Seitzer trying to keep Windham field hockey heading in right direction

Jaidyn Seitzer almost had a very short field hockey career.

Growing up, the Windham High School senior took a try at every sport, going from soccer to softball to lacrosse.

Finally, when she reached seventh grade, she decided it was time to give field hockey a try.

"My aunt played field hockey in college," Seitzer said. "When I got to middle school, when you could start playing, she was like ‘why don’t you just try it.’ I actually didn’t make the team my seventh-grade year."

Instead of giving up for another sport, Seitzer stayed with the team as a manager, and then made the squad the following year. But it wasn't until she arrived at the high school that things started to change for her.

"My eighth-grade year, I was just like all right, I’ll go play again, they’re my friends," she said. "It was fun. When I got into freshman year, I started to take it a lot more seriously. Sophomore year, I started playing club heavily, which helped a lot."

That fall, she saw occasional minutes with Windham's varsity team, but was on the sideline when the Jaguars advanced to the Division I championship game, where they ended up losing to Dover.

Despite not playing a big role on the varsity during her first two years, Windham coach Sophia Poulin could see that Seitzer, who is committed to play at Dean College next year, was going to be someone the Jaguars could rely on when it was her time to step into the lineup.

"She was a very hard-working girl, made JV, and we pretty quickly took note of her," Poulin said. "Her work ethic is just unmatched. Her dedication and the way she searches for opportunities to better herself, yes, she persevered, but that mental game, she has come so far in. Her confidence, her leadership, as the first class I’ve had from freshman to senior, it’s so heartwarming to see she’s found her footing."

Some of that confidence came from how Seitzer spent the spring of her sophomore year, when classmates convinced her to return to lacrosse. Although she had started playing when she was young, lacrosse hadn't felt like the right fit and Seitzer didn't play as a freshman.

"My friends were like ‘we need a goalie, can you please come play’ and I was like, all right, I’ve got nothing else to do," she said. "I used to play in the field growing up. It was mentally tough (being a goalie).

"You are the last line of defense, so when that goal is scored, you kind of feel like it’s all your fault. It’s hard to get over that initially. I had a really good support system. There are moments you get hit with the ball super hard and you just want to go on the bench. It’s mentally challenging."

Seitzer got over it enough to help the Jaguars win the program's first championship in nine years.

But once that season was over, it was time to get back to field hockey.

"I never fully understood why she stopped playing lacrosse after that," Poulin said. "She told me, 'I have too much field hockey to play.' As someone who has dedicated her life to field hockey, that is a great answer for me. I urge them to play other sports, but a kid like that, who takes advantage of other field hockey opportunities, that answer made sense. I think it was the only answer that could have made sense from her."

Going into last season, Seitzer knew that the Jaguars were trying to replace a talented senior class with a lot of inexperienced players. Windham was going to take its lumps, and it did, going 6-10 before falling to Concord in the first round of the Division I playoffs.

Throughout the season, Seitzer would try to find the silver lining for the Jaguars.

"She has the drive, she has the want to be successful, but she also has the understanding that success doesn’t mean championship," Poulin said. "She would find the small wins for us. We’d be hanging our heads, and she was always the one who would be like ‘yeah, but … .’"

For Seitzer, it wasn't just about trying to find the positives, but also to try to remember the reason her and her teammates and coaches were there.

"It’s a high school sport, it’s supposed to be fun, you’re supposed to love it," she said. "The best part is that all these girls, we come here and we have such a good time together. You’re part of a team, you have teammates and coaches who are there for you. Just being with my friends, knowing I have that safe space on the team, I think that’s great."