My Athletics Story: Caroline Povich '29

Caroline Povich '29 is a prospective Growth and Structures of Cities major and a first-year midfielder on field hockey. Below, she tells us about her journey as a student-athlete. 

What inspired you to play sports at the collegiate level? Can you walk us through the tryout or selection process? 

I first started playing field hockey when I was 8 years old, at a local club in France. The prospect of playing collegiate sports was more for me to keep the sport in my life at a competitive level. 

I knew I wanted to return to the United States to be closer to family and learn more about my origin culture, so I put the two together and started my recruitment process. However when it came to recruitment, the fact of being abroad posed a number of different obstacles, including my lack of access to the recruiting network of American field hockey coaches, a lack of knowledge around the timing of the entire process, as well as limited access to coach visibility and clinics. I was able to attend a couple of main clinic events in the spring of my sophomore year, but I relied mainly on emails and highlight videos to get the attention of coaches. I worked hard to maintain conversation with the coaches of colleges I was interested in because I was not constantly visible to them at clinics. When the Bryn Mawr field hockey coach reached out to me, towards the end of my recruiting process, I had never considered the college. I did extensive research to make sure the college checked off all my desired blocks, and I was able to do an official overnight visit in the spring of my junior year, which greatly informed my understanding and interest in the team. I committed that
following summer. 

How do you manage balancing academics with your athletic commitments?  

As a fall athlete, I used my athletic commitments to force my time management and organisation of classes. I enjoyed going straight into a very strict schedule because it kept me accountable and on top of my work. I did sometimes struggle with balancing completing all of my work and getting enough sleep but with the help and advice of my teammates I quickly adjusted to find my own routine. 

What’s the team culture like, and what do you think makes athletics at Bryn Mawr unique? 

The field hockey team has a strong family culture because we are always supporting each other, whilst also holding each other accountable to the goals we set as a team. We love sharing meals and often do homework sessions together. Bryn Mawr athletics is unique to me because of the people on the team, which in part is the reason we spend so much time together. I always feel comfortable sharing my experiences, opinions, and hobbies as well as having difficult conversations about conflict or disagreements within the team because we have built trust and respect for each other as individuals. 

How has being an athlete impacted your overall college experience?

Being a student-athlete, especially a fall athlete, allowed me to gradually settle myself in with first my support system and family of a team, during preseason, and then into academic life with the start of the fall semester. At times athletics can be isolating because as a team we spend a lot of time together albeit enjoying each other's company, so to balance this out, I roomed with a non-athlete and worked to find friendships outside of athletics that I could lean on in addition to my team.

"The field hockey team has a strong family culture because we are always supporting each other, whilst also holding each other accountable to the goals we set as a team."
 

What advice would you give to a high school student who’s considering playing sports at the college level? 

I would seriously consider overnight visits to colleges when possible because it allows you to really get to know the team and see yourself at the college. This also helps you to consider new aspects of college that you desire or not, to look for during your recruitment process. 

Looking back, what are you most proud of on your athletic journey so far? 

I am very proud of the work I put in, both over the summer and during the season, to ensure my physical and technical abilities were supportive of my goals of improvement.