Catching Up With Hallie Brost

1/9/2022

All she wanted was a bit of playing time.

After all, this was Hallie Brost’s first official college field hockey game, and a scrimmage a few days earlier had given her a taste of the speed and intensity of competing at the next level.

She was a true freshman just a few months separated from her stellar high school career, and she knew full well that the learning curve could be steep.

And this was Ohio State – Division I, the Big Ten, Power 5 – quite a step up and 500 miles away from the familiarity and comfort of Collegiate’s Robins Campus and the other venues around the Commonwealth where the past five years she’d displayed her talent and athleticism in both her sport of choice and lacrosse.

Yet here she was on Friday, August 27, in the visiting team room at Ball State in Muncie, IN, watching intently as Coach Jarred Martin posted the roster of starters and backups for the Buckeyes’ opener, perusing the names on the list, wishing, hoping, wondering what opening day would bring.

“I had a very open mind,” the 2021 Collegiate graduate said one morning recently. “Our coach sets up the subbing beforehand so you know if you’re going to be playing or not. I was like, I hope I get to sub in for like five minutes each quarter. I just remember so distinctly. My eyes went directly to the subbing sheet. I didn’t even focus on the starting lineup. I thought, Oh, my name’s not even on there. Then I looked over, and I was on the starting lineup. It was, Oh, my gosh! It was a complete and utter surprise to me.”

Hallie’s athletic journey began when she was six years old when she joined Collegiate’s Tallyho program where her mom Jennifer served as a coach. She made the JV as a seventh grader, moved on to varsity the next year and started throughout her career, first as a midfielder and eventually as center back. Along the way, she competed for the elite Saints Field Hockey Club based in Virginia Beach. As a sophomore, she played on the U17 Junior National Team in events at such high-profile venues at Duke, University of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and University of Virginia.

Each spring, she played lacrosse, first on the JV as a middle schooler, then as a four-year varsity starter, first as a midfielder and later as an attack.

In both sports, she earned multiple All-League of Independent Schools, All-VISAA, and All-Metro honors and as a senior was a US Lacrosse All-American. She was the recipient of the 2021 Reed Athletic Award, an honor based on leadership, cooperation, sportsmanship, and ability.

In her first college season when OSU finished 7-11, Hallie played in all 18 of the Buckeyes’ game as a forward, contributed six points (two goals, two assists), and gained a wealth of wisdom, knowledge, and experience.

What follows are some thoughts and reflections about her journey.

What’s kept you engaged in field hockey and motivated you to improve?

Obviously, I really love the sport, and it was setting goals. In 6^th grade, it was, Make the JV. Then, it was, Focus on the varsity. Then, it was, Where am I going to play in college? I knew that was something I wanted to pursue.

Why Ohio State?

I went on my official visit with my parents (Jennifer and Michael) before my junior year. Went to a football game, got to experience the team, be with the coaching staff, see the facilities. Immediately fell in love with it and committed that weekend. You’re not going to get a better coaching staff. Coach Martin is a great guy, a great coach. I’m very lucky to be training with him every day.

Speak about the transition from high school star to college rookie.

As a freshman, you’re always a little bit timid and afraid to step on anybody’s toes. That was me at the beginning of the season. I didn’t want to cause any drama. First, I was super quiet and just tried to learn my way. As the season went on, I began to get more comfortable speaking up and expressing my opinion. I try to be supportive but not overbearing.

What makes field hockey fun?

I love the speed of play. It’s very free flowing where anyone can go anywhere. It’s very open to your own interpretation. You can kind of pick your own style of play.

Did you feel prepared for the transition to college athletics both as an athlete and member of a new team?

Yes, Collegiate does a very good job preparing athletes in terms of strength and conditioning. The speed of the game is so much different. You can play as much high school field hockey as you want, but it’s never going to be the same as it is in college because you’re playing with such amazing players across the board. The upperclassmen made it super easy for us freshmen to be integrated into the program. They’d been there themselves. They knew it wasn’t easy and how mentally and physically exhausting it is. They were super supportive through it all.

Were you prepared for the academics?

Totally. Collegiate did a very good job teaching us about time management. Now that I’m in college, it’s actually a lot more structured. When we’re traveling, we miss classes, but we have academic advisors, academic coaches, and tutors you have to communicate with to make sure you’re still on top of things.

Any particular subject area in which you felt best prepared?

English. I had to take a freshman English class. I went through so many things we’d already talked about so many times like primary and secondary sources and annotated bibliographies. Writing an analytical research paper was the whole premise of the class. That was something I’d done since 8^th grade. Collegiate does a good job teaching and preparing students when it comes to writing.

Speak about dealing with the intensity and heightened expectations at the Division I level.

It was tough at times. Mental health for college athletes is something I didn’t really think about until I was in the midst of it. Towards the end, we were not having a great season, we were intense, and our coaches were intense. The grind, when you’re successful, is really easy. But when you start to get on the other end of things and everyone’s intense and looking for us to be more robust, that’s when it kind of got hard. But I’m grateful for it all.

What lessons did you take from this year that you’ll apply going forward?

I’m definitely more comfortable with our coaching staff, the team, our strength and conditioning, the environment. It’s very daunting going into a college experience in general, but adding sports is even more daunting. Now that I’ve gone through it, it’s OK. I know what to expect. I know what my teammates and coaches expect of me. I’ll be starting out strong rather than finding my way.

What advice would you give the younger generation considering playing sports in college?

As long as you put the work in and know confidently that this is something that you want to do, there’s no reason why you can’t. One thing people always ask me is, How do I know I want to play in college, knowing how difficult it can be? I always asked myself, This is my last season playing Collegiate field hockey. Can I imagine myself not playing after this year? My answer was, No. For me, that’s how I knew. It’s challenging, but in the end, being with the team and the people you love to hang out with every day, playing a sport you love…it’s all worth it.

~ Weldon Bradshaw

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