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Schock will represent the Owls in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association North-South Senior All-Star game in Lowell, Mass. She started her college career as an ice hockey player at Quinnipiac. She also played field hockey at Stamford High and was on the field hockey, lacrosse and ice hockey teams at the Berkshire School in Massachusetts.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet,’’ Schock said. “Maybe because I’ve gotten involved in coaching, I’m OK that the time has come to quit playing.”
Finishing up at a field hockey all-star game was the furthest thing from Schock’s mind when she started college. After starting her career at Stamford High, Schock transferred to the Berkshire School and became an ice hockey player, where she helped the team win the New England championship. She was a two-year captain and then headed to Quinnipiac, where she hoped to become one of the defensive anchors on the team’s Division I program.
“I loved ice hockey,’’ Schock said. “I wanted to play on a Division I program. I was going to do anything I could to achieve that goal.”
But she suffered a career-ending shoulder injury, and Quinnipiac would not retain her scholarship. She transferred to Southern. “I didn’t see the value of paying that much money for an education degree when I could do the same thing at Southern for about half the cost,’’ Schock said.
While Schock was at Berkshire, some colleges had shown interest in her for field hockey, but she was focused on ice hockey. When Schock could no longer play ice hockey, she tried out for the field hockey team at Southern. After a two-year layoff from field hockey, Schock worked with coach Kelley Frassinelli to develop the skills to become a defensive standout.
“I needed a lot of work,’’ Schock said. “Coach Frass was great. I didn’t have a lot of skills. When I played in high school, it was a lot of instincts. She really taught me a lot about the proper techniques.”
After playing in six games as a freshman, Schock blossomed and played in 19 games in 2010 and was the captain in 2011. She scored three goals, a rarity for a defenseman. She scored four more goals this season and helped the team to an 8-10 record.
Schock, 23, will graduate in May with a dual certification in elementary and special education and is looking forward to a career as a teacher and coach. She has already worked with the Greenwich Skating Club and would like to get involved in coaching field hockey.
She is surprised but happy at the way things turned out. She played a sport for a coach and at a school that she loved. “It wasn’t the way I thought it would go, but I’m really happy that it ended up this way,’’ Schock said.
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