Tara Smith '20 Recruiting Profile

I have been playing goalkeeper since the 5th grade. After an unbelievable freshman season where I  won the starting Varsity GK spot, my high school, West Essex, won the Group 2 State Championship, with a 24-1 record with 16 shutouts and we won the Tournament of Champions! I earned 2nd team All-State and 1st team All-Group.  I studied TaeKwonDo for 4 years so I have very good flexibility. My school studies are very important to me and I aspire to be a Psychology or Biology major in college. I am looking for a school that will challenge me in academics and field hockey and my goal is to help my team win a National Championship!

In my first year in U14 Futures, I was chosen to attend the National Futures Championship, where my team Squaw Valley won the bronze medal.  At 2017 Futures, I was selected to Stars and Stripes, Junior National Camp and the Junior Olympics!

As I continue to develop as a goalkeeper, I am always learning new things about myself. For example, I realized that I am a very good leader and enjoy being a part of a team that is closely knit. Also, I learned that making mistakes is okay, and learning from them is the best way to make a person better. I love being able to see everything on the field and having the ability to communicate to my teammates about the direction of the game and when plays are unfolding. Watching my older sister play field hockey in high school and college sparked my interest in goalkeeping at a very young age. I began to play and totally fell in love with the sport.