Senior Lindsey Brown is a seasoned field hockey veteran on the United States National U18 team for the second year in a row. 

During the past two years, Brown has gone through a series of rigorous tryouts with fewer players making it through each round until the national team is selected. Brown and her teammates from around the country are traveling to Spain from April 14-22, with the mixed U18 and U16 teams to play in a Five Nations tournament against England, Poland, Scotland and Spain. 

Brown first found out she made this year’s team when she was in the bathroom at Exceed Sports Performance & Fitness in Westborough and received an email from the team. When she walked out her trainers were the first people she saw and they celebrated together.

“It was nice because my trainers at Exceed have also got me to this point, so it was nice to share a success with them,” Brown said.

Brown has multiple teammates who are returning from last year’s team, but the majority of the players are from the rising U16 team.

“I’m like what they would say: the experienced ones, our coach called us in air quotations, ‘You are the veterans,’” Brown said. “‘You’re the sole ones that haven’t aged out yet.’”

While Brown is now among the top players in the nation, she didn’t play field hockey her whole life like many other players. Brown has played ice hockey since she was 8 years old, but her mom suggested picking up another sport. Brown started playing field hockey in sixth grade where she transferred her love for hockey from the ice to the field. 

“When I was first transitioning, it was hard for me because I was a lefty in ice hockey, but you can only play righty in field hockey,” said Brown. 

Brown started playing field hockey at Tahanto Regional High School in Boylston where she got pulled up to the varsity team when she was in sixth grade. There she met coach Deb Draper and Coach K who helped her develop her skills.

“It’s easier to learn and hard to master, and once I got it, I became obsessed with trying to master [the sport],” Brown said. 

Brown was introduced to international field hockey in 2023 during her sophomore year when she was invited to participate in a series of four National team tryouts, and she was good enough to make the final round of tryouts. Although she didn’t make the U16 team, Brown saw all the talent on the team and it pushed her to focus on growing as a player.

A year later, as a junior, she made the U18 team that began with open call tryouts at the College of the Holy Cross and ended with her earning a spot after the last rounds of evaluation. The team traveled to Belgium to play in a Four Nations tournament against Belgium, France and Poland. 

“It was just an unreal experience being able to see myself succeed in an atmosphere like that and push myself, but also to be so considerably challenged because these girls definitely have been playing since they could walk,” Brown said. “I was like, wow!’”

The team first played in a scrimmage where Brown did not play at all because in the tournament at least three players had to sit out as reserve players. However, Brown ended up not just playing, but starting every single game of the tournament. 

“I just remember stepping on the field and the first three passes and being like this is not the same as the field hockey in America,” Brown said.

The Four Nations tournament ended with the US falling short in the finals against Belgium. Despite her successes on the international stage, Brown doesn’t feel pressure from her peers or coaches at Algonquin to be the best.

“I knew a lot of people were watching my games and stuff, but I didn’t feel the pressure if I made a mistake it was the end of the world,” Brown said. 

ARHS field hockey school coach Dan Welty appreciates that Brown is always willing to put in extra work on her own. He also said that Brown’s intensity in practices makes her stick out from other players he has coached. Welty did notice that playing on the national level did have an impact on her play at Algonquin. 

“That experience really gave her background on how to read the other team and set plays when you are playing at that high of a level,” Welty said via email.

The first steps of returning to the U18 team took place this February in North Carolina. Due to a cancellation in January, the majority of the roster was announced for a practice in March and for the tournament in Europe this month. 

“I would say this year is a lot different because we actually have a whole camp to train as a team together, which I think will be more beneficial and hopefully we’ll get better outcomes,” Brown said.

The team consists of girls from all over the country, and among the friends she made were her teammate and roommate Merrit Skubisz who will play at the University of North Carolina next year. She also met teammates Anna Krebs and Juliana Boon, who Brown will join at Northwestern University in the fall.

“I was able to meet them and form a really good relationship with them and when I go to Northwestern, I’ll know some of the people already,” Brown said.

Brown is planning to play at Division I school, Northwestern; a powerhouse program that won the National Championship in 2021. The recruitment process started on June 15, 2023 when Brown got eight emails from coaches once it hit midnight. The only college on the top of the list for Brown and her family was Northwestern 

“When we got the text [from Northwestern] that this could be reality, me playing for the top program, it was just surreal,” Brown said.“The fact that they thought I was good enough and they reached out to me was just reinforcing.” 

As Brown sets off to Europe in April, she has some short term and long term goals. Short term she looks forward to studying at Northwestern while trying to make an impact and win some National Championships with the team.

“Field hockey has given me the opportunity to go to a high class school and just travel the world, which I’m so blessed for,” Brown said. 

Long term, Brown hopes to continue to represent the United States on the field.

“I would say my long term big goal for all of this is to one day play for the Olympic team which would be amazing, but there’s definitely a long process to get there,” Brown said. “So we’ll just see; maybe those goals will change, but that’s like my ultimate end goal right now.”

Brown has already succeeded in playing at the highest levels of field hockey, but there have definitely been struggles throughout her journey. One of those moments occurred when Brown wanted to quit only two weeks into playing field hockey. 

“[Now] I would tell myself just because it’s hard doesn’t mean you have to give up,” Brown said.