DV graduate, Mackenzie Olsommer is currently playing Division 1 field hockey at Old Dominion University.
The Monarchs are currently 9-2 and ranked top 14 in the nation. She plays left and right midfield and has consistently seen time on the field.
Mackenzie moved to the campus on July 5th for summer workouts and team building, however she officially started preseason workouts on Aug. 9. Her weekly schedule is as follows: workouts Tuesday through Thursday and a Saturday morning practice. She also has games scheduled on Fridays and Sundays.
“The practices are definitely challenging, but with the experience I had from DV, I felt like I was pretty prepared for it,” Mackenzie said.
Her days off are Mondays, but she and her teammates still go to their trainer for a recovery day: ice baths, compression pants and recovery exercises. Mackenzie said that college field hockey is more exciting than high school field hockey because of the fast decision making that’s required.
“We play on different turf from what I was used to in high school, so the ball moves a lot quicker, and you have to know what you’re going to do before you even get the ball,” she said. Advice that Mackenzie would give out to future college athletes is “just keep working hard and you’ll never know what will come out of it. I have been getting a decent amount of playing time. So just stick to it and you’ll get there.”