100th anniversary for tradition-rich program

There is a lot to notice at Bea Markwick & Sandy Ritter Field this fall.

In addition to the 15-1 Collingswood field hockey team and array of stuffed animals placed along the far sideline, there are constant reminders of the field hockey program's 100th season, which has been a focus point.

Perhaps just as noticeable as the team's celebration, highlighted on the field by a banner and a countdown to the team's 100th anniversary game Saturday against Audubon, are the players who have connections to the team's past.

There are seven sets of sisters on the team, including the freshman coach and her sibling, and "at least 10 to 12" girls have mothers or aunts who played at Collingswood, coach Val Dayton said.

"It's an honor to play on the field they all succeeded on," said Krista LeMaina, who plays alongside her twin sister, Shauna, and whose mother, Stephanie DiSantis LeMaina, used to play field hockey at Collingswood.

The team will commemorate the century of field hockey with a social on Friday, a memorabilia display organized by former coach Sandy Ritter, the game against Audubon, a junior varsity exhibition in which the teams will play with old-fashioned sticks and jerseys, and an alumni game, which drew interest from more than 100 former players.

"It's a thrill to be able to help out," said DiSantis LeMaina, who used to coach Collingswood's ninth-grade team and will take part in the alumni game.

"One thing that was big with [former coach Bea] Markwick was to give back to the program. You get everything while you're here, and then you give it back. That's a way of giving back, with all of us coaching, helping out, and being a part of the tradition."

The older former players certainly know the school's rich field hockey tradition, including the stuffed animals, which began as a way to honor Markwick.

"They do these little things, like the traditions," DiSantis LeMaina said. "They do certain things that we've been doing for years, and it brings in the past. Some of these girls have been watching hockey with all these girls going through Collingswood. They want to be here. They want to be a part of it."

"When we were little, we would all come to the big games," said Ellie O'Neill, who plays with her sisters, Molly and Meghan. "I remember in 2004 they won the conference and state championship, and we would get out of school at 2 and come watch the games.

"Now, we are all excited to be a part of it and it's exciting to be a part of the 100th-year stuff."

Many of the current players for Collingswood, which has won the Colonial Conference, credit the history of the program for what they became and are excited to play in front of the alumni.

"We're all on the sidelines together because our parents coached together," Shauna LeMaina said. "But we were watching [the alumni] and getting skills from them, and now they can see us perform."

At Collingswood, where field hockey has existed 60 years longer than Title IX, the sport is an important aspect of the community.

"It just goes to show for the town and for the school that we were a little ahead of the time," Dayton said. "Not many schools always valued women's sports."

"Hockey has always been the tradition of Collingswood," Molly O'Neill said. "It's really important to a lot of people, and I know everyone who leaves has a lot of memories of this field and this game, and so it means a lot more than just being a part of Collingswood High."