Millstone’s Leck selected to play at Junior Olympics
By george albano
Staff Writer

JERRY WOLKOWITZ Millstone’s Lindsey Leck practices shooting into a net her father made for her in her back yard, as she prepares for the upcoming Junior Olympics in Tennessee.

The high school girls’ field hockey season doesn’t even begin for another two months.

But for Allentown High School’s Lindsey Leck, the future is now. More specific, the "Futures" is now.

Leck, a 15-year-old Millstone resident, has been taking part in the national Futures program for field hockey this summer, and has advanced all the way to the Junior Olympics which will take place Aug. 4-11 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Leck, who will be entering her sophomore year at AHS, was one of 5,000 girls across the nation to participate in the Futures program, a selection process which began with regional competitions in the under-16 and U-19 age groups.

The intense and highly competitive one-day regional tournament Leck took part in was in early June at Kean University in Union. Just getting invited to that was an honor, but approximately 500 girls from all the regional tournaments were selected, based on their play, to go to the national tournament, which was held July 4-7 at the National Training Center for Field Hockey in Virginia. Leck was one of the 250 selected in the under-16 age group.

"You play in a lot of games at the regional tournament," Leck explained. "They randomly picked teams so everyone plays, and then they watch you play."

At least Leck knew what to expect this year. She admits she was a bit more relaxed after having gone through the same process a year ago when she was invited to the regional tournament as a 14-year-old.

"It was definitely easier than last year," she said. "I read the handbook this year which helped. It said how the committee looks at the first few games more closely, and writes notes when they see things that stand out.

"So they might write your name down and follow you the rest of the tournament."

Leck definitely opened some eyes with her stellar play, and was off to Virginia next. The level of competition there was even higher with players from all over the country converging, but Leck more than held her own.

"I was very nervous, but I thought I played pretty good," she said.

Good enough, in fact, to help her team win one particular game. Tied at the end regulation, the squads went to penalty strokes, and Leck scored a pressure goal which tied the score again. Her team then scored again on its next turn to win.

And when it came time for the final 120 selections to see who would be going on to the Junior Olympics, she made the cut.

"As soon as the tournament was done, they read the names off of the girls who would be going to the Junior Olympics," she said. "They said the names so fast you don’t really have time for it to set in when you’re picked."

In fact, the names are read off alphabetically, and at one point Leck thought they had gone through the letter L and she didn’t make it. For a split second she felt a tinge of disappointment, the same disappointment she felt last summer when she didn’t make it out of the regionals.

But Leck finally realized they hadn’t gotten to the L’s yet and now laughs about it, especially when she thinks back to the feeling she had when she finally did hear her name announced.

"It was really nerve-wracking. I just stood there for a second," she recalled. "It felt so good when I heard my name and I was so excited. But then I looked around and I was sad when I saw some of the girls who didn’t make it and how upset they were. I made a lot of friends there."

Whether you made it or not, however, the whole experience of being there was quite a memory for everyone.

"They had a big picnic where they brought all the girls there together," Leck said. "Then they had a dinner, and we met members of the National Team. It was great."

"They really take care of the kids," Barbara Leck, Lindsey’s mother, added. "They make sure you have a good time."

Of course, the 120 girls who made it to the Junior Olympics had an even better time.

"It was definitely a good ride home," Barbara Leck laughed.

The players selected for the Junior Olympics will go through another set of scrimmages, and from that, 30 girls — one-quarter of the field, will be selected to U-16 national team which will travel out of the country to play.

"We’re still not sure how the whole process there works," Lindsey said. "But I have my goals set."

And regardless of what happens, she still has one year of eligibility to make the U-16 team next year.

But field hockey has been only part of a very busy summer for Lindsey Leck. A three-sport athlete at Allentown, she’s been playing with the Redbirds’ summer league teams in field hockey as well as in softball and basketball.

"I’m going five days a week," she said. "We have a big calendar at home with everything written on it. When we’re not sure when and where I’m playing on a certain night, we check the calendar."

At times, it requires some juggling.

"My basketball and field hockey teams both play on Mondays," she noted. "Sometimes I go to both if they play different times."

Staying busy is certainly nothing new to Leck. As a freshman at Allentown High, she started at right wing for the Redbirds’ field hockey team. During the winter, she played both point guard and shooting guard for the girls’ basketball team, starting the season off the bench before eventually working her way into the starting lineup.

She also played outfield for the freshman and junior varsity softball teams this past spring before moving up to the varsity by the end of the season.

"I like to play all three sports, but field hockey is definitely my best sport," Leck, who has been playing since she was a sixth-grader at Millstone Middle School, said. "We start practice the day after I get back from Virginia."

Then again, she’s already started.

"Making it to the Junior Olympics has been the highlight of my summer."

At least it has been so far. The best may be yet to come.