As Delaney Keegan ’24 steps onto the field, she quickly scans her surroundings, the buzzing crowd, and the arriving opposing team. With a deep breath, she tightly grips her field hockey stick. Game on.

When Keegan began playing sports, she didn’t know that field hockey would end up being her main focus. Her dad was a Division I swimmer, and from a young age, he made sure that Keegan tried a wide variety of sports.

“My parents let me choose in the sense that they threw me into sports and they said, ‘If you enjoy it, you enjoy it,’” Keegan said.

Looking back on her early years, Keegan remembers the unconditional support that she would get from her family, and is very grateful for it.

“My dad was my biggest supporter,” said Keegan. “He was someone who was always there for me to help me through all of it, because he understood what I was going through [as an athlete].”

Keegan first tried field hockey in sixth grade, when one of her friends encouraged her to try out for her school's field hockey team. Initially she didn’t think that anything would come of it, as she had been playing on a travel softball team for the past ten years, but as she played more, her passion for the sport only grew stronger.

“I realized that I loved playing field hockey more than softball, so I started taking field hockey more seriously, and it became my path,” Keegan said.

Fast forward to present day, and Keegan has become one of the most important figures on the PHS Varsity field hockey team, being trusted with the captain title, along with three others. Head Coach Heather Serverson acknowledges the importance of her presence.

“[Keegan] does a great job demonstrating how to always play in a game,” said Serverson. “I think the players really look up to her, they know how good she is, and that she's been playing for a long time.”

Outside of hockey, the team likes to spend lots of time off the field together, such as pasta dinners on Sundays, Halloween parties in October, and a banquet at the end of the year. These traditions are in place to make sure that they keep that special bond for when it matters most on the pitch.

“We’re all a really tight group,” said Keegan. “We all love each other no matter what, we’re kind of like a cult. It makes me so happy, because even outside of field hockey, we’re so close.”

For Keegan, this year has been a significant one, as she recently announced her verbal commitment to Cornell University, where she will continue playing field hockey.

“I was shocked, and it still hasn’t hit me yet,” said Keegan. “I feel like once I get that acceptance letter, it will actually feel real, but it's crazy to me that I’m going to a school that’s so academically competitive.”

Some of Keegan’s goals while at Cornell is to make friendships and continue to build connections. One of Keegan’s goals has always been to build relationships, as she looks to meet new faces in her last year of high school as well.

For anyone interested in playing field hockey in the future, Keegan displays the same supportive attitude as her father.

“Don't give up,” said Keegan. “There's always another path, there's always another way to go. Just keep trying.”