Nov. 15, 2012
By Thomas Walter, Bucknell Athletic Communications Student Assistant
Imagine getting contacted by someone asking you to try out to represent your country on a national sports team. Imagine a few weeks later doing your homework and getting another phone call saying that you made that team that will be traveling to Mexico for three weeks to compete for your country on the Under- 21 National Field Hockey Team. Well, that is exactly what happened to Bucknell field hockey junior Vickie Resh when she traveled to Guadalajara, Mexico, in September to play in the Junior Pan-American Games.
After playing in and winning the USA Field Hockey Women's National Championship with the New Jersey State team, Resh received an email asking her to come to Maryland to try out for the Under-21 National Team.
"I played for the New Jersey team in U.S. national championship during the summer. Then, after that tournament, I was selected to try out for the Under-21 National team, which was a big shock for me," says Resh. "It was a blessing. I ended up making the team and was called in the beginning of the preseason to come to Maryland to train for a week not thinking anything would come of it. But once I was back at Bucknell I got an email telling me to pack my things. I was going to Mexico!"
Resh left her Bucknell team for a higher calling right as the season was picking up pace. She was torn between her college team and her country, but with encouragement from Bison head coach Jeremy Cook, Resh headed to Guadalajara.
When she began her play with the National Team in Guadalajara, Resh noticed a big difference between collegiate field hockey and international field hockey.
"The speed of the game was the biggest difference. It was so much faster. The higher tempo is such an advantage and I just wanted to bring that back to Bucknell with me," says Resh. "The experience turned me into a stronger and more confident player."
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It was not all fun and games in Mexico. There was hard work and sacrifice in order to achieve the success Team USA did, with only about two hours of free time throughout the day, mostly used for completing homework.
As thankful as she was for the opportunity, Resh still found some difficulties while living in Mexico for three weeks. Resh and her teammates were forced to use water bottles for any water they drank, they needed to manage the demands of school hundreds of miles away and the culture was incredibly foreign and different to Resh.
Yet Mexico was not filled only with struggles. Resh enjoyed reverting back to her natural position of defense having played in the midfield for her first three years with the Bison. Additionally, Resh had the pleasure of blogging for www.BucknellBison.com, and she received plenty of playing time on a squad that finished third and qualified for the World Cup. Team USA went 5-2, beating Venezuela, Trindad &Tobago, Paraguay, Jamaica and Chile. They lost to Chile in pool play, but beat them in the Bronze Medal match. The other loss came at the hands of the eventual champion, Argentina.
As excited as Resh was for the World Cup process to begin, after the three weeks in Mexico she was ecstatic about returning to her Bison teammates. Upon her arrival back to Bucknell she could see that she had missed a lot of team bonding, but she was excited to bring her experience with Team USA from Mexico to help the Bison make a strong push in the second-half of their season and into the playoffs.
The Bison had eight games remaining when Resh rejoined the lineup. They jumped off to a hot start winning four of their next six outings. But, they dropped the next two games, first to No. 5 Penn State and then to Patriot League rival American. Their confidence was hurt, but because of the team's talent and depth Resh still believed in her goal to win the Patriot League Championship. However, American proved to be too strong a team, ousting Bucknell from the Patriot League Tournament, and beating the Bison for the second time in as many games. Resh was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team for the second year in a row due to her outstanding play in her shortened season. Resh started in all 13 games that she played in and scored the second goal of her career in 2012.
Resh's collegiate season may be over, but that does not mean she won't be busy. She will look to continue her academic success and receive Patriot League Academic Honor Roll honors as well as Bucknell's Dean List for the second year in a row. Resh explained that time management is the key to her academic success.
"At Bucknell it is all about taking every extra moment you have to do work," explains Resh, an animal behavior major. "It's really time management to the extreme. Down in Mexico it was even tougher, but it really helped me mature not only as an athlete but also as a student."
For now Resh waits patiently to see what the next step in the World Cup process will be. Training begins this winter and, even though she will be focusing on her academics, she will also be staying in strong field hockey shape because who knows when Team USA will come knocking next.
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