SECTION IV FIELD HOCKEY: IMPROVED NUMBERS, INFLUX OF YOUTH HAS SVEC'S GENTILE UPBEAT ABOUT FUTURE AS 2025 PRESEASON CAMP CONTINUES (15 PHOTOS) (2025-08-12)
By TIM BIRNEYTioga County Sports ReportSPENCER — Improved numbers, many of them very young, has veteran SVEC field hockey coach Abby Gentile feeling good about the future as preparation for the 2025 season continues.
"Our numbers look better than last year when we did an entire season with 11, no subs," she said.
"This year, we have 13, so it's getting better," noted Gentile. "We had three graduate, one lost for the season with an injury and another move to another school. So we lost five and we still improved our numbers, so that's awesome.
"We have a lot of young kids," added Gentile. "We have a lot of freshman. We also have one 8th-grader and one 7th-grader we pulled up from modified, but I think they're going to be difference-makers, so that's a good thing."
Gentile said the focus of the preseason has been a little different.
"Because we're so young, the focus is just body movement and body positioning in general as an athlete.
"Not only having the skills, but having the mental piece that kind of puts the physicality in with the sport is really something (assistant coach) Jeremy Kastenhuber and I have been focusing on with them.
"For a lot of them, it's new because we don't talk a ton about body positioning and movement.
The Eagles will participate in a four-team scrimmage at Whitney Point Wednesday.
SVEC will open the regular season Sept. 2 at Moravia.
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IN PHOTO: SVEC field hockey coach Abby Gentile. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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