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10/29/2020 12:00 AMTaylor Stone followed in the footsteps of her mother Denise when she first picked up a stick and tried out for her field hockey team in 6th grade. Taylor had been an avid soccer fan for several years, but decided to give a new sport a try. In the years that have passed, Taylor has gone on to become both a top-notch forward and a senior captain for the Old Saybrook field hockey squad.
“I got into the sport because of my mom. She played in high school, and this inspired me to play like her,” says Taylor. “When I was younger and now in high school, my mom and I go out and work in my yard, and she helps me to improve my skills.”
All of this hard work paid big-time dividends for Taylor, who has progressed into one of Old Saybrook’s best players during the past four years. Taylor has earned All-Shoreline Conference Honorable Mention in each of the last two seasons and has scored 12 goals to go with six assists this year. In addition to working with her mother, Taylor put in a lot of offseason effort with fellow senior captain Kayla Holt in preparation for the fall campaign.
“I am always trying to learn something new about field hockey or improve my skills,” Taylor says. “In the summer, once we were allowed to, my co-captain Kayla Holt and I worked really hard with the girls to try to get conditioned for the season. It was hard being unsure if we were going to have a season or not, but we practiced as if we were going to have one, and remained optimistic.”
Rams’ Head Coach Nancy Gatta says that Taylor has improved in all phases of her game and is doing an excellent job of leading the team alongside Holt this fall.
“Taylor’s speed, agility, and stickwork have improved immensely. She is a great role model to her teammates, and I know the younger players on the team are learning so much from watching her play this season,” says Gatta. “Taylor and her friend Kayla make a great team on the field. They work so well together. Sharing these last three seasons with her and watching her grow up into an amazing young lady has been such a highlight in my coaching career.”
One of Taylor’s favorite elements of field hockey is making contributions that help her team jell together in the quest to get victories. Taylor loves it when she sees the Rams’ effort in practice translate to the field on game day.
“My favorite aspect about the sport is when I really see the team working together and everything is clicking. When this happens in games, and you can see the chemistry between the girls, it is really satisfying to know what we did in practice paid off,” says Taylor. “A good example of this was last season, when my team and I played in the Shoreline semifinals. Although we lost this game, we really played our hearts out, so it was very encouraging for the team.”
Taylor and her squad are off to a strong start with a record of 5-1-1 this fall. Old Saybrook has a few regular-season games left on its schedule is slated to open play in the postseason after that.
“I have very high expectations for the rest of the season. We have been working so hard during the summer and in practices…and all of us are working hard to maintain this winning record,” Taylor says. “One goal that a lot of us are shooting for is Shoreline champions. We know that we have to put a lot of work in, but it is definitely possible to achieve.”
Aside from playing field hockey, Taylor also serves as a captain for the Rams’ girls’ basketball team and is a coxswain with the Old Saybrook crew. For fun, Taylor enjoys her spending free time in the great outdoors.
“I am very into hiking and biking in the woods,” says Taylor. “I also like to go on adventures and have a good time.”