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Time off the Turf – Claire Case
My name is Claire Casey. I am a senior at Providence Day School and a long time Ambush player. I recently went on a three week long trip with my family to Tanzania to hike Mt.Kilimanjaro, work in a hospital, and take a safari in the Serengeti.
The first portion of my trip, hiking Mt.Kiliminjaro, was my favorite part with the hospital experience coming in a close second. The hike took a total of eight days with seven days going up and only one going down. While there were only four of us, we were accompanied by 2 guides and 18 porters. The porters carried all of our equipment like our duffle bags, tents, cooking supplies, food, and even a portable potty.. So when I say camping, I really mean glamping. Every single day, we would arrive at our next campsite with the tents already up and food ready to be eaten. When we weren’t hiking we were eating, playing cards, journaling, or sleeping. Everyday consisted of being woken up by Dixon (one of my favorite porters) with hot tea delivered to our tents around 6:00 am, eating breakfast around 7:00 am, and being on our way by 8:00 am. The hikes differed day to day, but the majority lasted around 3-5 hours with plenty of snack breaks. Thanks to field hockey conditioning, my body was prepared for extreme amounts of exercise. The only challenging portion of the hike was summit day. Our guides had prepared us for the lack of oxygen and exhaustion but it still tested my mental strength and endurance. To set the scene, the summit hike is around 7 hours long and straight uphill with only the last home stretch being relatively flat. We left camp at midnight in order to reach the summit by 7:00 am. The hike felt never ending. Everytime I looked up and thought we were near the end, more uphill awaited. It took a lot to keep a positive mindset but my brother, Turner, helped me keep the family in high spirits. With about an hour left in the hike, I got a bloody nose because of the high altitude, and it would not stop. I spent the rest of the hike holding toilet paper on my face until it finally stopped. Once we finally reached the top, my parents cried with joy and relief while my brother and I laughed at them crying. With low oxygen levels and temperatures at five degrees below zero, our guides made us descend after a photo.
After the hike we took one day to relax and shower. We hadn’t been able to shower for almost ten days and that shower never felt better. The next morning, my dad and brother left to go back to the states while my mom and I stayed for our next adventure.
I had the opportunity to shadow my mother and her colleagues teaching pediatric orthopedics to the resident doctors at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center. My first day at KCMC was hard on an emotional level. Patients were overflowing into the hallways as the rooms did not have enough space for them. A single room had around twelve patients with translucent curtains providing the only privacy. The normal sterile smell in hospitals in the United States was unrecognizable here. Instead, body odor and sweat filled the air. Fortunately, the work took my mind away from focusing on the misfortune. I was busy helping hold airways, entertaining children while my mom saw their sibling, and documenting the experience for the whole group, all while soaking up as much knowledge as I could. I was fortunate enough to be able to be present in the operating room. I learned how to function as a circulating nurse as they do not have those in Tanzania. I opened the suture, tied gowns, and prepared the plaster for casting. I also took on the role of DJ and photographer. This was a truly eye opening experience as I had never been in a functioning operating room before, and it solidified my decision to become a sur
geon.
After two weeks of low sleep and difficult living conditions, it was a special treat to end our trip with a safari and some much needed R&R. We saw the Big Five as well as many other animals with my favorite being the elephant. It was the last day of the safari and we still hadn’t seen an elephant but our guide, Msangi, made it his mission to find us one. It was really fun tracking the elephant by looking at footprints, poop, and smelling him downwind.
All in all, I not only learned about Africa but about myself.
Time off the Turf – Sarah Minges
Alumni Spotlight
Sarah Minges - Junior @ Davidson
Playing field hockey this fall was an extremely rewarding experience after coming off an ACL injury. I was able to play in my first collegiate season as a rookie junior. After missing out on two seasons, where I encountered many challenges, I came back even stronger than before my injury. I learned a lot about who I am as a player, teammate and communicator which has allowed me to appreciate field hockey more than ever.
Off the field, I have really enjoyed my academics where I am pursuing a major in economics and minoring in data science. Attending a small liberal arts college has exposed me to a variety of classes where I have taken courses ranging from physics, economics and even theatre (I have no acting ability at all). I have greatly appreciated the academic and career mentors I have at Davidson who have aided in my interest in economics and introduced me to a relatively new study of data science.
Outside of field hockey, I am a member of the Connor eating house at Davidson which is the Davidson form of sororities. Connor house has a large philanthropy aspect to it and a long-term history of raising money and working alongside Bosom Buddies. We raise money to primarily spread awareness for early detection of breast cancer which is known as the Earlier Breast Cancer Test. Currently, we are concentrating our efforts on the upcoming Bosom Buddies Gala on April 1st. If you are interested in learning more about Bosom Buddies please visit this link: https://earlierorg.salsalabs.org/bosombuddies2023/index.html.
Time off the Turf – Ambush Summer Interns
This summer we had several interns from different high schools join us to help Ambush get better with every idea, project and coaching assignment they had participated in! These interns joined us from June to August participating in projects around The Attic as well as helping coach camps at both our indoor and outdoor locations. They helped assist us with facility management getting The Attic organized, cleaned up and even painted the locker room with our Ambush logo. They managed the Ambush store by taking inventory of clothes, setting up the store front at the indoor location and getting clothes orders together for pickup. On our website you can see the player profile page that our interns worked on this summer to highlight the accomplishments of our athletes both on and off the field. They helped coach our youth camps and were great role models for our future field hockey stars this summer.
The 2022 Ambush Summer Interns:
Lily Adair
Claire Casey
Lauren Chotard
Olivia Crowe
Lucy Curtis
Emily Eaton
Molly Haskell
Caroline Krisko
Lauren Proicou
Virginia Olin
A quote from Lauren Chotard:
“This summer, I had fun learning how to work the Ambush website and figured out how to set up an event along with all the work that goes into it. I loved painting and had a great time putting up the Ambush logo on the wall in the entrance with the other interns even though it took awhile to put up the tape. At the summer camp, I got to engage with a lot of first-time field hockey players and had fun playing competitive games and coming up with cheers together. My favorite part was getting to know the other interns better over the weeks I was there and brainstorming ideas with them. I loved interning at Ambush and looked forward to it every day.”
We want to thank all of our summer interns for all the hard work you did and helping with all of the projects you completed this summer.
About Us
About Charlotte Ambush Field Hockey:
Ambush field hockey is a well known, respected, and high level club, growing the game of field hockey in Charlotte, NC. Since 2008, our main goals as a club is to grow the game in the south region, provide a positive environment for young athletes to develop athletically, socially and mentally, and promote high level coaching & playing. Ambush has developed from a small club into an elite level program coached by some of the most experienced coaches in the country. Ambush is proud to be the home of athletes ranging from 1st grade-12th!
At Ambush we believe in developing our young players into becoming mature athletes, whether you are familiar with the game or not, we’ve got a spot for you! Charlotte Ambush Field Hockey club is a not-for-profit organization directed by former player and current coach Miki Osherow. Osherow, a North Carolina native, was a member of the Appalachian State Field Hockey Team and has been a field hockey coach in North Carolina for 22 years. She has received honors such as Coach of the Year and USFHA Developmental Coach of the Year. Osherow started Ambush in 2008, already coaching in the area; she recognized that Charlotte had very few teams and she wanted to help grow the game. As the game evolved in the area, Osherow had a lot of players wanting to develop their game outside of the school season and she knew starting Ambush would only benefit these young players.
The Ambush Staff includes many other experienced coaches and administrators who help provide our athletes with utmost knowledge and skill needed to perform at the elite level. As many of you have heard, Charlotte has become the new home of the USA Field Hockey Women’s National Team, providing Ambush the opportunity to watch and be coached by the best players in the country. The Women’s National Team is committed to helping Ambush with clinics, individual sessions, coaching, admin, and more!
This being said, Ambush is so much more than a field hockey club. Ambush provides small groups, private lessons, college recruitment help, leadership training through our summer intern program, and lessons to become coaches and umpires. We hope you can join us as we have fun, compete, and learn the game of field hockey!
Link to Recent Club and Player Accomplishments:
Summer Small Groups 2022
Summer Small Groups Registration is LIVE! The sessions will be consistent throughout the week, as a club we want to give a variety of times and days to fit crazy summer schedules. Here is the link to sign up to get an unbeatable coaching experience:
Congratulations Nexus Selects
We are so excited and wanted to formally congratulate our Charlotte Ambush athletes selected for the 2022 Nexus Championship! This will be held in Virginia beach July.
Lucy Osherow
Commitment: Ohio State University
Grade Year: 2023
Position: Mid/Forward
High School: Providence Day School
Jersey Number: 12
GPA: 3.8 SAT/ACT:
Personal Statement:
Field Hockey Experience:
Academic Achievements:
Joey Prestidge
U19 Program Head
Sarah Krombolz
Technical Director,
U19 Program Head (outdoor)
USA Field Hockey LEVEL II Certified Coach
Started with Ambush:
2015
Three words to describe Coach Krombolz:
Grateful. Loyal. Passionate
Playing Experience:
A four-year starter at the University of Iowa, Krombolz was a 3x All-Big Ten selection, a 2x All-Region selection, and an All-American selection in 1999. In her senior campaign as team captain, she helped lead the Hawkeyes to the NCAA Final Four.
Coaching Experience:
Krombolz coached alongside Steve Jennings for the past 13 seasons at American University in Washington, D.C. (the past seven years as the Associate Head Coach). In her time at American, she helped the Eagles reach seven of the last ten NCAA Tournaments, eight consecutive Patriot League Championships, and nine straight Patriot League Regular Season Championships.
Sarah Kocmond
Business Manager
Rec League Director
USA Field Hockey LEVEL II Certified Coach
helpful, keeper, team-player
One of Coach Kocmond's Favorite Club Moments:
Manning the check-in table as Ambush hosted the RCCs and see field hockey take over Matthews Sportsplex.