The swan song for Patrice Ahl was a season to celebrate at Missouri State University. The St. Albert field hockey defender collected All-Mid-American Conference second team all-star honours in her senior year with the NCAA division one MSU Bears.
The swan song for Patrice Ahl was a season to celebrate at Missouri State University.
The St. Albert field hockey defender collected All-Mid-American Conference second team all-star honours in her senior year with the NCAA division one MSU Bears.
“I was happy to go out on a good note having a really good season,” Ahl said. “The All-MAC second team award was exciting. It was the first time ever for myself.”
MSU also qualified for its first MAC championship tournament since 2011 as the No. 3 seed.
“It was really great. We had the best season since I first started there,” said the All-MAC tournament team selection. “It was successful for all of us.”
Ahl, 22, started all 18 games on the backline for the Bears (6-12) and finished with career highs in assists (team-leading four) and points (four for sixth place in team scoring).
Defensively, she didn't receive a caution this season and recorded her second career defensive save.
The Bellerose Composite High School alumna also earned her third Field Hockey Academic All-MAC Team selection. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 per cent of the contests for that particular sport.
The fashion merchandising student, who interned this past summer in New York in the garment district on Broadway, will now complete her studies without having to juggle field hockey commitments.
“It's kind of tough going from practicing three hours a day, getting to travel all over the U.S. and having to do weights and everything that goes with the team to being completely done,” Ahl said. “It was really, really time consuming and hard on my body so it's kind of nice to have a break for a little while.”
Ahl leaves the sport as a stronger individual on and off the field.
“You go through so much – you've got to be really mentally tough and I think I became a better person because of my experience.”
It all started for Ahl at age 12 in a mixed adult league at the University of Alberta. Her mom, Kathy (nee Melnyk), played field hockey with the Alberta Pandas from 1980 to 84.
“I really started getting into it when I tried out for Team Alberta in Calgary for U16,” Ahl said. “I got really good and I thought this could be my sport to try out.”
She found her sporting niche after stints in hockey, speed skating, volleyball, badminton and soccer.
“I started to really improve and I noticed that I loved it a lot so I decided to stick with it,” said the three-time provincial age-group player who competed at the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games for the Team Alberta silver medallists.
Ahl's cousin, Jennifer, a Kent State alumni and winner of three-time MAC championships with the Golden Flashes and All-MAC first-team all-star, encouraged her to explore scholarship possibilities in the United States.
“She went to the States for field hockey and told me about it and how great of an experience it was,” Ahl said. “I was originally kind of planning on going to the U of A because it's at home but then they cut their (field hockey) program. My cousin has a recruiting website for all athletes so I went on there and they have a whole bunch of coaches that look for athletes. I had my skills video and everything on there and (MSU) just contacted me right away and offered me a scholarship.
“There were a few offers from different schools but obviously you have to go with the one that's the best one because schools are expensive in the States.”
Ahl arrived at the MSU campus in Springfield after taking a year off after graduating from Bellerose.
“It was so exciting but kind of scary too because I never went on a visit to Springfield. I just went there without knowing what it was really like,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God. It's division one. Am I going to be good?' But I fit right in and it ended up being really good.”
As a freshman, Ahl appeared in 12 games and started four times. One of her three shots was a goal.
“We had 11 other freshmen so we had a really new team,” she said. “I also ended up getting stress fractures in my shins three quarters of the way through the season so that was terrible. I started the first four games and I played quite a bit and then it was my shins that started giving me problems.”
Ahl went from not starting with 11 games played as a sophomore to averaging 64.1 minutes per game, the second-highest total on the team, for 1,150 minutes overall on the field while starting every game as a junior.
Ahl also registered her first career goal and points in a win against the Davidson Wildcats and finished the season with six shots on goal while making her first defensive save.
“The second season was weird. I actually didn't really play hardly at all and I was like, ‘What's going on?' But my third season they started to play me every game,” said the team MVP as a junior. “That was definitely a highlight. I was at the awards ceremony and my name got called. It was really an honour and I also received the Coaches Award my junior year too.”
Ahl was at the top of her game in her final season.
“I really improved my fitness, which was the biggest thing just because I was running constantly on the field for 70 minutes. I got much faster and quicker feet. I also really improve my individual skills, like my hitting and sweeping and most of all my smarts, my game play, like making quick passes, knowing where I'm going to pass ahead of time and making smart plays.”
Ahl described her defender's role as a “centre defensively mid” position.
“I have to hold the middle really well. I'm kind of the outlet for the defence to pass to me and I get it up to the outside mids or the forwards,” she said. “It's a lot of running. It's hard to be defensive and also help offensively.”
Field hockey is basically a combination of soccer and hockey. The length of the stick depends on the player's individual height. The sticks are short, so the players are constantly bent over playing the ball.
“We have the exact same positions as soccer on a field and we have the sticks like hockey but they're only right handed so you can only use one side of your stick,” Ahl said. “It's very tough and you have to be really skilled.”
Field hockey will now take a back seat as Ahl pursues her fashion aspirations.
“There are women's club teams in Calgary and Vancouver and that's about it in Canada. There is also field hockey in Europe where it's huge,” she said. “My dream job would be a buyer for a company where you get to go and choose the clothes that your company or store would sell.”
