Excited. Ignited. United reads the back of Coach Julie Murphy’s t-shirt as she paces the worn-down turf sideline of the Edwardsville High School football field with excitement, pride and composure. Just two minutes remain before the stadium buzzer erupts in a deafening roar, solidifying the 2-0 win against a former loss for the varsity field hockey team. Except, four months ago, no one on that field could have imagined that they would be playing together.

In May 2024, Clayton, University City and Rosati-Kain Academy merged their field hockey teams into one: United Field Hockey.

Dwindling numbers in girls’ field hockey, the proximity of the high schools and strong coaching staff relationships led to a three-year contract decision to merge.

BEFORE THE MERGE 

Before the 2024 merger with Clayton and United, each school had copious discussions about how to keep their numbers in girls’ sports.

Ava Hughes, CHS AP Environmental Science teacher and one of the varsity coaches for the United team, coached Clayton field hockey for the 2023 season.

Hughes played field hockey in high school as a goalie and picked up coaching in 2017. Hughes has extensive experience in the St. Louis club and high school scene, from coaching teams as young as three-year-olds to high schoolers. Before coaching at Clayton, Hughes coached at Rosati-Kain Academy and the United field hockey team, a two-school merger between Rosati-Kain and University City High School.

“Typically, [a merge] only happens when you don’t have enough athletes within your student body to fuel your team. That is where we were at coming into this year,” Hughes said. “We were thinking about joining United because they were also starting to see less athletes, so the two of us realized we can fuel two teams. That’ll make sure that everybody is being appropriately challenged so they all feel the growth, success and fun of playing field hockey.”

This issue was felt across St. Louis post the pandemic. Rosati-Kain Coach and Head United Coach Julie Murphy echoes this sentiment.

“Three years ago, I was facing a challenge, and that was not having enough athletes,” Murphy said. “I was at a small school, and statistically, you can see that COVID just changed the participation.”

Murphy has coached high school sports for 25 years and club field hockey for 15. She has also coached high school field hockey, basketball, and soccer. Murphy now teaches at Rosati-Kain Academy, where she is the Director of Curriculum and an Anatomy and Psychology teacher.

Two years ago, Rosati-Kain and U-City merged with Brentwood High School. When Brentwood no longer supplied coaches or players, the United team decided to move on, considering Clayton as a new addition.

“Prior to the merge, we had little to no subs, which made playing really difficult. Almost every game, I would only be playing to about 70 to 80% of my playing capacity, considering we had only two or three girls sitting on the bench,” Maddie Meyers, CHS senior and United varsity captain, said. “But after this merge, I can play 100%, which makes me love playing and going all out for the time I’m on the field.”

CHS senior and varsity player Grace Kalina was initially worried about the merge because she didn’t know anyone.

“I’m not the most social person. But once we did merge, it was really incredible. All the girls are super nice and very communicative, and everyone is friends,” Kalina said.

THE PROCESS

Although the merger came to most as a symbol of hope for the field hockey program, players and coaches still face obstacles. Due to the schools’ location and schedule differences, finding a time and field that worked for everyone became difficult due to the schools’ location and schedule differences. 

“I have faced many obstacles with field hockey in the past. I had to build goals for the first three years of coaching in a random field. I practiced at 5:30 a.m. three days a week, where I had to turn on the lights and unlock the gates of SLUH. So, give me enough athletes and an amazing coaching crew, and there’s no challenge I’m worried about at this point. We’re all in it together,” Murphy said. 

The rivalry between Rosati-Kain and Clayton, marked by several playoff encounters in recent seasons, posed a potential issue for the merger. Hughes argued that these past encounters strengthened the team post-merger due to the players’ competitive nature.

“[Clayton and Rosati-Kain’s previous rivalry] comes across in practice. We’re ready to push each other to the next level. It’s always more fun when you can compete with your team as much as you do during games,” Hughes said. 

Adjusting to new faces is a common experience for high school sports teams with incoming freshmen each year. However, the unfamiliarity within the United team led to concerns about the team’s ability to adapt.

“The biggest obstacle for me would probably be getting to know my teammates’ playing patterns like where they are on the field and their specific skill set,” CHS junior and varsity player Noni Murphy said. 

Meyers highlighted the challenges of connecting personally with new teammates, reinforcing the difficulty of adjusting to new players. “The merging process was originally really nerve-racking, considering I would be meeting and expected to get along with over 20 new girls in the span of a week. However, getting along came super easy; all of these girls are so kind and talented,” Meyers said. 

Hughes believes the merger has helped the team become more competitive, allowing athletes to be better challenged during practice. 

“It’s a lot easier to do an inter-squad scrimmage if you can do a full field for both teams instead of doing small sided games. It builds up our fitness and how we communicate as a whole squad. It’s a lot easier, since we have six coaches, to spread out and have a lot of individual instruction,” Hughes said. 

Now that they have formed bonds, the team also brings a different feeling to every game and practice. “The merge created more people to talk to, more team bonding, and a stronger team overall,” Noni said. “We clicked as a team [during the Gateway Tournament] and won our pool. That was when everyone realized how good we can play together which was motivating.”

COACH DYNAMICS

While United field hockey players have come into this merge with a sense of vulnerability and fear of the unknown, almost all coaching staff have known or worked with each other at some point in their careers. 

The team has two coaches from each school, one for varsity and one for JV. Hughes (Clayton), Jackson (U-City) and Murphy (Rosati-Kain) coach the varsity team. On the JV side, Weber (Clayton), Mozier (U-City) and Diehl (Rosati-Kain) lead the team.

“Coach Diehl and I went to high school together and played,” Murphy explained. “Coach Hannah and Coach Ava were coached by myself, and I’ve been coaching with them for six or seven years. I’ve been coaching with Coach Jenny for the past two years. Coach Weber is an amazing human being who knows the game, and I’m so excited to work with her. We all have our specialties, and we actually meet a lot outside of the season.” 

Hughes has coached Murphy since 2017, and she described her relationship with her with respect and admiration. 

“I always looked up to Julie Murphy. I think the difference is that now we work very, very well together. We have similar coaching styles, which really helps. She was someone who was very easy to look up to. She’s ready to push you to the next level if you’re ready to,” Hughes said. “[Coach Murphy] has always been a very excited person who’s ready to share the fun of field hockey, and she’s always been that way. It’s a lot of fun coaching with her, just as it was playing for her too.” 

Hughes explained that having more coaches allows tasks to be divided so people can focus on their specialty. However, this also brings challenges in task delegation and collaboration. Effective communication can resolve coaching conflicts and streamline scheduling and role specialization. 

“Everybody on the coaching staff of United is invested in the same things, and that’s empowering females to navigate this world in a braver, more competent way,” Murphy said. “We see that as the mission. It’s not wins. Wins are nice, and they come with it, but the mission is just to empower females.”

One unique dynamic that has come up through this merger is the coaching-daughter dynamic through Murphy and Noni.

“[Being coached by my mom] is not a new thing, but it’s interesting for her to coach my teammates too,” Noni said. “It’s definitely a bonding experience because we’re seeing different sides of each other. [There’s] also more pressure because I can’t slack off since she knows me so well.”

On the other hand, Murphy noted how beneficial, but also controversial, this coaching dynamic is for her daughter. 

“As a parent, I’m excited that Noni is part of a program that’s larger and can support her more,” Murphy said. “I’ve coached Noni since she was three. She is the most powerful, majestic creature I think I will ever meet, and I also have to acknowledge that it’s not every teenager’s dream to have their mom coaching them.” 

Noni, however, recognizes that her relationship with her mother on the field is more direct and personal, which has its benefits. 

“There isn’t any acknowledgement of our blood relationship once we’re on the field because neither of us are focused on that, but off the field, it goes right back to mother daughter,” she said. 

Additionally, Noni has found that having her mother coach her has allowed her to grow in facets other coaches would not have recognized. 

“My mom has encouraged me to do a lot more free hits, drives and lifts and looks to strengthen areas I’m already good at since she knows my play style so well. She also guides me through the things I’m not so good at,” Noni said. 

PLAYER CONNECTION

The assumptions the high school players had coming into the season about obstacles and conflicts have quickly been overshadowed by the strength of the relationships formed over the past four weeks. 

“We’ve built a really strong community so far, and it really shows in practice with how goofy [players] feel,” Hughes said. “There’s a good connection that I think surprised everybody.”

Kalina described how having a full squad allows for more efficient practices. However, managing a larger team comes with its set of challenges. 

“The biggest obstacle for me has been learning the communication styles of everyone and how to play off of everyone. I have a very specific communication style, and not everyone works off that,” Kalina said. 

India Foote, U-City senior and varsity captain, echoes the hesitation to change, especially at the beginning of the integration process.

“This merge has changed the way we have to think about playing,” Foote said. “We’re all different players from different teams and schools, which makes us more aware and conscious of going our way to be the best teammates we can.” 

Murphy recognizes that she expected some difference in the teams, but she was not concerned about merger difficulties because she knew many of the athletes on all the teams already.

“I find when you put a group of powerful, dynamic females together with a common purpose, we’re going to figure it out,” Murphy said. “Differences are fine, but I think it just opens it up to a more diverse team [and] diversity in all the different ways.”

Yet, the reward of new teammates has outweighed any struggle that may come from adjusting to a new team. 

“ I already see people tag each other on social media, and call each other their sisters, and the fact that that happens, that’s the magic right there.

“The greatest reward so far has been how our team dynamic has grown so much in just over one month,” Meyers said. “I’m so happy to be able to know these girls from other schools that I wouldn’t have otherwise met.”

Hughes sees this in the way the team practices.

“You can tell that [the players constantly think about their next step all of the time and where to go,  in terms of how they play and practice. It’s really fun to see,” she said. 

THE FUTURE

During the annual Gateway Field Hockey tournament on Aug. 30-31, the United team experiences a weekend of high energy, emotion and increased connection while moving from one turf field to another. 

The team won their pool after two ties and a win against teams from Missouri and Illinois. After the last game, the team waited for the scores of all the teams in the division to be calculated, and they did not know who had won. 

“On Saturday at the Gateway tournament, it was a tough game, just an aggressive, rough game. But seeing how much people care means it’s working,” Murphy said. “Everything is just clicking.”

Murphy wants the United players to leave feeling better about themselves than when they started. 

“Of course, I want to win, it’s fun to win, but that’s not the goal,” Murphy said. “I’ve had athletes on teams that have won that walk away, probably not feeling any better about themselves. And I’ve had athletes who I met up with a decade later, who never played more than five minutes of a game, but when they see me, the pride that they have, and what they got from their time in this community made them feel more connected to themselves in life.” 

Hughes hopes that the team will continue to take a year-by-year approach and focus on doing better than the previous season, utilizing a growth mindset and positive attitude.

While the United team may have anticipated a rocky start to the first season of the merger with these three schools, the team could not have had a better start. 

So, with sticks in hand and a newfound, powerful bond, Rosati-Kain, U-City and Clayton will continue the rest of their season excited, ignited and United.