Arielle Cowie

As I continue with my research on the different ethnicities and the beautiful young minority women who play this sport, I can’t help but smile. I do have to admit, though, it gets a little tough researching these girls. Not because none of them play, because trust me, I’ve found plenty to start my own magazine. But because there is not much attention placed on them.

Arielle Cowie, a former Ohio State University field hockey standout, grew up in Trinidad and Tobago where she learned how to play hockey at just a young age. There, a heavy emphasis of stick handeling is placed on the young girls, whereas here, fitness is heavily placed on the girls. However, Cowie adjusted well to the fast-paced American style of play.

She actually was able to learn the style of play by participating in a qualifying match to the World Cup against the United States of America Women’s field hockey team. Although they lost 6-0 in a disappointing setback, Cowie was able to learn their style and apply it to her 4 years at Ohio State. In fact, that match actually strengthened her mentally and physically.

At age 11, she began playing field hockey and from there, she followed one of her teammates to Ohio State, who is famous for recruiting Trinidad players, and quickly adjusted from playing forward to playing on the midfield line (as the professionals call it, the “heart” of the team is the midfield line).

Since playing for college, she has become much quicker and more aggressive. “If I see the ball, I go for it; I do not care who’s in my way,” she said, laughing. “I’m going to that ball; I’m sorry if I throw you to the side,” Cowie said in an interview with The Columbus Dispatch.

Due to her quickness, intensity, and outstanding stick skills,that she developed at a young age, she was invited back to Trinidad and Tobago to represent them in the Fall against Argentina but declined so that could focus on her final season as a Buckeye.

She has made a lasting impression for the Buckeyes, and I am sure this is not the end of her legacy. She finished the season, and her four years, playing in 76 games and starting 66, adn was named to Second-Team All Big Ten.

Field hockey is so different in the United States. After all of the stories I’ve read about international athletes and players in America, it makes me question just how much we push field hockey (to those who wanna play it). I know a lot of other countries focus more so on stick skills, and they really emphasize grooming their own children and culture into strong field hockey players.

I mean, eventually, given the child has a choice, she / he will go to another country to play or maybe stay in their own country. But I can’t help but think of the lack of spirit or support we have hear in America regarding field hockey. Instead of grooming our kids and making them some of the top competitors, we find already groomed men / women elsewhere. The work of someone else so to speak. Why is America so lazy in this sport?

Get Over It

Amazing!

BrownGirlLiving

     I had someone in our group offhandedly  remark to me, “You all are always together, huh? You’re never with us.” Or in other words, “The Black girls are always with the Black girls, huh?” Yes. It’s true. If we break off into small groups  Gabby, Tahirah, and I are always together. To give an explanation- not that I ever have to explain myself- culturally, Black people gravitate towards other Black people. It’s a very comforting feeling to know you’re not the only one in a sea of people who look nothing like you. It’s the same feeling as living overseas and coming across your favorite candy from back home. Community is a huge facet of Black culture. With them, I don’t have to do things like say “Hell no, you can’t touch my hair” or pretend to chuckle at your unknowingly offensive jokes. I don’t have to…

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Jasmine Cole: UPenn Standout Freshman!

Jasmine Cole is a standout freshman forward from University of Penn. Cole has been featured in the Sports Illustrated Magazine in the Faces in the Crowd section because of how powerful she has been on the forward line for this field hockey program. With that being said, she has been recognized as Ivy Rookie of the Week due to her back-to-back multipoint games that have lead Penn into victory matches against Columbia (3-4 overtime victory), and an outstanding win over Appalachian State.

Upon being noticed as  Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd, she was leading the nation in scoring, and as of now, Cole is second in the nation with 1.06 goals-per-game.She finished the season as Co-IVY rookie of the year, and had 18 goals, 3 assists, 39 points and fired 63 shots! This freshman was literally on fire, and she is setting the pace for everyone out there all the way up for the senior veterans!

She has a lot to be proud of, as she is already decorated with lots of honorable mentions and awards. She was recognized as  Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association first-team All-Region for the Mid-Atlantic region, which she was the first since 2005. Her game, talent, skills, and strength in the circle makes her so powerful! She is one that most defensive opponents fear once she wounds her stick up and puts the pressure on the opposing teams goalkeeper.

She is intense in the circle, and is one her teammates look for in the circle so she can capitalize on opportunities and put the game away.

This girl can seriously play, and she has a lot of young girls wanting to follow her footsteps as she paves the way.

I can’t wait to follow her next season.

 

Thando Zono: UMASS Field Hockey Player

I haven’t posted in a while…fortunately and unfortunately, I got caught up with life. I was browsing around the internet this morning to see if I could find more awesome African American women who participated in field hockey at the national or Division 1 level. Thus falling upon Thando Zono.

A native of Grahamstown South Africa, she went to UMass off  of coming from Rhodes University, which was a university in her hometown. Zono began her career at the age of eight, and by 12 years-old, she was traveling with girls older than her around the country to participate in elite field hockey. While at Rhodes University, a recruiter from James Madison stopped by her high school where Zono was coaching to see if she would play for them (James Madison is one of the top universities in the United States). However, it did not match academically with what Zono wanted to do with her future, which was to become an accountant.

Even though tons of college coaches came her way, it wasn’t until former head coach for UMass Justine Sowry convinced Zono to play for her without even seeing the campus. In fact, when Zono landed in Raleigh NC to catch a flight connecting to Hartford, it was the first time she has ever stepped foot into the United States. Once at UMass, she quickly found her comfort on the field, and in just her freshman season, she earned All-Atlantic 10 honors with 6 goals, 1 assist, and 1 defensive save.

Although her career was plagued with concussions and the death of her father that caused her to travel back to her hometown, she was always characterized as having a smile “8 lanes long.” Zono’s characteristics were contagious and she could even turn around a grumpy reporters mood.

In her final year at UMass, Zono was spectacular! She earned many honors, including NFHCA First Team All-American, UMASS Female Senior Athlete of the Year,  and A-10 All Conference First Team. Out of 18 games, the senior started in 17 and tied with Kim Young for most points (33) using her 14 goals and five assists to achieve this honor.

This defensive player was certainly not afraid to control the ball down the field, and after suffering from concussions in the past seasons, she wanted to leave UMass with a bang, putting immense pressure on the offense and defense of any opposing team firing a total of 32 shots on goal. 

Since her most decorated season was her final season, she really put her talent to use. She was determined to be a problem to any opposing team, and she certainly gave a lot of young girls in this sport someone to look up to. Her character shows the mentality of a strong person with a “never giving up” attitude. It shows perseverance even when the odds may not be in your favor. Anyone can get through whatever he/she puts their minds to. Zono is a perfect example. 

I hope this story inspires you to keep on pushing along. No matter what the circumstances are.   

hidden messages in Nas tracks

Amazing post!

TIEN CAPRI

I’m not really a conscious rapper fan. A conscious rapper is one who raps about the truth behind the government organizations and their hidden motives in the African-American struggle,etc along that nature. Recently, I have been exposed and enlightened on certain topics such as Planned Parenthood and their affiliation with ethnocentrism, population control, and the American Birth Control League. Among other things like the truth behind the source of the crack cocaine epidemic in L.A in the 80′s (the CIA), has intrigued me to further educate myself on the real truth and not what we have been conditioned to believe. Nas is a great start for he is knowledgeable and reputable as far as him length of time on the rap scene. I’ve never been a particular fan but three Nas songs in particular speak about the importance of expanding your mind and learning these hidden messages, learning about African-American…

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Theodora Boyd: 1924 Harvard Field Hockey Player

At a time when hope seemed to only be present in ones dreams, and the thought of progressing was quickly shattered by society, Theodora Boyd had other intentions.

Only 4 years earlier did women gain the right to vote in 1920’s and were sort of considered “equal,” and it was a big stepping stone in American history.

The years just before and after 1920 were difficult for blacks. It was a time of racial hatred. Many whites joined the Ku Klux Klan organization. The Klan often terrorized blacks. Klan members sometimes burned fiery crosses in front of the houses of black families. And they sometimes beat and murdered blacks.The Ku Klux Klan also acted against Roman Catholics, Jews, and foreigners. But it hated blacks most of all.

The United States also suffered a series of race riots in a number of cities during this period. White and black Americans fought each other in Omaha, Philadelphia, and other cities.

The violence lasted for two weeks. Thirty-eight persons died. More than five-hundred were wounded. The homes of hundreds of families were burned.The violence in Chicago and other cities did not stop black Americans from moving north or west. They felt that life had to be better than in the South.

Black Americans left the South to find relief and to search for a better life because life was hard in the south, economic chances few, and white hatred common. But many blacks arrived in other parts of the country only to learn that life was no easier. Some blacks wrote later that they had only traded the open racism of the rural Southeast for the more secret racism of Northern cities.

Can anyone imagine how it was for Theodora Boyd to enter an Ivy League school as a black women in 1924 and play field hockey? At Harvard, one can imagine the rich history and tradition in each square foot of land the illustrious institution sits upon. At one time or another, some of the most famous scholars and leaders of our nation walked the grounds of Cambridge. Of course the face of Harvard has changed dramatically over the years, but I could not help but imagine what it was like 81 years ago when women were not permitted to attend Harvard, and a black Charleston, S.C. native entered into Radcliffe College, full of promise and hope not only for her family, but for an entire race of people.
Being accepted and graduating from college is an accomplishment within itself, but for an African-American in the 1920’s that dream seemed impossible! Which makes her story that much more extraordinary.

She was born in 1906 in Charleston S.C. She was educated in the public schools of Newton, Mass., and by 1923, Theodora had been afforded an opportunity few African-Americans would be able to partake in, and she seized it with fervor and great determination.

Despite some of the advances made by women and African-Americans, it was still 1923, and the advances of women and minorities in general were ignored. Theodora was faced with social taboos, racism, sexism, and the biased views of other African-Americans, yet she remained focused and driven.

She took up basketball and field hockey, in both of which she was outstandingly skilled. Members of the “Seven Sisters,” competing against one another, were comprised of Radcliffe, Barnard (New York, N.Y.), Bryn Mawr (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), Mount Holyoke (South Hadley, Mass.), Smith (Northampton, Mass.), Vassar (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) and Wellesley Colleges (Wellesley, Mass.). A brief statement about her in the 1927 yearbook, below her photo, read:

“I’d like to know just what our athletic record as a class would have been if Theodora had chosen some other college beside Radcliffe. What matters if two or three of the team don’t show up? We have Theodora. We don’t really need anyone else. At both hockey and basketball she is a very present help in trouble – present everywhere. She seems to draw the ball to her like a magnet. The worse the team is, the better she plays. Three cheers for Theodora!”

It was such a rare thing. But her story is so humbling! She is a true overcomer. Through all of the adversity that she face alone, she still was driven to succeed. The odds were already against her because she is black and is a women, and it took pure strength to get through that.

She did go on to receive three degrees upon graduating from a white institution, however, society was still in its ways and she was only allowed to teach at Historical Black Colleges. Who cares though, right? She already beat the system, was a true trailblazer. I’m sure she had to deal with people rioting or acts of hate formed against her, but no one stopped her.

Born during the Progressive Era, survived the Great Depression, World War I and II, and saw the birth of the Civil Rights Movement, as well as other vast moments in history, Dr. Theodora Roosevelt Boyd is a hidden jewel in both women’s and black history.

It wasn’t enough that she was granted the chance to go to college, there was the pressure of being one of the chosen few. Not only was she representing her family and race, but she had to be two times better than her white counterparts and in the process, make it easier for the black women who would later come after her.

The Color of Field Hockey:Argentina Women’s Field Hockey Team

In field hockey, the most competitive national teams are Argentina and the Netherlands. It is unfortunate that Argentina slipped to the Netherlands at the 2012 London Olympics 2-0, to spoil one of the worlds best field hockey players of all time, Luciana Aymar of Argentina, bittersweet farewell to field hockey.

Luciana Aymar turned 35 on her final day of playing field hockey.  She had a phenomenal career, though. The record-breaking, seven-time International Hockey Federation Player of the Year was the star player of Argentina’s field hockey team for many years. Argentines call Aymar, a prolific scorer, the “Maradona of field hockey,” and she is admired for her humility and warm manner in which she treats journalists and fans.

Aymar, the team’s former captain, has won almost every international tournament. She took home the gold in the Field Hockey World Cup in 2002 and 2010, silver at the Olympic Games in Sydney (2000), and bronze in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008), as well as winning the Champions Trophy, Americas Cup and the Pan American Games. Unfortunately, the only medal Aymar did not win out of 286 international games was Olympic gold.

Although Argentina stands second in the world, Amyar gave every international team a run for their money. She lifted her team to many victories, and she leads the world as being the best field hockey player ever!

Aymar began playing field hockey when she was 8 at the Atlético Fisherton Club in Rosario, her hometown.

“Ever since she was little, she caught people’s eyes with her dexterity. When she was 11 or 12, she was already competing against athletes who were 20 or 25,” said Argentine journalist Luis Calvano, author of the biography Luciana Aymar – Corazón de Leona (Luciana Aymar: The Heart of a Lioness). (according to an article on the Associated Press)

When they realized how much talent their daughter had, her parents tried to convince her to play for Rosario Jockey Club, the best team in the city. But Aymar resisted, as she wanted to keep playing with her friends at Fisherton.

She eventually switched clubs, launching her career.

“Lucha was promoted to the better teams because she had so much skill,” Calvano said. “At the time, she was also playing tennis – and playing very well. Her coach said she could become a professional tennis player if she dedicated herself exclusively to the sport.”

But she chose field hockey.

In 1997, when she was 20, she led her team to the Junior Pan American Games title, and the next year, she was an official member of the Argentina team, and where the coach at the time, Sergio “Cachito” Vigil and trainer Luis Bruno Barrionuevo helped her reach the top of the sport.

In 2000, Aymar led Las Leonas to a silver medal in Sydney.

“It was during this tournament that the Argentine national team transformed into Las Leonas,” Calvano said. “The team needed to win a number of games in order to reach the final match and, at the suggestion of the psychologist, they used the lioness as a kind of super ego.” According to the Associated Press.

Aymar gives a lot of young girls something and someone to look up to. Field hockey is not that popular on TV or within the media, but when you research and are in love with the sport, you actually can find a lot of wonderful women who are at the top of their game in this sport. Girls can model after them and have dreams of making it to the next level with lots of work and dedication. It’s also possible, with research, to find the different colors of field hockey and how different nationalities are involved with this sport.

Another player who compliments Aymar on Argentina’s team is the best penalty corner shooter in the world, Noel Barrionuevo.

Argentina has some of the best field hockey players in the world, and these girls all represent diversity in this sport.

 

Top US universities scout talented field hockey players in the Netherlands and Belgium at the Go USA Hockey Showcases 2014

There are so many noble, talented players in America of different colors, but no one wants to do the work to find them or start them young. BY no means am I saying that people in other countries aren’t good…believe me, I have first hand experience that they are. But how is our nation an this sport supposed to be more diverse if it is only hitting suburban areas? Is the game truly growing then?

Scoop | Online Hockey Magazine

Coaches from top American universities will be in Europe to scout talented female hockey players at the Go USA Hockey Showcases 2014. By popular demand, two editions will be held this  year – on May 29 in the Netherlands and on May 30 in Belgium. Participating schools include prestigious  names such as Yale, Penn State, Duke, Syracuse, and the University of Virginia.

Organized by UStudy Sports since 2011, the showcases give players a chance to be handpicked for US  varsity teams often for full athletic scholarships. Most participants of the 2012 showcase have been  placed at US schools with scholarships and many players from the 2013 edition have been offered spots  as well. “Field hockey is a growing part of US college sports and coaches are increasingly looking for  players outside the US. In the Netherlands and Belgium, players start training early in the game, which  gives them the high…

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Tina Sloan Green: Remarkable Leader

Intelligent, quick on her feet, passionate, and loving, Sloan Green, like many of the other noble African American women involved with field hockey on a national level, has so much passion in incorporating African Americans into a wide array of sports. Breaking barriers for colors in sports, she went a step further and became the first African American head lacrosse coach at Temple University opening up more and more doors to a more diverse country.

Sloan green won three national championships as a head coach at Temple. Her best season was when she took the Owls to a 19-0 season ending it with a victory over Penn State in the national championship game in 1988. Retiring after 18 successful seasons, a 207-62-4 record, she put Temple on the map as the premier college team in women’s lacrosse.

“When I came to Temple, they were re-emphasizing sports and Title IX was in the forefront,” said Sloan Green, who also coached field hockey at Temple. “When I got there, lacrosse and field hockey were at a club level. I had to go around to the sororities and beg girls to come out and play. The program started to turn around after I got a few scholarships,” according to an article on ESPN. 

She had so much passion for lacrosse, and it rubbed off on the girls she coached. She expected nothing less from herself. Sloan Green only wanted success and to produce excellence, which is a trait she carried with her throughout her life.

Growing up in Eastwick section of Philadelphia and graduating from the Philadelphia Girls High School, and educational institution that was and still is one of the best high schools in Philadelphia, Sloan Green first started playing field hockey, and she was AMAZING at it. From there, she played at West Chester State College (now known as West Chester University), where she also added lacrosse to her resume, and was only one out of a handful of black girls playing the sport (which still seems to be the case today).

“For me to play against somebody black was rare. I remember Eloise Coker. She went to Temple. She was a year ahead of me. Kitty Cox played for Queens College in New York. I remember hearing about her too,” Sloan Green said. 

She is an intricate part of black history, a pioneer for African American women in sports best describes who she is. Although that label brings about lots of responsibility, she was and still is able to handle it with humility.

“When you’re the first, there’s a sense of pride. You know that if you mess up it’s going to be bad for everybody coming behind you. You have to represent,” Sloan Green said. 

After graduating from West Chester University, Sloan Green played for the United States National Team, and in 1969, she became the first African American named to the national women’s lacrosse team where she played on the touring team for 4 years and coached basketball, and field hockey on the scholastic level.

She then continued on with coaching at a collegiate level for an HBCU, Lincoln University, as the head cheerleading and basketball coach (women’s), where she gained valuable coaching experience before coaching at Temple.

As far as her heart and passion go, Sloan Green is a co-founder and president of the nonprofit organization Black Women in Sports, her involvement stemming back to 1992. The organization encourages black women and girls to participate in all areas of sports including playing, coaching and administration located in Philadelphia, and an organization that i have the privilege of  volunteering for.

The impact of Sloan Green’s talents hasn’t gone unnoticed. She has been inducted into the Temple and West Chester University halls of fame, along with the Lacrosse Hall of Fame.She was also presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators. 

Her story should be motivation to anyone. It is a story of passion and literally going for your dreams when the odds are against you.

It’s a Good Day to Work on Abs!!

So, summer is inching closer to us, and we still seem to avoid the bathing suit section that is literally staring us in the face when we walk into any department store. I mean seriously. We as women can not catch a break! Not only that, but there are images of beautiful women everywhere with flat, sexy abs, and we are just sitting at home thinking to ourselves, man, I want a stomach like or close to her’s. It goes through everyone’s mind.

So, let’s work on that. We only have a limited amount of time, and I want to give you a workout you can do on your own time. It is AB INTERVALS! Interval training has many benefits:increasing endurance, burning more calories in less time, improving speed and acceleration, and it speeds up your metabolism!

**Each workout is a minute long!

1. To warm up, jog in place for 30 sec and switch to high knees for the last 30 sec.

2. Go into a plank position  (elbows down)15 sec, switch to downward dog (hold 15 sec) **use your lower abs to switch from plank to downward dogs because we are targeting that lower belly area. And repeat one more time- plank 15, downward dog 15.

3. NO BREAK! Hold plank (elbows on the ground) again and begin plank pulsing. tuck and squeeze your lower abs and control the movement. (say to yourself “down, and up, down, and up, at a steady speed”) Do for 1MINUTE! Take a rest if you need to within that minute, but get right back into.

4. Side plank hold 30 sec. After 30 sec begin pulsing on the side plank. Dip your hips down and up, you should feel it in your obliques.

5. Switch sides, other side plank hold 30 sec, and after 30 sec begin pulsing.

6. Russian Twists 1 minute:  butt only on the ground an knees bent. Twist your upper body side to side so that elbows are coming close to the floor. If you have a free weight at home, use that to add some resistance.

7. Cardio Recovery: Jumping jacks 30 sec switch to slow and controlled squat. To get the full range of motion in the squat, when you come up squeeze your gluts to automatically contract your lowers abs, that way we are still using our core!

8.Flutter kicks 1 min: lay on your back and, if experienced, put your hands at your sides, if you still need a little help, place your hands under your gluts (where your lower back meets your butt)

Repeat this 3 times! It will be intense, but it worth it!

 

The benefits of interval training are many, including: increasing endurance, improving acceleration and speed, and burning more calories in less time. Basically, it makes you more athletic, quicker, and accomplishes what you would on a treadmill in a third of the time! Plus, it revs up your metabolism and keeps you burning fat for hours longer post workout which will help give you great looking abs.
Read more at http://skinnyms.com/h-i-i-t-your-abs-workout/#MYvXY1TK4GZfmW0r.99

The benefits of interval training are many, including: increasing endurance, improving acceleration and speed, and burning more calories in less time. Basically, it makes you more athletic, quicker, and accomplishes what you would on a treadmill in a third of the time! Plus, it revs up your metabolism and keeps you burning fat for hours longer post workout which will help give you great looking abs.
Read more at http://skinnyms.com/h-i-i-t-your-abs-workout/#MYvXY1TK4GZfmW0r.99 fs

The benefits of interval training are many, including: increasing endurance, improving acceleration and speed, and burning more calories in less time. Basically, it makes you more athletic, quicker, and accomplishes what you would on a treadmill in a third of the time! Plus, it revs up your metabolism and keeps you burning fat for hours longer post workout which will help give you great looking ab
Read more at http://skinnyms.com/h-i-i-t-your-abs-workout/#MYvXY1TK4GZfmW0r.99

The benefits of interval training are many, including: increasing endurance, improving acceleration and speed, and burning more calories in less time. Basically, it makes you more athletic, quicker, and accomplishes what you would on a treadmill in a third of the time! Plus, it revs up your metabolism and keeps you burning fat for hours longer post workout which will help give you great looking ab
Read more at http://skinnyms.com/h-i-i-t-your-abs-workout/#MYvXY1TK4GZfmW0r.99

The benefits of interval training are many, including: increasing endurance, improving acceleration and speed, and burning more calories in less time. Basically, it makes you more athletic, quicker, and accomplishes what you would on a treadmill in a third of the time! Plus, it revs up your metabolism and keeps you burning fat for hours longer post workout which will help give you great looking ab
Read more at http://skinnyms.com/h-i-i-t-your-abs-workout/#MYvXY1TK4GZfmW0r.99