Northwestern University Athletics
Trackin' Jill
10/2/2008 12:00:00β―AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 2, 2008
Hey everyone! My name is Jill Putnam and I am a senior this year. My teammates usually call me either Jilly or Putty so feel free to choose your own nickname for me.
I am very excited to be giving you all an inside look at our team and everything we do. So far this season we have already been through a lot, starting with two-a-day practices in preseason before heading to Boston for our opening weekend. We struggled a bit there but came home the next weekend to win both our games. Since then we are undefeated at home and are looking forward to continuing that winning streak on the road!
This season we have worked hard on making some changes in our team concepts from years past. So far we have worked a lot on team bonding, trusting each other and selflessness. To increase the competitive edge and closeness of our team, our coach, Kelly McCollum, started a game last spring called the Wildcat Challenge. We created four teams of six players each and competed in fitness, lifting, skills and play as well as random challenges throughout the summer and preseason with each competition worth a certain amount of points. Each week a different team was tasked with holding a team dinner and a bonding activity, which gave us the chance to paint rocks down by Lake Michigan, host a murder mystery dinner, play dodge ball and other fun activities. In the end, the winners earned a free pass on the first day of preseason and got to pick where we have our annual team activity. The winners of the Challenge--the Iron Kitties--chose to go to Gymnastics Factory for our big team event where we finally went last Tuesday and had a blast. It was so much fun and actually opened our eyes to how hard gymnastics really is. Courtney Plaster-Strange and Alyssa Elmy were the only two that had any idea of what to do. The rest of us just ran around pretending like we knew what we were doing and those who didn't pretend...at least they were dressed to look like they did.
As for me, I am rehabbing a knee injuring that has been going on since last spring. In our last spring tournament weekend, I was hit when trying to mark a girl in the circle. I played the last two games the next day but was in a lot of pain. At practice a few days later I was lifting and my knee buckled out causing a lot of pain and swelling. I later had surgery to fix that injury and to get me feeling better. I have had a few setbacks since then, including some unseen bone injuries and a lot of pain and swelling that has prolonged my rehab and kept me out of the season so far. The good news is we have begun to find the answers and have started a regimented rehab schedule to make sure that I return as soon as possible. In the meantime I have had the privilege of coaching our offensive corner unit. I am in charge of personnel, play calling and scouting. So far the unit is averaging goals for about 25 percent of the corners we earn. It has been an awesome opportunity for me not only learn more about my team and coaching techniques but I am able to really help my teammates without actually being on the field.
Anyway, that's what is happening so far with our team. We head to Iowa City, Iowa this weekend to take on the Hawkeyes on Friday and the Missouri State Bears on Saturday. I look forward to keeping all of you updated with the latest happenings of the Northwestern Field Hockey team. Make sure that you come and support us when you can, we really appreciate it! Talk to you soon! Go 'Cats!
