SOFIA CASTORE

Playing Field Hockey at Harvard University Fall of 2020
Roberts Elementary (K - 4th Grade)
AOS (5th - 8th Grade)​
St. John's School (2016 - 2020) Varsity Junior & Senior year
​
Profile Link
From Sofia: 
Favorite Field Hockey Memory? Why?
  • My favorite memory is probably my first tournament. It was freshman year RCCs and I was super nervous, but it ended up being pretty fun(despite the unimaginable heat that we always get during RCCs) and I started getting close to all the people on the team! As I look back now it’s crazy to remember that we weren’t always as close!
 
What was your most exciting recruiting experience?
  • My most exciting recruiting experience was for sure when Tina first said that Harvard had shown interest in me!!    

Why are you playing field hockey in college?
  • I really enjoy the sport! And it provides an element of discipline and also the team aspect and your teammates becoming good friends is really something I enjoyed and am looking forward to continue!!

What have you been doing to prepare?
  • I have been using the Peloton app to do some running and strength workouts. As well as doing footwork in my backyard and working on reaction time and explosion.

If you could give one piece of advice to younger girls who want to play field hockey in college, what would it be?
  • Don’t compare your process to other’s!! Everyones recruiting process looks different and things happen at different times for different people. Be happy for your friends, but also don’t worry too much about what they are doing!!

Who was the most influential person in high school?
  • Tina!! And all the older girls (especially Jaya-She encouraged me to start playing pride)

​Favorite post practice/ game snack?
  • Peanut butter and apples

What pre game rituals do you use to hype yourself up before a game?
  • Usually I will have someone braid my hair into two pigtails and listen to music and try to get as energetic as possible with the team.

What made you want to be a college field hockey player?
  • How much fun the sport is and just wanting to be able to play at a higher level. As well as all the amazing people you get meet!!

What was one of the toughest experiences?
  • It was a u16 indoor qualifier and it was the game to determine if we would be in the first wave or second and we were winning in the first half and the second half really did not our way and we ended up losing by one goal

Year you began playing field hockey? How?
  • I started playing in 6th grade at my middle school (AOS). And I started playing Pride the spring of my freshman year
​From Tina:
Favorite Sofia Moment (old) / why?:
  • Before Sofia played with us, I remember seeing her play in Middle School for AOS. She was good. With no actual fh goalie training, she was very comfortable in the cage and super quick. We didn't have any players from AOS at the time, so I just assumed we'd never see her.  A year later, she joined us in the spring of her freshmen year.  I was very pleased to see her at tryouts that spring.  She had a ton of potential then, and isn't close to her ceiling now. 

Favorite Sofia moment (new)/ why?
  • Sofia grew so much the fall and winter of her Junior year - it was almost like she found her voice on the field.  She was on our U16 team that Fall and was a great leader for a team that did much better at Festival than we expected.  Most of their success was due to her.  That winter season, she aged up and by the end of the season, she was exceptional.  It was impressive how much she grew over those 6 months.  Part of it was confidence, but a lot of it was just her natural ability to rise to the situation and be her best.  It was finally her time.   
  • Also, I love at GK practices how Sofia shoots it straight.  Always.  

Story we will forever tell about Sofia:
  • ​Sofia didn't make varsity at St. John's until her Junior year of high school. That happens in goalie world- you wait your turn.  It doesn't matter what teams you're on...she determined her own success. She was almost committed to college before she made her varsity team. 
  • Sofia is a great teammate and friend.  As a coach, it's incredible to have players who know when to listen to others and pick them up when they need some help. Sofia has done this countless times making a tremendous impact on some of her teammates.  

Favorite Sofia recruiting moment/ why?
  • Sofia waited for what she wanted.  Harvard is a very tough place to be recruited by and they have a certain path.  This one for Sofia was requiring her to wait a few months more and she was completely wiling to do it knowing the risk that it might not work out.  It did, and she was ecstatic to get what she always wanted.  

GK memory of Sofia / why?
  • Our goalie world is special, but it is not always easy.  You switch teams, sometimes play with kids younger than you, get 17 minutes on the field...it's tough.  Sofia has been through the ringer of this from playing with kids 3 years younger than her to being on amazing teams and then horrible teams. Regardless of the situation, she always made the best of it by always playing her best, taking ownership of her success and failures, and being a great leader for those around her.  We will always tell people how Sofia found success no matter what the situation was.  

2020 Goalies​ (Amelia, Annabel & Sofia)
  • Our goalies for 2020 are very special. We have three of them going off to college this fall who have trained together consistently for three years.  While they have always been competition for each other, they have taught each other so many things.  They've changed coaches many times going from super structured coaching to lax individualized coaching and I've picked up the pieces in between.  From all of the change, each of them owned their development and created a learning environment with open critique and self assessment. Open critique from teammates and deliberate practice through self assessment is so hard to accept and learn as a teenager.  This training environment set a standard for our program that will last for years to come.  I will always remember this group for embracing the change and making a lasting impact on our program.  Thank you.