University of Massachusets Athletics
Q&A With Field Hockey Senior Gina Sanders
August 23, 2006 | Field Hockey
Aug. 23, 2006
Our Q&A series, "Catching up With...," features former Live Oak field hockey player Gina Sanders. Sanders is playing for the University of Massachusetts and is preparing for her senior season, which will start with a trio of games in the Bay Area. The Minutewomen open the season Aug. 26 at Stanford and continue by playing at Cal on Aug. 27 and stay in Berkeley to play the University of Pacific on Aug. 29.
By Jimmy Durkin Sports Editor, Morgan Hill Times
TIMES: What's it like being back here in Morgan Hill for the summer?
Gina Sanders: This is my third summer being home after school. I really just enjoy coming home. I don't have a job when I'm at home. My job here is working out to prepare for the season. So it's kind of interesting when I come home, especially now that I'm getting older and all my friends are getting jobs and internships and they're at school still, and I come home and I'm like, "I'm home guys, I haven't seen you in so long." And there just not really around. So it's been a kind of interesting time coming home every year. But I just really enjoy coming home. I'm not near the beach when I'm at school so I definitely take advantage of that, drive to Santa Cruz and Monterey a lot and go to the beach. It may be a small town, but I definitely just enjoy coming home. I get to drive the three months out of the year when I'm at home. It's just really fun for me to pick up right back where I left off. It's very interesting to see how the town's developed.
TIMES: What do you remember most about your time here at Live Oak?
GS: I was very involved in athletics and Associated Student Body and I just remember all the activities while I was here. I remember being very involved in them, putting a lot of energy and effort into making the campus just have a good time and I think that it really helped. I also just really remember some of my teachers. I do come back and see some of them, so it's kind of nice to do that. Live Oak, it was good to me. High school was a good time because I made it a good time.
TIMES: What was the transition like coming from Live Oak and Morgan Hill to UMass?
GS: Overall, the transition, because I went early to school for preseason, was easy because I met my team right away so I went into school knowing about 18 girls. It wasn't like the first day and my parents dropped me off at the dorms and were like, "Hey have a good time, meet people." I already knew people so that was really fun. So the transition was hard at first, homesickness of course, but it's been a good transition. I'm really happy I made the decision to go that far. It's prepared me a lot for life because I'm hoping to get an internship after I graduate in Indiana so I feel very comfortable with living (in Indiana) for a year because I've been out away from home for four years.
TIMES: What do you hope to be able to explore after college? I know you said you're hoping for an internship?
GS: I'm majoring in communications and minoring in psychology and I like to plan events. So I'm looking to get an internship with the NCAA. Hopefully with the spot of planning the championship games, the tournament games. I think that'd be really fun. I'm looking to get that. It's going to be a grueling process. I have to apply in December and in March they call back 26 people that applied and they fly them to Indiana and interview them. In April, they pick 13 from the 26. So it's an intense process. If I don't get it, I'm looking to maybe come back here and start up some younger programs for seven year olds for field hockey, or coach. I know San Diego has huge teams so I might move down there. I don't really know what I'm doing yet. It's kind of all still going to be around sports though.
TIMES: What have you enjoyed most about college life?
GS: I think I really, even though as a Division I athlete it is your job day in and day out, you're constantly representing the school and it can get draining and you feel like you have to be showcased a lot in the community, I think I've really enjoyed being an athlete. Not even just the benefits, but knowing that I have these really close friends all the time. I've made other friends from other sports that are going to the same classes as me. I think I've really just enjoyed also being far from home. It's like my life over there and I feel like no one can take that away from me. I've really just enjoyed the school itself, it's a really good school and it's a good community too. I feel very safe and at home there.
TIMES:
GS: There's two I guess. One's an emotional highlight. I had three knee surgeries in a year. I tore my ACL going into my freshman year of college and I rehabbed a lot and I was fine and had a knee brace, and then I tore it again. I had my first surgery in November (of my freshman year) and then I had a couple more in the same year. I really think one of my highlights emotionally was my junior season because it was my first time I had played field hockey in three years without any problems and I felt very comfortable running and I just felt like there was no problem with me for once. Even though I have this scar to constantly remind me, I'm just like, "You know what, it doesn't matter because I'm fine now." But another one, it doesn't really have to do with my team itself or me playing, but UMass was the host of the Final Four (field hockey) tournament when I was a freshman and I was a ball girl. So I was right on the field with the top four teams in the United States. And I got to see the way they played and the way they developed plays. That was an awesome experience for me to be able to be there. But I guess if you want to take another experience or highlight, and I'm not even on the team, but (UMass) has a great sports program, especially the spring sports. Our men's lacrosse team just got second in the nation this past year. Our women's softball just made it to the Super Regionals and they haven't done that in a very long time. When you're good friends with the players on team, it's so rewarding to be like, "Yes, they did it." And I guess you feel like you're a part of that experience too. So I guess that would three highlights.
TIMES: If you could accomplish one thing in your final year, what would that be? GS: I would love, love to beat Richmond in the (Atlantic-10) Tournament, I would love to. I think that my team, we know that we can. We were a little shocked, a little taken back the second time we played them this year. It was hard, and I would love to beat them. Not even to be like "Yes we beat Richmond," but also to finally make it past the A-10's and onto the Sweet 16. But I think overall, something I'd like to accomplish is just leaving it out there everyday and knowing that I can't have that day back. Just kind of giving it all every time I play and go to practice.
TIMES: You get to come back and play those three games against Stanford, Cal and the University of Pacific, what are the emotions going to be like when you come back?
GS: I am so excited. Everyone I see, I say, "Come to my game." And they're like, "What?" And I say, "Yeah, I'm playing in California." And they're like, "Oh, what part?" And I say, "Stanford and Berkeley." And everyone is so excited. It's kind of an opportunity for me to showcase what I've been working on and what I've learned, through when I was 10 years old and coming to the Live Oak camp. Learning from girls that went on to Berkeley to playing here (at Live Oak) and under coaches, to doing Futures and playing in all these national tournaments. It's kind of collectively bringing it all together and being like, "This is me, this is how I play. Come see it. Because you've read about it, now come see it." I'm just so excited for my friends and family to be able to finally watch me because high school field hockey is a lot different than college. People are turned off by high school field hockey because there's so many whistles and it's slow. But college is very fast, you can't even tell there's whistles some times because it's so fast. I think it's just great because it's an opportunity for people to come out and see a new sport and hopefully bring their cousins or whoever and people in the community get to see such a great sport that field hockey is because it's very underdeveloped (on the West Coast) as opposed to the East Coast. So I'd love for it to become more developed and if it's a chance for me to be a part of that, that'd be amazing for me. So I'm very, very excited. I think if I'm a starter this year, I can't way for (the public address announcer to say) "For the University of Massachusetts, from Morgan Hill, Number 6, Gina Sanders." And just hear the crowd go crazy because they know me. Because when I play places, people don't know me when I go and play. So it'll really fun for me to be able to have that now.
TIMES: I understand your dad travels to all of your games, what's that been like to have that support there?
GS: It's been wonderful. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Our team knows that no matter what game we go to, we're going to have at least one fan. And that is Mike "Colonel" Sanders. He has a cow bell and you know what, sometimes it gets embarrassing, but that's what parents are supposed to do - embarrass their children. And at the same time, he only has one more year to do it so he can leave it all out there too. It's been a process, it's been a bumpy road. It's been really interesting knowing that he's always there but at the same time it's been very wonderful and reassuring knowing that he's always there and he takes me to dinner after every game, so whatever, free food, right?
TIMES: Well, thanks a lot. Congratulations, and good luck. We'll see you in August. GS: Yeah, definitely, it's exciting.
Jimmy Durkin is the Morgan Hill Times sports editor. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 203 or jdurkin@morganhilltimes.com.
