Senior Spotlight: Maddie Beitler ’21
by Kelcie Zarle ’22, Staff Writer
Like many student-athletes who play fall sports at Hamilton College and at other schools across the country, Maddie Beitler ’21, a senior from Cumberland, Rhode Island, lost her fourth season on Hamilton’s field hockey team after it was cancelled due to COVID-19. Beitler, an Environmental Studies major and Education minor, came to Hamilton with hopes of playing four years on both the women’s field hockey and ice hockey teams. Though her last season on the field didn’t play out as she had hoped, she is optimistic that she will be able to have some sort of senior season on the ice–however that might look.
As a forward for the past three seasons, Beitler was able to perform exceptionally well on the field, scoring a total 14 career goals and two career assists. During her junior season, she led the team with eight goals, scoring two goals in games against both Bates and Williams Smith. Beitler’s favorite memory on the team also came during last year’s season when they beat Bowdoin 2–1 in the NESCAC semifinals.
Despite her season being cancelled, Beitler and her teammates have still been able to practice in a socially distant manner. The Spectator spoke with Beitler to discuss her thoughts on the season’s cancellation and to get a sense of what is being done to allow her and her fellow seniors to experience field hockey one last time.
The Spectator: How did you hear that the season was being cancelled and what was your reaction when you first got the news?
Beitler: I saw the email that the athletic department sent the school and I got a few texts from teammates. My first reaction was not that strong because I saw it coming as other leagues had been cancelling the fall season.
The Spectator: When did it fully settle in that there would be no season?
Beitler: I think the first time it really set in was when I got to campus and my first week wasn’t filled with fitness testing, two-a-day practices and team gatherings at Coach Mariano’s house. The beginning of this year just feels so different in every single way and this made it really settle in that our season would be different as well.
The Spectator: You’re still doing workouts despite the season being cancelled, so what do these workouts or practices look like?
Beitler: Yes, I lift 3–4 times a week, I am doing the lifts that our strength coach made for the hockey team (with hopes that hockey season can happen in some form), and we have field hockey practice 3 times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We are split into two separate practice times, must stay six feet apart during drills and must wear masks. The weirdest part is that we can’t touch the balls or cones, so our coaches have to do a lot more work setting up drills than usual.
The Spectator: How are other seniors and your coaches handling the news?
Beitler: Due to the rules at school, I haven’t been able to spend much time with the entire senior class, but I do live near one of them so we have been able to talk quite a bit–we are both just taking things as they come and trying to make the best of it all. My coach has just been really thankful that we are able to practice as a team at all. Her positivity has been very helpful in making practices fun and helping the team not feel too down about the loss of our season.
The Spectator: Some high schools are allowing fall sports, including field hockey, to be played. Do you think the NESCAC did the right thing in cancelling the season?
Beitler: I think the NESCAC did the right thing because even though it really sucks for us, our situation is very different from many high school situations. We are all coming from different places around the country and our games require us to travel pretty far which would increase the chances of an outbreak at Hamilton being brought from other schools. And, considering other NESCACs have already had COVID cases–while Hamilton still has none–I think they made the right decision that is fair to students who are not athletes and who also want to be able to stay on campus through the semester.
The Spectator: Is there any advice you would give to winter or spring season athletes that might face having their seasons cancelled?
Beitler: I would say that while having the season cancelled is not ideal obviously, you have to remember the real reasons that you play sports and dedicate so much time to them. Even without games to play you can still spend time with your teammates, compete against them, push yourself to be better and enjoy the sport that you love.
As a two-sport athlete, Beitler remains positive about her senior ice hockey season and hopes she will be able to experience it in some form–just as she is experiencing her field hockey season now. She is thankful she can still see her teammates and coaches in some capacity and will miss it a lot next year. Her contributions on and off the field as a student-athlete at Hamilton will definitely be missed in the years to come.
