Blazewski became Tartans’ top player
By: Bob Nuse
Taylor Blazewski didn’t come to Stuart Country Day School thinking she would eventually become a key player in a traditionally strong field hockey program.
In fact, when Blazewski first arrived at Stuart in seventh grade, she needed a little time to get used to the fact that the school didn’t have a soccer team.
"When I came here in seventh grade, I had been playing soccer for nine years," Blazewski said. "There was no soccer team, so I started playing field hockey in eighth grade and I remember I made the bad team. I had never played before because I was always playing soccer. Freshman year I decided to try out, just because I wanted to be part of a team, and I wound up making the varsity.
"I was kind of mad at first when I came because I had always played soccer. I never thought it would be like this. I guess it was just that I slowly got better and by the middle of my sophomore year I was starting on varsity. I stopped playing soccer in the middle of ninth grade and I concentrated more on field hockey."
Not only did Blazewski eventually pick up her new sport, she became quite good at it. This past season, her third as a starter, the Lawrence resident scored 16 goals and added 12 assists to help the Tartans to a school-record 17 wins and a state Prep B championship.
This season capped off a great high school career in a sport she would never have played if not for the move to Stuart.
"The sport is so much like soccer and with her background in soccer, I think that made it an easy transition for her," Stuart coach Missy Bruvik said. "She’s such a good athlete. She has good hand-eye coordination, she’s strong and she has quick feet. She could play left wing or right wing for us and she found a spot for herself as our right wing."
She found a spot that made her the team leader in goals scored, while also playing a pivotal role as a team captain."
Taylor Blazewski is the Princeton Packet Field Hockey Player of the Year.
"This year was such a fun year for us," Blazewski said. "I loved being on this team. We had such a great bond on and off the field. I remember my freshman year being new and looking up to the seniors on the team. And this year the new players were looking up to me and the other seniors.
"This year was different than any other year. I’m not sure what it was. Maybe the senior leadership and just that everyone on the team enjoyed being with each other and we felt comfortable as a team."
The team finished the season 17-3, reaching the finals of the Mercer County Tournament for a second straight season. The Tartans also won the Prep B title, capping off a season in which they won 13 of their final 14 games.
"I always think we’re lucky when we get kids like Taylor in the program," Bruvik said. "They’re not burned out or tired of it. With Taylor, she found a home as a right wing. Even thought she had not started playing until eighth grade, you could see that she had so much potential. She’s learned the game and she feels comfortable at her position."
Blazewski also has become comfortable in her other two sports at Stuart, ice hockey and lacrosse. Those sports, like field hockey, were new to her when she arrived at the school. And in those sports, like field hockey, she’s become a team leader and top player. One that will be hard to replace.
"I tried out for basketball and didn’t make it, so I played ice hockey," said Blazewski, who was Stuart’s team leader in goals and assists. "I also play lacrosse, which I had never played before I came to Stuart.
"I never would have thought there would be a time when they would say, ‘we have to figure out a way to replace Taylor.’ I thought that way about players like Tracy Statter and Kelly Fitzpatrick."
Somehow, the Tartans will find a way to replace Blazewski, just as they have other top players in the past. It’s a program that has always managed to replace its top players, and find new ones like Blazewski who come out of nowhere.
"I feel like everyone looks at us and thinks we’re a cult because we’re so loud and noisy sometimes," Blazewski said. "That’s because we love to cheer and be loud. I definitely think field hockey is the big sport at the school because we’ve always been successful. We have other teams that do well, but it seems like field hockey has always been a good team.
"I remember coming into pre-season the first day this year and thinking, oh, no, we’re so young. But as it progressed, everything came together and we made it into a pretty successful season."
Bruvik is convinced that as Blazewski goes on in the sport, she’ll continue to improve.
"I think she’ll do even better at the next level because she is only going to get better," the Stuart coach said. "She put up amazing numbers for us this year, but I can see her continuing to improve and getting better as she gets even more experience.
"She played defense in the midfield and made 60-yard runs and then would follow that up with a goal or an assist. And I think the other kids on the team really respected her for the effort that she would give during games and in practice. She’s really developed as a player and as a leader."
Not bad for a soccer player who reluctantly, at first, made the switch to field hockey.