{"id":1472,"date":"2010-10-05T22:36:08","date_gmt":"2010-10-06T02:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=1472"},"modified":"2010-10-08T08:06:11","modified_gmt":"2010-10-08T12:06:11","slug":"jmusb-exclusive-interview-with-field-hockey-head-coach-antoinette-lucas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=1472","title":{"rendered":"JMUSB Exclusive: Interview with Field Hockey Head Coach Antoinette Lucas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong>JMUSB is extremely proud to bring you an interview with Field Hockey’s Head Coach Antoinette Lucas.\u00a0 We were fortunate to catch up with Coach Lucas last week as her team is in the midst of taking on one of the country’s toughest schedules.\u00a0 Winners of four of their last five, don’t let the early bumps along the way fool you, this team will be battle-tested when tourney time comes in a way few have been before as they attempt to recapture the magic of the ’94 National Championship team (I believe the first ever NC for a team sport at JMU; JMUSB special shout-out to Karen Z!).<\/p>\n

HUGE thanks to Coach Lucas for sharing some great insights on Dukes’ Field Hockey and her own career and being such a good sport as we harangued answers out of her!\u00a0 Her quiet, good-natured manner would never allow her to toot her own horn but we certainly will.\u00a0 In addition to returning the Hockey program to prominence on the sidelines, it’s also very possible Coach Lucas is\u00a0the single best athlete on campus today.\u00a0 Whether on a bike, an epic trail run, or a with a golf club in hand, we have no doubt she has no equal in the Valley.\u00a0 And we’re not the only ones, check out what the Virginia Tourism Board thinks about Coach L:<\/p>\n

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The Woman, The Myth, The Legend (Coach, please don't kill us for the picture but it's just too cool not to reuse!)<\/p><\/div>\n

1) What are your public expectations for your team this year?
\n<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To take a young team to the CAA tournament and Win.\u00a0 We may not have the success we have been accustomed to in September due to our strength of schedule but the games will make us stronger and better prepared for CAA play.\u00a0 Winning the CAA tournament offers an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.\u00a0\u00a0 Competing in the NCAA tournament every year is an ultimate goal for our program.\u00a0 If you dont make it to the NCAA tournament then it is impossible to win a second National Championship for JMU Field Hockey.
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\n2) Can you give us a few players we should really watch out for?<\/strong>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Amy Daniel should really be playing well this season.\u00a0 She competed in a US High Performance event over the summer and was really playing well.\u00a0 Amy is very versatile and just loves to play.
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\n3) Who is Field Hockey’s biggest rival?\u00a0 If different, who do you think will be your toughest CAA competition this year?<\/strong>
\nOur biggest rival is usually ourselves.\u00a0 (laugh)\u00a0 ODU always shows up to compete.\u00a0 They always give a great fight and I expect them to be quite good this year.\u00a0
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\n4) Any word on Kelsey Cutchin’s nomination for NCAA Woman of the Year award?<\/strong>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kelsey has been selected as one of the top 30 finalists that will attend an awards ceremony in Indianapolis on the weekend of Oct. 15th\/16th.\u00a0\u00a0
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\n5) Field Hockey has quite a few international players at the college level, right?\u00a0 How in the world do you go about recruiting them to Harrisonburg?
\n<\/strong>We constantly work to make connections with international coaches.\u00a0 They are the ones that can help us to recruit international athletes to our program.\u00a0 Once international athletes realize what Division One athletes have to offer vs. what they typically receive in their home countries…it is often an “easy sell”.\u00a0
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\n6) What was it like to play in the Olympics?
\n<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I competed in 4 World Cups (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002) and found the World Cup to be a better event for our sport itself. (meaning- bigger crowd,better fans etc…) However, the attention and the hype of the Olympics\u00a0 is absolutely phenomenal.\u00a0\u00a0 There is nothing better than competing in the Olympic games in your home country!!!
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\n7) Have to ask, were you around when the bomb went off in Atlanta (’96 Olympics)?
\n<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My family was in the vicinity.\u00a0 I was in the Athletes Village (where we were supposed to be at night..lol..).\u00a0 It was a very frightening moment for all of the athletes in the Village.\u00a0 (Georgia Tech was the site of the Athletes Village)\u00a0 We all wanted to make sure that our friends and family were ok.\u00a0 Security was incredible in the Village (picture security guards in the man holes in the streets) but when the bomb went off it made me feel very vulnerable and aware of how high profile an event the Olympics are.\u00a0 Our buses to and from our games began to take different routes after the bomb and we always had a helicopter flying over head.\u00a0 Wild stuff.
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\n8) I think you’ve traveled all over with hockey and I’m just wondering is there some place that is crazy about Field Hockey (like hockey in Canada or rugby in New Zealand or speed skating in Holland)?\u00a0 What was your favorite place hockey ever took you to?<\/strong>
\nThe Dutch, Germans and Australians are fanatical about their hockey.\u00a0 Spain, England and Argentina are huge hockey countries as well.\u00a0 It is so cool to play in those countries because both Men and Women play.. They have club houses for field hockey like we have golf clubs in the US.\u00a0 It is a very social sport.
\nSouth Africa, Australia,\u00a0 and New Zealand are my favorite countries by far!
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\n9) Can you give us another sport(s) at JMU, other than Field Hockey and Football, we should look out for big things from this year?<\/strong>\u00a0 Lacrosse and baseball
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\n10) Coach Matthews claims you hustled him on the golf course.\u00a0 True?\u00a0 How bad was it?<\/strong>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Never believe Coach Matthews (LOL) but I did hustle him pretty good.\u00a0
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\n11) Anything else we should know about the Field Hockey season?
\n<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Admission is free?<\/p>\n

On behalf of JMUSB, we’d encourage anyone who can make it to go support Dukes Field Hockey, preferably loudly and obnoxiously!<\/p>\n