She may not be from Toronto, but after five years on the women’s field hockey team, captain Hannah Tighe now proudly says, “I’ll always be a Varsity Blue.”
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do in school; I just knew I wanted to play field hockey at the university level,” Tighe admits. “So I looked at good schools with good field hockey programs, and U of T was definitely one of the ones that came up.
“The best part was the fact that I arrived here August 20, and on August 21, I had 18 friends. I had my team. I met my teammates, we started our pre-season, and they’ve been my friends ever since then. My teammates guided me in school … Any questions that I had, especially the ones I felt stupid going to the registrar and asking, they were there to help me.”
Tighe, a European Studies major, found swift success with the Blues. The team won the CIS championship in her first year, and her impact was immediate. “In [a game during] her first year, she ran 50 yards to save a goal,” head coach John De Souza recalls. “She then carried the ball back 50 yards and helped us score the game-winning goal to win the CIS championship in 2007, our first together. That’s when I knew she was going to be an impact player.”
The Blues followed up that championship-winning season with two consecutive fifth-place finishes at CIS championships. “It was hard, especially as I came in in my first year and we won, I was just sort of along for the ride,” Tighe says. “I feel like I rode the coattails of the vets who knew what it took to win a championship, and knew how much effort went into it … It was hard to face the reality that it’s not given — you have to really earn it and work really hard.”
Tighe was named one of the team’s captains in her third year; her work ethic and leadership skills made her an obvious choice. “Being captain in my third year … was a pretty big honour. Having the respect of my teammates and my coaches, wanting to give me that responsibility: it’s something that I’ll take away and [that] I learned a lot from.”
The Blues clearly learned their lessons — in Tighe’s fourth year, the team won an improbable CIS gold. “Going into the championships, we were the underdogs,” Tighe explains. “No one really expected much of us. We peaked at the perfect time [and] everything fell into place perfectly.
“Going into this year, [my mentality] was to savour every bit of it. No regrets. I wanted to leave a positive mark on the program and help the rookies and the younger players understand what it means to really immerse yourself in the team and be a part of something that’s so amazing.”
[pullquote]Tighe is positive that great things lie ahead for the women’s field hockey program[/pullquote]
Unfortunately, Tighe’s final season did not end as planned. She considers the disappointing fourth place finish at this year’s CIS championships as the low point of her time with the Blues, but she is trying to remain positive. “Losing that bronze medal game was devastating,” she admits. “I was really upset. It’s hard to end my career on a low note like that but I keep reminding myself that I’ve had this great career.”
As for her future, Tighe has several paths to choose from, but no decisions have been made yet. “I’m still figuring out what I’m going to do come December, when I’m done classes,” she says. “I’ve been looking into doing nursing school. That’s my ‘Plan A’ at the moment but that might change.” No matter where she ends up, Tighe is adamant that she’ll “always be a Varsity Blue.”
So is this the end for Tighe and field-hockey? “No. I don’t know what I’m going to next, but no, I’m definitely not done. There’s the national team option,” she says. “I’ve been to a couple of camps and been identified as a potential [candidate] to make the national team.
“It’s a matter of doing the work and committing to that path, and I haven’t decided if I want to take that route. [Then] there’s always the option of going overseas and playing. There are a lot of high-level club teams that I could play for, and that would be an amazing opportunity, but right now, I don’t know.”
Tighe is positive that great things lie ahead for the women’s field hockey program. Only three players from this year’s team will be leaving, and Tighe knows her teammates are headed in the right direction. “The sky is the limit, honestly. The CIS rookie of the year [Amanda Woodcroft] is one of our own; last year’s athlete of the year [Kaelan Watson] has another year in her. “We had amazing rookies last year, and they’re just going to keep getting better … I think that in the future, the work ethic is going to keep increasing and they’re going to do amazing. As much as I like to think they’ll miss me when I’m gone, they’ll be fine without me. I’ll be on the sidelines cheering them on.”
After spending five seasons with the team, the time has come to close this chapter of her life. “It feels like I’m losing part of my identity,” she says. “This team has been my life for the past 5 years. I don’t know Toronto, I don’t know the University of Toronto without the Varsity Blues Field Hockey team.
Coach De Souza recognizes Tighe as the type of player a coach doesn’t come across every day. “I have seen many athletes go through this program. Every now and then, a special one will come along and impact you as much as you impact them. I will miss Hannah as a player and leader. She brought the best all the time, which forced this staff to do the same.
“Hannah has been reliable, helped me stay on track and organized, but most of all, always put the team first. She has made being a Varsity Blue field hockey player something to be proud of. She led from the front in all aspects and worked hard not to be the best on the team but the best in the country.”
