to be on display in the high school, her number never to be worn again by another field hockey player.
“I am really excited,” said Nicholson about having her number retired. Asked if there were anything special about it being a female athlete whose number was being retired, Nicholson replied, “That says a lot for the women’s generation these days.”
Nicholson, a midfielder-forward, was named by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association as an All-American for the second time last fall. Making it the first time was a great accomplishment. Doing it a second time had even more meaning.
“I was excited,” about being named All-American again. “There was more pressure the second time. Last year was a shocker. I knew it was there. And actually making it was a big deal. This year was a bigger deal, there was more pressure on me because I did it once and had to show it wasn’t a fluke.”
It wasn’t. From all standards, Nicholson deserved All-American honors. Her play with her high school team. Her achievements with her club team at last year’s field hockey festival in Palm Beach, Florida. Making field hockey “A” camp, which serves as the tryout stage for the national team. Playing at the indoor national tournament at Franklin & Marshall University.
Nicholson had played other sports at Allentown: three years of basketball, one season each of track and softball. But Katie’s the name and field hockey’s the game. To further concentrate on her hockey career, Nicholson opted not to play basketball this past winter.
“Field hockey has meant a lot to me,” Nicholson said. “It has been my life. I do other things but it is the constant in my life. When I have a bad day, I know field hockey is always there for me.”
Nicholson is the whole package, the real deal, a combination of skill, savvy, and athleticism. Passing, dribbling, shooting, faking, stick-handling. Speed and endurance. Know-how.
But Nicholson is more than just another great athlete with all the tools.
“Field hockey has a lot to do with athleticism. But you also have to have brains. You can sharpen your skills, but how do you apply them in a game? A lot of it is mental, not just thinking about the game, but keeping focused and not getting psyched out, said Nicholson, who boasts a 3.98 GPA.”
Talk to Katie Nicholson, this girls-just-want-to-have-fun type who sounds so bubbly and happy that she is surely having the time of her life. But, she admitted, there are down times too. Thankfully, field hockey is there to lift her spirits.
“I am very giddy,” acknowledged Nicholson. “But sometimes I get down. If you lose you can get frustrated. I’ve had tears. But you have to get over it. Sometimes you don’t play to your potential, you are not focused. But you get over it.”
Katie Nicholson will next play for the University of Virginia, where she will attend on a full athletic scholarship. And perhaps she will wear her familiar Number 4. Whatever her number with the Cavaliers, one thing is certain: no one will again wear Number 4 for the Redbird field hockey team.
And it will be quite sometime before another player like Katie Nicholson comes along.