Upcoming Event: Field Hockey versus Richmond on March 21, 2026 at 9:30 a.m.
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9:30 a.m.
Field Hockey
vs Richmond
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Spring Season a Breath of Fresh Air for the Blue Devils
5/19/2022 9:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
The last time Duke field hockey had a truly normal season was in the fall of 2019. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and like with everything else in the world, and the Duke field hockey program stopped and saw its spring 2020 offseason end before it really had a chance to start. Student-athletes headed home and teams had to shift to Zoom for any kind of team functions.
Months later with uncertainty swirling about whether Duke and the ACC were going to hold sports in the fall of 2020, the field hockey team returned to campus. After countless meetings and hours upon hours of planning on campus and in the ACC, Duke embarked on a season that would start in September and run until late April. The ACC was the lone conference to hold field hockey in the fall as the rest of the nation elected to resume the campaign in the early months of 2021.
After working tirelessly through a grueling 2020-21 schedule, while navigating daily COVID-19 testing and online classes, the Blue Devils quickly found themselves preparing for another challenging 2021 fall season.
Despite the hardships that came with playing back-to-back-to-back seasons through the peak of COVID, junior Hannah Miller was grateful for just the opportunity to play, describing the previous seasons as an honor.
"We took pride in that every single day," Miller said. "Being able to be on the field, even if it was only for two hours a day, having that escape in playing a game that you love with your best friends, was awesome. The lessons we've learned have prepared us for the game of life—on the field and off the field."
"We got so much closer as a team and developed in ways I never thought that we could. Looking back at that experience, it was definitely difficult during it, but it is something that we are so fortunate to have had, and now just seeing it all accumulate this spring, it feels like everything has fallen into place."
Due to isolating together as a team—a safety measure enacted to keep everyone safe and healthy— sophomore Barbara Civitella believes the pandemic brought the team closer and in ways forced teammates to have difficult discussions. If there was a silver lining for the teammates to take away from their experience of playing through tough times, it was the importance of mental health.
"It's hard when you force people to be together, but it really allowed us to grow and get to know each other in ways I don't think we would have otherwise," Civitella said. "The pandemic was a universal hardship, however, getting through it as a team with people all sharing the same experience made us closer because we had each other to lean on."
Not only did they all have each other to lean on, they had their sport to pour themselves into and Civitella embraced that opportunity to come to the turf every day.
"For a lot of people, sport is the way to express themselves and just leave behind whatever is weighted on their shoulders," Civitella said. "Even without the pandemic, my favorite part of the day is playing field hockey and that will always stand, but during the pandemic, it was a way to connect around something that wasn't so wrapped up in COVID. Whatever else we were doing–whether it be class or clubs–it was on Zoom, but nothing changed about field hockey, not the way the ball bounced and not the way we played or communicated."
As the calendar turned the page to 2022, the Blue Devils returned to campus for their first true offseason in three years. Classes are back to being held in person and they are preparing for the return of their normal fall schedule. Miller and Civitella, along with head coach Pam Bustin, describe this time as, "a refresh"— perfect symbolism to Spring.
"To have a 2022 spring has been awesome," head coach Pam Bustin said when discussing the team being back to regular operating procedures. "It has always been a refreshing and exciting time of year, but this one takes the cake."
"It felt a little weird. I'm a rising senior, so I am supposed to be the leader of the team in knowing the ins and outs of what practice schedules are going to look like, but here I was experiencing it for the first time with the sophomores and freshmen," Miller said on finally having a traditional spring season. "But this time has was awesome because it gave us the chance to slow down and to focus on things that we need to work on, and it's just been so nice to have practices and have team meetings with no COVID interruptions."
For Bustin, coaching a traditional spring season allows her to connect with the players and develop relationships on the field, while also focusing on the Xs and Os and the technical aspects of field.
"This spring is very necessary and important for the freshmen who didn't have a lot of playing time and a lot of coaching because we were in seasons," Bustin said. "And for the other players, this is a time to work on key parts of their game, while also bringing the team together to play the brand of hockey that is best for that group—something you don't get to do if you don't have a spring."
Perhaps most important for the coaching staff is this spring gives the team the opportunity to redefine Duke True.
"Not only have I seen our players grow exponentially on the field, but also our team culture," Bustin said. "The girls have really taken the time to establish what that is going to be from this point forward and kind of redefine Duke True."
Redefining Duke True for the team starts with establishing their team culture, something that feels refreshing to do having a true spring this offseason.
"Everyone is truly working on embracing their roles, not just accepting it, and wanting to get better," Miller said. "This team is a place where every voice is valued and not just the upperclassmen versus the freshmen or different positions having louder voices than others. We're a team and we have to come to the realization that we all need to work together to win the national championship."
Civitella said the team has a 'we' over 'me' mentality and stated, "We fight for each other, we fight for the name across our chest, we fight for honor to even play, and we fight to make each other better."
And part of fighting for each other is looking out for one another. That also has been at the forefront of team discussions this spring.
"The pandemic brought about a newfound understanding of mental health and how isolation affects people, and though it was tough, mental health is something that has come up more and something that we are focusing more on as a team this spring," Civitella said.
In speaking on what this spring gives the team in terms of cultivating that bond, Bustin gives the credit to her players.
"They felt it, they felt the disconnect, and they missed each other, even if they did not know somebody, they missed that camaraderie with a teammate," Bustin said. "Duke field hockey is known for our team culture and closeness, and they haven't had that until now. They have been proactive in trying to establish themselves, to set some standards alumni can be proud of, the coaches can work within, and they can feel good about."
The team wrapped up the five permissible competition dates in April, which Coach Bustin described as "exactly what [they] needed." Now, with summer starting the refreshed Blue Devils are beginning their summer training program and looking to build on everything they learned throughout the pandemic and especially this past spring.
Coach Bustin credits the adversity the team has faced in the excitement for the upcoming season.
"There is a new appreciation—a renewed appreciation— that we're together and can have meals together, that we can have video sessions together, that we actually have time to prepare for a season instead of just getting thrown into one. This spring gives the team ownership in figuring out who we are come August, so when the new group of freshmen come in, they feel as though they are a part of something, that they know what we're about and what our identity is."
For rising junior Civitella, this season will be a whole new experience for her—a refresh into Duke field hockey.
"When I came in as a freshman, it was right after COVID, and we had season after season after season, so all I've known before this spring was what it's like to be in season. It's really awesome to see the stark contrast of where we were in the fall being scared and isolated to now, where we have so much more in front of us, but with that same bond that brought us together."
#GoDuke
Months later with uncertainty swirling about whether Duke and the ACC were going to hold sports in the fall of 2020, the field hockey team returned to campus. After countless meetings and hours upon hours of planning on campus and in the ACC, Duke embarked on a season that would start in September and run until late April. The ACC was the lone conference to hold field hockey in the fall as the rest of the nation elected to resume the campaign in the early months of 2021.
After working tirelessly through a grueling 2020-21 schedule, while navigating daily COVID-19 testing and online classes, the Blue Devils quickly found themselves preparing for another challenging 2021 fall season.
Despite the hardships that came with playing back-to-back-to-back seasons through the peak of COVID, junior Hannah Miller was grateful for just the opportunity to play, describing the previous seasons as an honor.
"We took pride in that every single day," Miller said. "Being able to be on the field, even if it was only for two hours a day, having that escape in playing a game that you love with your best friends, was awesome. The lessons we've learned have prepared us for the game of life—on the field and off the field."
"We got so much closer as a team and developed in ways I never thought that we could. Looking back at that experience, it was definitely difficult during it, but it is something that we are so fortunate to have had, and now just seeing it all accumulate this spring, it feels like everything has fallen into place."
Due to isolating together as a team—a safety measure enacted to keep everyone safe and healthy— sophomore Barbara Civitella believes the pandemic brought the team closer and in ways forced teammates to have difficult discussions. If there was a silver lining for the teammates to take away from their experience of playing through tough times, it was the importance of mental health.
"It's hard when you force people to be together, but it really allowed us to grow and get to know each other in ways I don't think we would have otherwise," Civitella said. "The pandemic was a universal hardship, however, getting through it as a team with people all sharing the same experience made us closer because we had each other to lean on."
Not only did they all have each other to lean on, they had their sport to pour themselves into and Civitella embraced that opportunity to come to the turf every day.
"For a lot of people, sport is the way to express themselves and just leave behind whatever is weighted on their shoulders," Civitella said. "Even without the pandemic, my favorite part of the day is playing field hockey and that will always stand, but during the pandemic, it was a way to connect around something that wasn't so wrapped up in COVID. Whatever else we were doing–whether it be class or clubs–it was on Zoom, but nothing changed about field hockey, not the way the ball bounced and not the way we played or communicated."
As the calendar turned the page to 2022, the Blue Devils returned to campus for their first true offseason in three years. Classes are back to being held in person and they are preparing for the return of their normal fall schedule. Miller and Civitella, along with head coach Pam Bustin, describe this time as, "a refresh"— perfect symbolism to Spring.
"To have a 2022 spring has been awesome," head coach Pam Bustin said when discussing the team being back to regular operating procedures. "It has always been a refreshing and exciting time of year, but this one takes the cake."
"It felt a little weird. I'm a rising senior, so I am supposed to be the leader of the team in knowing the ins and outs of what practice schedules are going to look like, but here I was experiencing it for the first time with the sophomores and freshmen," Miller said on finally having a traditional spring season. "But this time has was awesome because it gave us the chance to slow down and to focus on things that we need to work on, and it's just been so nice to have practices and have team meetings with no COVID interruptions."
For Bustin, coaching a traditional spring season allows her to connect with the players and develop relationships on the field, while also focusing on the Xs and Os and the technical aspects of field.
"This spring is very necessary and important for the freshmen who didn't have a lot of playing time and a lot of coaching because we were in seasons," Bustin said. "And for the other players, this is a time to work on key parts of their game, while also bringing the team together to play the brand of hockey that is best for that group—something you don't get to do if you don't have a spring."
Perhaps most important for the coaching staff is this spring gives the team the opportunity to redefine Duke True.
"Not only have I seen our players grow exponentially on the field, but also our team culture," Bustin said. "The girls have really taken the time to establish what that is going to be from this point forward and kind of redefine Duke True."
Redefining Duke True for the team starts with establishing their team culture, something that feels refreshing to do having a true spring this offseason.
"Everyone is truly working on embracing their roles, not just accepting it, and wanting to get better," Miller said. "This team is a place where every voice is valued and not just the upperclassmen versus the freshmen or different positions having louder voices than others. We're a team and we have to come to the realization that we all need to work together to win the national championship."
Civitella said the team has a 'we' over 'me' mentality and stated, "We fight for each other, we fight for the name across our chest, we fight for honor to even play, and we fight to make each other better."
And part of fighting for each other is looking out for one another. That also has been at the forefront of team discussions this spring.
"The pandemic brought about a newfound understanding of mental health and how isolation affects people, and though it was tough, mental health is something that has come up more and something that we are focusing more on as a team this spring," Civitella said.
In speaking on what this spring gives the team in terms of cultivating that bond, Bustin gives the credit to her players.
"They felt it, they felt the disconnect, and they missed each other, even if they did not know somebody, they missed that camaraderie with a teammate," Bustin said. "Duke field hockey is known for our team culture and closeness, and they haven't had that until now. They have been proactive in trying to establish themselves, to set some standards alumni can be proud of, the coaches can work within, and they can feel good about."
The team wrapped up the five permissible competition dates in April, which Coach Bustin described as "exactly what [they] needed." Now, with summer starting the refreshed Blue Devils are beginning their summer training program and looking to build on everything they learned throughout the pandemic and especially this past spring.
Coach Bustin credits the adversity the team has faced in the excitement for the upcoming season.
"There is a new appreciation—a renewed appreciation— that we're together and can have meals together, that we can have video sessions together, that we actually have time to prepare for a season instead of just getting thrown into one. This spring gives the team ownership in figuring out who we are come August, so when the new group of freshmen come in, they feel as though they are a part of something, that they know what we're about and what our identity is."
For rising junior Civitella, this season will be a whole new experience for her—a refresh into Duke field hockey.
"When I came in as a freshman, it was right after COVID, and we had season after season after season, so all I've known before this spring was what it's like to be in season. It's really awesome to see the stark contrast of where we were in the fall being scared and isolated to now, where we have so much more in front of us, but with that same bond that brought us together."
#GoDuke
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