Get to know Skidmore field hockey coach Beth Hallenbeck

1. You are one of the most successful coaches in Skidmore's history.What's the secret to your success?
Building a team that values hard work, a positive team dynamic, and a growth mindset is paramount to success. The team is constantly striving to improve individually and push teammates to be the best they can be. Ultimately, they care about each other and what they are representing. They believe that they are part of something bigger than themselves. The idea of synergy is at the core; the whole is stronger than the sum of the parts. 

2. What have been the highlights and satisfying moments of your 20 years at Skidmore?
Watching student-athletes develop and mature over their four years is very satisfying. Creating high expectations and demanding excellence from our team in all aspects of their collegiate life has yielded tremendous results.  Consistent success at the league and national level has certainly been memorable, but above all, field hockey has been the vehicle to teach some valuable life lessons to the players.  Dedication, perseverance, resilience, teamwork, and unselfishness enhance a team and provide these Skidmore field hockey players with tools to navigate future challenges. 

3. How has COVID impacted your team this year?
Without a traditional playing season, the team had the opportunity to reflect on why they play and the chance to put their college athletic careers in greater perspective.  The team was so grateful for the opportunity to practice in the fall and compete in the spring. In addition, they expressed their appreciation of the process and work The College and the Athletic Department did to make this happen. A whole year of physical practice, mental toughness and maturity will hopefully arm the players with a new arsenal of techniques and strategies to employ on the field in the future. In addition, handling adversity has made them more resilient and adaptable.  Mostly, I think the team has appreciated the chance to be active and engaged with their teammates in a comfortable environment in a time of great isolation and change.  

4. What have you done this year to connect with alumni?
This fall, we did our first alumni zoom call with the current team.  It was exciting to have a chance to connect the team with the alums in a new way.  This spring, we expanded the project to include a series of alumni /current player zoom calls with specific academic interests and occupations.  Business, Education, Research, and Medicine were all topics we explored together. It was a unique opportunity for the current players to see the paths the alums traveled to their current positions.  It was exciting to see how much Skidmore and the field hockey team continue to resonate in the lives of our graduates.

5. Your team has a tradition of outstanding academic success. To what do you attribute that achievement?
Skidmore Field Hockey players know that being on the team is a privilege and includes striving for excellence in all aspects of their college life.  We stress the importance of using their academic resources and that asking for help is a sign of strength. Bus rides to games are often filled with tutoring sessions, and hotel rooms hold study groups.  Student Academic Services is a help for the freshmen, many of our upperclassmen are peer tutors, and the team supports each other.  This past semester SCFH set a program record with an outstanding 3.7 team G.P.A.!

6. How do you continue to attract strong field hockey student-athletes to Skidmore?
Field hockey recruits commit to Skidmore because of the strong academics, competitive field hockey, and location.  The recruits can play at the Division I level but choose Skidmore because of the academic rigor, team family dynamic, dedicated water-based astroturf field, high level of team competitiveness and success, and the Saratoga Springs environment.  We are confident that we have secured another strong incoming class.

7. Your teams have won 9 League Championships, played in 15 National Championships, including 5 Elite Eight's and 3 NCAA Final Fours.Where do you see your current team's success in the next four years?
Skidmore Field Hockey is in a strong position and will continue to contend for the Liberty League Championship and be recognized on the national stage.  We possess solid leadership, great talent, work ethic and team chemistry, which are all key components for future success.  For next season, we are returning 15 players, among them our starting goalkeeper, center mid and leading scorer.  We are poised and ready to combine all of our veterans with a talented incoming class in order to create a cohesive and high performing squad for the future.

8. How does Skidmore Field Hockey connect with the college and the community?
We invite a faculty guest coach to join us for every home game.  They often leave with a greater appreciation for what we do, not only on game day but how the team puts in hours of practice, preparation, community service, and travel time every week to represent Skidmore.
We run an extensive field hockey day camp and team night camp every summer that serves over 300 girls in the community and beyond. We also run annual youth, Saratoga Bridges and Girls and Women in Sport Day clinics and participate in the Adopt a child Christmas project as well as Special Olympics.
With the pandemic restrictions this year, the team got creative with our Annual Cancer awareness game.  We ran a virtual fundraiser for pediatric cancer (Morethan4Athletics) and raised over $3000 in a week.  The funds were raised in the name of the brother of one of our current players, who, while playing college lacrosse, was diagnosed with cancer.  The team's extended family is always expanding, and I am proud of how the team stepped up to support one of their own.

9. Your team has traveled abroad several times.How does this enhance the experience of the team?
In my tenure at Skidmore, trips to England, Scotland, China, Greece, Netherlands, Italy, Argentina, Spain, and Portugal have allowed players to experience different cultures while competing internationally. Travel stretches student-athletes out of their comfort zone and produces awareness, perspective, camaraderie and new experiences. These are all amazing benefits that help our team to grow.  When Skidmore Field Hockey competes and interacts with field hockey players from other parts of the world, it connects them more profoundly to the people and country we are visiting.   We also conduct community service projects on every trip to help reinforce the concept of always giving back.

10. What does your program need to help to contribute to your team victories?
We have been very fortunate to have support from parents, alums, and friends of the program over the years.  The program continues to need funding to enhance our assistant coaching position.  It is critical to have consistency and quality in this position to support the players and give them the best experience.