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09/16/2021 12:00 AMEmily Kateley is a staunch defender for the Valley Regional field hockey squad. Emily’s commitment to being the best she can be in the backfield has already paid dividends early in the Warriors’ 2021 campaign.
Emily is eager to see her veteran- laden squad realize its potential and compete for a Shoreline Conference title this season. The Warriors have championship aspirations, and Emily is doing her best to help them achieve that goal.
“This year our team is really good. We have a lot of seniors. Last year was kind of weird. We only had one senior,” says Emily. “So far we’ve won both of our games. We won 1-0 against North Branford, and we won 3-0 against Waterford. Our team is doing a great job playing together. We’ve been playing together for so long.”
Emily got her start in field hockey while attending Winthrop Middle School through an intramural program. Some of her classmates also began to play field hockey through that program, but most started playing during their freshman year at Valley. Still, with all that experience together, the Warriors are looking formidable this year. Emily credits her early start in the sport to her close friend and Valley alum Elena Peterlik.
“I started field hockey in 8th grade because I had a close friend playing in high school. I just always found it interesting. It was one of the first sports that I was really aggressive in. I love playing it and doing offseason stuff for it is really fun for me,” Emily says. “We’ve all been playing together a while. In 8th grade we didn’t play together that much, because it was just intramural. Most people started as freshmen. Since then, we’ve all been playing together.”
The biggest thing that Emily hopes for is her team to compete for a Shoreline Conference championship. One of the Warriors’ biggest obstacles to reaching that goal has been North Branford, but Valley has already shown the Thunderbirds how tough a prospect scoring on its defense will be. Emily felt great for Head Coach Beth McCabe Powers, who recorded her first win against North Branford this past week.
“I’m hoping that we win Shorelines this year. We’ve already won against North Branford, and that’s one of our biggest rivalries. We’ve gone into games in overtime against them and lost. It was a big win against them,” Emily says. “It’s the first time Coach Beth won against North Branford, and it’s been 16 years since the team has won against them. Everybody understood how big of a win that was. We were all flipping out. We were so excited.”
Emily plays an integral part in the Warriors’ defense, and she has been impressed with how well all of Valley’s defenders have worked together so far on the year.
“I play right defense. We have a four-person defense, and we work together really well. If someone gets deep, we’ll go behind each other and get the ball out of there,” says Emily. “We all have a good stance, and we can get the ball out quick. If it’s a strong attacking line, it’s harder, but we’ve been doing a good job not getting corners called on us, and getting the ball out of there so we can go on our offense.”
A strong defensive front is important for preventing opponents from scoring, but it can also be the first step toward a successful offensive possession. Emily’s strongest suit is that transition from defense to offense.
“I think as a player, I’m able to get it up the field and get it to the midfield so they can get it into the attack and into the circle. I really just get it out of our circle so we don’t have to worry about it getting to the goal,” says Emily, who lives in Deep River. “I just try my hardest at practice as much as I can and that’s how I learn to do it in the game. I think I have a pretty hard hit to be able to get the ball up the field.”
Emily also has the confidence that if the ball gets past the Warriors’ defense, goalie Fallyn Belisle will be there to back up Valley’s defenders.
“Fallyn has been doing an amazing job. She started varsity as a sophomore. She’s amazing, and she’s grown so much. If I miss the ball and nobody else is back there, we can always count on Fallyn,” Emily says. “We know she has the goal all set. She helps us as well. She’ll tell us if someone’s at post, or if someone has gotten behind us. We all work really hard to keep the ball out of the goal.”
Coach McCabe Powers knows that win or lose, Emily will always put forth her best effort. That’s reassuring to McCabe Powers, and most of the time, it’s all a coach wants from their athletes.
“Emily is a dedicated and highly skilled defenseman. She is steady and calm under pressure. She’s versatile on attach corners, where she can play multiple positions,” says McCabe Powers. “She has excellent on field communication with her teammates, which is a huge help when we are transitioning from defense to attack.”
Entering her second season playing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Emily is acutely aware that any game could be the last that she and her classmates play. As a result, Emily wants to have zero regrets after any game the Warriors play, but she hopes that Valley can ride that approach all the way to postseason glory.
“I’ve just been treating every game and practice like it could be our last one. We’re just trying our hardest and our best because we don’t want to lose our last game. If we play our last game not knowing that it is our last game at the time, we want to be able to look back and say that we won our last game,” Emily says. “I think our team has a lot of potential. I’m hoping that each game we live up to our potential, get to the Shorelines, and win them.”