Starting on the fields of Holicong Middle School and Central Bucks High School East in Buckingham, Lauren Crandall has become one of America’s star field hockey players as the captain of the U.S. Olympic field hockey team.
With the influence of her high school coach Jeff Harding, Crandall was introduced to field hockey beyond the high school level, eventually joining multiple club teams such as Xcalibur and the USA Field Hockey Futures Program, that paved the way for her to play at Wake Forest on a scholarship and, during her junior and senior years, for the national team.
“Of course each leap to the next level was coupled with nerves and unknowns,” she explains. “But I continued to focus on what I could control and made sure to embrace the new experience. I think focusing on and enjoying the process and experiences allowed me to forget about the results or get caught up in selections. … If you focus on what is next, there is no way you can be fully focused and prepare for now. Preparation came through making mistakes, learning from them and evaluating and adapting after the experience.”
As she developed as both a player and leader, Crandall earned an opportunity to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and again this past summer in London, this time as team captain.
“There is nothing like representing your country on the field of your sport, listening to the national anthem as you stand beside your teammates,” she says. “It fills you with extreme pride and makes you realize you are a part of something much bigger.”
