Valley News – Windsor resetting goals after COVID-19 shifts season

WINDSOR — At the beginning of each season, Jody Wood hands out a survey to her Windsor High field hockey team, asking players their personal and team goals for the upcoming campaign.

Last season’s team goal was winning the program’s first state title since 2009. The Yellowjackets hit that target, outscoring opponents, 83-17, en route to a 14-2-1 season capped off by a victory over Stowe in the VPA Division III championship game.

Now the focus shifts to defending their hardware and winning back-to-back championships for the first time in school history.

“Of course, that’s the goal,” Wood said last week over the phone. “I think in the back of all their minds is we’re working towards that.”

Repeating is an achievable goal for Windsor, too. The Yellowjackets graduated only four seniors, including top scorer Angelina Bigwood (21 goals), and return eight starters.

It was their explosive offense that guided the championship run. They outscored opponents, 19-3, in the playoffs and won 11 of their 17 games by three goals or more.

Included in the eight returners is the duo of Alyssa Slocum and Hannah Wood. Both four-year starters, the two combined for 26 goals and 20 assists last season and have been playing together since rec league, which allows for strong communication and chemistry on the field.

Slocum, who plays back on defense, has never had a problem moving the ball up into the scoring circle and also takes the team’s penalty corners and strokes. And Hannah Wood will return to her slot in the midfield to continue setting up Slocum and teammates with easy scoring opportunities.

The two will be able to rely on senior Linda Ricard (eight goals), junior Peyton Richardson (six goals) and Ashley Grela (three goals) as other offensive threats.

“Really, look to Alyssa and Hannah to contribute more so than ever,” said Jody Wood, who is a Windsor alum and enters her fourth season at the helm. “Hannah’s more of a distributor; she usually has more assists than goals, so really looking towards her to put out some more goals up. And just for those two to continue to progress but also show some leadership on the field.”

For all the goals Windsor scored last season, a lot of the success that came up front was because of the play from defenders Sadie Balch and Paige Kleefisch as well as goalie Glenna Ricard.

Ricard, a senior captain, helped Windsor tally seven shutouts. Meanwhile, Balch and Kleefisch made sure to give Ricard minimal work. The best example came in the state championship when Ricard didn’t have to make a single save. The most action she got on the day was when she kicked the ball out of the crease.

“She (Ricard) is so good at communicating with us,” Slocum said. “She is always talking to us about what she’s seeing on the field. She points out everything we don’t see. And her saves, I mean they come out of nowhere sometimes.”

Windsor’s season opener was pushed back last week when the state of Vermont didn’t move to Step III of its school reopening process. The Yellowjackets now hope to start their season on Sept. 28 when they are scheduled to host Springfield.

Wood said her team is adjusting to wearing masks when competing. Field hockey also also switching from two halves to four quarters, something that Wood isn’t too worried about but interested to see what the pace of play looks like.

At this point, however, the Yellowjackets just want to get back on the field to defend their title.

“It’s tough, bittersweet,” said Wood of the senior class that has guided Windsor back to prominence not having a normal season. “I feel bad that they are in this situation. Just rooting from them on the sidelines as hard as I can.”

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Stick Checks: Jody Wood said that Windsor will field a true junior varsity squad this season. … Windsor has a lone freshman on the varsity team this season, forward Amber Simonds. Her hand-eye coordination in front of the net has stood out.

Pete Nakos can be reached at [email protected].