“Keep on going!” is all she can hear from her coach. Her chest is heavy and her heart rate is high as she gasps for air during her field hockey game. She has been playing for a total of 60 minutes, but she knows there isn’t much time left. For junior Kirsten Kyburz, this is a normal field hockey game. With only two subs, it’s hard for her to get a break.

This fall, the field hockey team has had a record low number of students try out. There are only 13 players each on both varsity and JV. Last year, there were 16 on varsity and 14 on JV. “There hasn’t been many new field hockey players come in, and a lot of people got jobs this year, so there wasn’t enough time for them to play field hockey,” varsity captain senior Caroline Haggerty said.

“I think there was a low turnout because field hockey is not as common a sport as others. A lot of people are committed to other sports so it’s hard to get them to play for field hockey,” Kyburz said.

Because of this low turnout, the team members have been getting new people to play. According to Haggerty, five new people who weren’t originally going to try out were convinced to play. “Out of the people who decided to play last minute, three are on JV and two are on varsity,” Haggerty said.

Junior Emma Wall and senior Leanne Ches are the two new varsity players. “I absolutely love field hockey. It’s so different from other sports I’ve played, but I really enjoy it as a first time player. I love my team and everyone was so nice trying to help me learn the rules,” Wall said.

With the lack of players, the team has to work extra hard on training and conditioning. “We have 11 on the field at a time. It’s a lot of running having only two subs, but we have gotten really well conditioned,” Wall said.

“We have 30 minutes of conditioning during each practice. It’s hard, but it’s necessary and worth it,” Kyburz said.

Even though the team has decreased in size, it is still playing the season with a positive outlook. “Each game we’re improving, and little by little we’re getting better,” Haggerty said.

Haley Kyger is a Sports Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.