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10/24/2023 11:59 AMTowards the end of junior high, Jordan Kells was unsure if she had found her athletic habitat with field hockey, but after finding the right spark, she stuck with it and it has been home sweet home for both herself and the entire Hand field hockey program.
The Tigers’ forward and right midfielder senior captain started playing various sports in her younger days, including soccer, softball, and volleyball, before picking up a curved stick for the first time around 7th grade.
After Jordan (also named SCC Athlete of the Month for September) and the Tigers made a lengthy postseason run to the Class M State Tournament semifinals last year that saw Jordan notch All-State and All-SCC Team accolades, they are primed and determined to not come up short this November–currently holding a perfect mark of 14-0. Jordan is currently at the forefront of that unblemished campaign, as the squad’s leading scorer with 15 goals and 11 assists for 41 tallies.
“My success has been fueled by my motivation and just working hard every day,” says Jordan, who will play field hockey at Lehigh University in 2024. “It also has been just working with my team and learning how we can create good passes at the right time to get goals. I also have been using a lot of time and effort outside of field hockey with conditioning and drills to become a more well-rounded player, I just have to keep pushing myself. Around 8th grade, I was unsure if I wanted to stick with field hockey, but then freshman year, I met [Hand Head Coach Sue Leckey] and she was very motivating, and it just drove me.”
When it comes to playing the field for the Tigers, Jordan explains it is a lot about spontaneous preparation and anticipation for any sudden movements, while making sure everyone is functioning efficiently and accurately at their stations.
“It is a lot about predicting plays and knowing when you have to wait and when to cut to the ball. You have to be a step ahead of the defender and see the field properly,” says Jordan. “It can be tough making sure everyone is in position and doing their jobs. You also have to make sure you are there for your teammates and motivating them.”
Personally, Jordan explains that the biggest metamorphosis over the course of her stint as a student-athlete has been the exponential increase in her drive and desire to succeed, achieve, and exceed expectations no matter the hurdles.
“My motivation has improved since I started field hockey. I just realized I had to put all my effort into it,” Jordan says. “I have also improved by overcoming challenges. I realized that I just have to give it my all with everything, whether it be taking tests or field hockey.”
The closeness to hoisting a championship last November only fueled the captain even more–creating a culture for the 2023 Tigers that started way back even before the dog days of summer.
“Being a captain has been amazing so far; we have such a supportive team,” says Jordan. “We started early in preparing for the season back in July. Our preseason conditioning has also been a crucial factor in our success. As captains, we wanted everyone to be ready for the year. We wanted to use the time to help us find our goals, and we know we are very capable of winning a state title this year.”
Leckey notes that Jordan certainly earned the captain’s designation by captivating others with not only how she goes about her business on the turf, but how she can motivate others to strive to stay at her level of prominence within the sport.
“It is fun to watch Jordan play the game,” says Leckey. “She has been very dedicated to the development of her game since before her freshman season, practicing just about every single day, mostly alone or with a teammate or two, just working on skills, conditioning, etc. She plays like she loves the game. She makes others think about how much fun playing the game must be. Jordan’s dedication to field hockey is remarkable. Jordan leads by example, is a great teammate, and is very coachable. She competes every day.”
Jordan explains that she loves to challenge opposing goalkeepers by keeping them off balance, and displaying her tenacity when crashing the cage. And, when it comes to her club’s postseason aspirations, they are very much in play after constructing a championship-caliber team by building from the inside.
“I love taking shots at the top of the circle because you have someone to tip the ball, and I get to show my aggressiveness to the other team. I also like to move the goalkeeper and shoot to the far corner,” says Jordan. “We are very motivated and coordinated towards winning a state title. We have made a ton of improvement and keep building off of it. Everyone is motivated to bring their game to the next level. We are building on individual aspects of the game and bringing it towards the team elements of the sport.”