Field Hockey

Friday Focus with Emma Rider

Drew University | Field Hockey

TOWSON, Md. - Friday Focus is the Landmark Conference’s weekly student-athlete spotlight, giving us a chance to get to know the people who make up our conference both on and off the field.

This week, we’re catching up with Drew University field hockey student-athlete Emma Rider, who reflects on the bond she shares with her teammates, how her understanding of leadership has evolved, and the impact she hopes to leave on the program. As she enters her senior year, Emma also looks back on the small moments with her teammates that have made her time at Drew so meaningful.

Every team has its own personality. What makes your team unique, and why do you enjoy competing alongside your teammates?
A huge part of the reason I came to Drew in the first place is that it immediately felt like home and a safe space. Drew University Field Hockey is a special program. Being apart of this team means gaining 22 new sisters and people that care for one another and sure know how to compete. What is so unique about Drew field hockey is our ability to create such an amazing bond and welcoming atmosphere that bleeds onto the field and we use that as a big strength to our advantage. I know for a fact that any one of these girls is there for me and any of us on and off the field, and a big reason why I love to compete alongside my teammates is that I love seeing them succeed, and in turn that means we are all succeeding and working together to make new strides every day.

Which teammate or teammates have had the biggest impact on your experience, and why?
I want to highlight my fellow seniors and senior class for this one. We started 2023 with a handful of us, and through different circumstances and opportunities, it is now the four of us. Coming in as freshman, we all had a really tight bond and leaned on each other through this new world of college and athletics. Fast forward to this year, I want to acknowledge senior defender Liriana Seferovic, senior defender Carolyn Brown, and forward Caroline Larsen. I think that, in ways, our class and what we have gone through during our time here has impacted my experience in a positive way. With the program changing each year, you learn that sometimes the only people that understand change are the ones that have been there from the beginning. So, this is a cheers and thank you to my girls.

How has your understanding of leadership evolved during your time as a student-athlete?
Coming in as a freshman, I felt it was easy for me to just work hard play and let that do any talking it needs to. Ive always been a silent leader and as I have gotten older and gotten through the program over the years, stepping into a leadership role and my idea of leadership had to evolve and that also mean learning how to use my voice more. I have learned to trust my voice, and that aside from my voice, the most important thing that I have learned to understand about leadership here at my time at Drew is that you lead not only through how you play but how you are just as a human. I get really hard on myself about having off days, when I believe I should be on every day to show my younger teammates, but the main idea here is "student-athlete." We aren't just athletes, we are people, and aren't perfect. Being a leader means being a good human and guiding the younger teammates to be the best person they can be on the field, but also in the classroom, and being there for them as they go through their years here.

When you think about your time with your team, what memory immediately comes to mind and why?
Its small, but to me it's most impactful and always my favorite, but I look forward to our time after practice going to get dinner after practice and the time before after practice in the locker room where we can all just decompress and are our most authentic selves listening and dancing to music and just being girls together. I look forward to that most in my day and love those moments with my teammates.

What do you hope younger teammates remember about your impact on the program?
I hope that from being apart of Drew Field Hockey, that my younger teammates remember to be their best cheerleader and understand that it is ok to make mistakes and that how you carry yourself and how you respond to them is what matters so much more than the mistake itself. As long as you show up, give as much effort as you have, have fun, receive feedback from teammates and coaches and be there and support your teammates, that will get you so much farther than you think on the field, but most importantly, in life.

Fast Five...
Who controls the locker room playlist?
Junior defender Samantha Izzo is our playlist controller in the locker room. She knows how to get the team pumped up and loose and having a good time before game time. Those locker room concerts are definitely a team favorite!!

Who's the funniest teammate?
Samantha Izzo. You can always count on her to get a good laugh out of you whether it be a dance, an impression, or anything in between. She's a hard worker and can make anyone smile.

Who would make the best coach?
I think Junior midfielder Ellie Kopec would make the best coach. She has been playing this sport for a very long time and has a really good knowledge of the game.

Favorite team tradition?
My favorite team tradition would be our team dinner and corn hole tournament at our Coaches house. It is something I look forward to every year, mostly because I am very competitive lol, but it's also just a great way for us all to get off of campus and disconnect from field hockey in preseason and strengthen our bond more and more. That is definitely something I will miss being apart of.

One word to describe your team?
Resilient. We are a team that can take any kinds of hits and stand up and keep punching.