Kaitlyn Chang

Playing Field Hockey at Yale University Fall of 2024
St. Johns School (2013 - 2024)

Profile Link

From Kaitlyn:
1.Favorite Field Hockey Memory? Why?

My favorite field hockey memory was my senior year when we won 2nd place at the National Club Championship. It is the highest that Pride has ever placed at NCCs, and I was very proud of how my team battled throughout the tournament. It was a great way to end my Pride career!

2.What was your most exciting recruiting experience?

My most exciting recruiting experience was on June 15th when I knew that Yale was interested in me. They were my first call of the day and my first offer!

3.Why are you playing field hockey in college?

I am playing field hockey in college because it has become such a huge part of my life. Field hockey has taught me discipline, determination, and hard work, and I am very excited for the opportunity to play at the next level.

4.What have you done this summer to prepare?

To prepare for college field hockey, I consistently train at the fields, condition, and lift weights. I also am playing in the National Nexus Championship.

5.If you could give one piece of advice to younger girls who want to play field hockey in college, what would it be?

My advice to younger girls who want to play field hockey in college is to always give your 100%. Whether you're at practice, at a tournament, or practicing by yourself, give all your effort to every session because hard work will pay off.

6.Who was the most influential person in high school?

My older sister Megan was definitely the most influential. She started playing field hockey during her freshman year, and her recruiting process was during COVID. Even with that, she became an outstanding player and is excelling at Johns Hopkins. She showed me what it means to be a hard worker.

7.Favorite post practice/ game snack?

8.What pre game rituals do you use to hype yourself up before a game?

9.What made you want to be a college field hockey player?

Ever since I joined Pride, field hockey has been one of my biggest passions. I love the competition and the thrill of playing against top-level players, and college is the perfect place for me to pursue my passion.

10.What was one of the toughest experiences?

One of the toughest experiences was fracturing my jaw during my junior year. I couldn't eat solid foods or work out for 2 months, and I had to miss NCCs and Nexus Nationals that summer. It took time for me to regain my fitness and confidence in my skills and abilities.

11.Year you began playing field hockey? How?

I began playing field hockey at the beginning of 9th grade because my older sister had recently joined Pride and loved it.

From Tina:
Favorite Kaitlyn Moment (old) / why?:

Kaitlyn started playing with us during Covid. Her first Fall, she ended up on our U19 team before she joined the U16's that winter. The speed of her development was incredible. She started the fall and was a decent player who needed a lot of fundamental work. By the time she joined our U16 team that winter/ spring, she was one of our center mids. Kaitlyn worked endlessly on her own outside of practice to develop her skills. She is the best examply that even high school beginners can become great players if they work really hard at it during practice and on their own.

Favorite Kaitlyn moment (new)/ why?

We missed Kaitlyn at NCC in 2023 due to an injury. However, she made herself known at NCC in 2024. She had a phenomenal tournament and spring season. Her quickness, individual defense, decision making under pressure, vision and overall game made a huge impact on the success of our team coming in 2nd place at NCC. The other impressive thing for Kaitlyn was at Disney this year. She was extremely sick. She still came to the tournament, played minimally for the first two days, but then played as much as she could on the final day. It was impressive how committed she was to her team and their success to play for how sick she was. We still came in 2nd place overall

Story we will forever tell about Kaitlyn:

Kaitlyn is the best example of hard work pays off. She went from a beginner field hockey player her freshmen year of high school to a 1st Team All American her senior year. That is an unbelievable feat. Her discipline and ability to work on her own helped her become the great player she is today. Kaitlyn works every day to be the best she can be. Even after she committed and has accomplished so many great things, she is still out there everyday working on her skills. We are so proud of Kaitlyn and will always talk about her transformation from beginner to All American in such a short time.

Favorite Mackenzie recruiting moment/ why?

Kaitlyn went into her sophomore spring and was being recruited, but not very actively. However, Kaitlyn was in a really impressive development 'spurt' that spring. Every time a coach saw her play, she looked better and better. To the point that by June, she was so good that whenever a coach would watch her, they were all like...I want her. She had four ivy league offers within two weeks of June 15th and had her choice of schools for college. Yale was very excited to get Kaitlyn.

First memory of Mackenzie/ why?

I remember when Kaitlyn first started playing. Her mom would send her to a Beginner camp we used to host at St. John's when Kaitlyn was in elementary school. Kaitlyn was a very talented athlete. Her mom always wanted us to make the camp more challenging for Kaitlyn, but it was a beginner camp :) Her girls were just so athletic and had so much potential. I remember thinking...if this kid ever plays with us, she's going to be exceptional.