This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
09/16/2021 12:00 AMDelaney Belcourt is a multi-sport athlete at Westbrook High School, but if you ask the junior what her favorite sport is, she would undoubtedly say field hockey.
Delaney has been playing for the Westbrook varsity field hockey team since her freshman year. A center midfielder, Delaney was named a junior captain for the Knights for the 2021 season.
Delaney started playing field hockey in 7th grade. One of Delaney’s friends encouraged her to give the sport a shot, and she’s been on the field ever since.
“After weeks of my friend Carol Dias begging me to join, I finally did, because we heard that the middle school team needed more players, or else they wouldn’t have a season,” Delaney says. “Needless to say, my favorite aspect of field hockey is my teammates. They are the reason I love to play.”
Delaney has already compiled a solid résumé as a field hockey player. Delaney tallied four goals with two assists in her freshman year and then scored one goal during the COVID-shortened season as a sophomore.
This year, Westbrook is forming a co-op squad with Old Lyme. Delaney scored two goals in the Knights’ season opener and is looking to continue improving with every game.
“For this season, my main goal is to have a great playing dynamic with my teammates,” says Delaney, who also competes for Westbrook’s indoor and outdoor track teams. “We recruited lots of beginners, some from Westbrook and some from Old Lyme, so I really want to get into a good, consistent rhythm with them. I expect this season will be focused on our goals within the team.”
Head Coach Janet Dickey has been impressed with what she’s seen from Delaney thus far this year. After watching Delaney earn All-Shoreline Conference Honorable Mention last season, Coach Dickey believes that her captain has the potential to do even better as a junior.
“Delaney is a coach’s dream. She has the balance of competitiveness and compassion for those around her,” Dickey says. “Delaney is a natural leader, asks questions, and constantly strives to make herself a better player. She has helped welcome the Lyme-Old Lyme girls onto our team and helps teach them whenever she sees a need to.”
Delaney enjoys offering up advice to the Knights’ younger players, because she remembers how exciting it was to play varsity when she was a freshman.
“My favorite moment as a player was playing in a Shoreline game in the beginning of my high school career,” Delaney says. “When I would receive the ball, all of Westbrook’s stands would chant, ‘She’s a freshman!’ It pushed me to run harder than I ever have before.”
Delaney also credits Coach Dickey for making the team as successful as it’s been. Delaney says that Dickey promotes a friendly, but competitive environment, in which every player thrives.
“Coach Dickey does a great job of bringing our team to the next level of friendship. We are more like family,” says Delaney. “She is the reason why we have such a great time, while also being successful.”
Delaney worked tirelessly on improving her game during the recent offseason. Delaney saw her efforts pay off when she scored a pair of goals in the Knights’ season-opening win against Norwich Free Academy.
“To improve my game, I not only practice on my own, but I attend summer camps,” says Delaney. “I also participate in an indoor league.”
Westbrook was able to play eight games before seeing its 2020 season cut short amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Delaney and the Knights have vowed to not take any games for granted in 2021.
“Last year, when I was playing field hockey during the pandemic, I was constantly worried our season would end,” Delaney says. “Janet would always say to play as if this game or practice would be our last. So, I’ve really taken that to heart and we are not taking anything for granted this year.”