Katy Chapman has developed a belief that amazing opportunities are possible if she works hard and trusts her abilities.
And as the John Burroughs’ junior advanced through each stage of the USA Field Hockey Under-16 tryouts in December, she never wavered in the knowledge that she belonged side-by-side with the best players in the nation.
“I knew it wasn’t going to come easy because the girls there were absolutely insane,” Chapman said. “I went in with no expectations. I just put it all out there with nothing to lose.”
Chapman earned a spot on the United States U-16 National Team, and in April, traveled to Europe to compete in the Four Nations Tournament against teams from Belgium, Germany and the host country Netherlands, which won gold in both men’s and women’s field hockey during the Paris Olympics this summer.
“There’s a much bigger environment around field hockey in Europe. They start playing when they are super-young,” Chapman said.
Chapman, whose mother Carrie played collegiately at the University of Virginia, began dabbling with the sport of field hockey at age 6 and later joined the Aim Field Hockey Club in St. Louis.
As a high school freshman in 2022, she earned a starting varsity spot in the midfield and helped John Burroughs advance to its first Missouri state title game since 2010.
As a sophomore, she scored six goals and contributed 18 assists, including the game-tying and game-winning assists in a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Villa Duchesne in the state semifinal. Two days later, Chapman helped the Bombers complete an undefeated season and win their first state title in 13 years with a 4-0 victory over St. Joseph’s.
After her dynamic sophomore season, she participated in local and regional tryouts before playing in the USA Field Hockey Nexus championships in Virginia Beach in July. From there, she was invited to the U16 National Team tryouts, held in December at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
“For me, something I’ve been trying to work on is not doubting that I’m able to have opportunities like this,” she said.
Chapman dazzles with the ball on her stick – weaving through defenders, air-dribbling around them and making timely, accurate passes to teammates. During her training for the USA National team, she further developed her skills as a defender.
“The biggest thing I learned tactically was on the defensive side- how to channel and move your feet, read the attacker and force them to make a decision,” Chapman said. “A lot of times it seems the person with the ball gets to decide what happens, but the defender can have a really big influence on what the attacker does. That is a big thing I learned and something I worked on a lot.”
Chapman was one of 22 players from the United States to be named to the U-16 traveling team and one of just four not hailing from New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Virginia. During her week in the Netherlands, she witnessed new sights and a new style of field hockey.
“The speed of play is different. Everything they do is very fast and very simple. It was fun to play against those teams and see the new tactics and different gameplans they bring to field hockey.”
Chapman, who has since aged out of participation with the Under-16 National Team, recently was named as one of 79 players invited to the Under-18 Junior Women’s National Team Selection Camp, which will be held at UNC-Charlotte from December 6-8, 2024.
“The process starts over again, but it’s a really fun process to go through. There is so much information I take in and learn from the coaches and the other girls I’m playing with,” Chapman said.
In August, she verbally committed to play collegiately at the University of Virginia where both her mother Carrie and high school coach Meridith Thorpe starred.
But until then, Chapman has more she would like to accomplish with her John Burroughs teammates, like helping the Bombers achieve something they have not done since the 1999 and 2000 seasons – earn back-to-back state titles.
“Each season is a new season and a new team. You build from the beginning of preseason and go game by game, building up with your team, learning to work together and figuring each other out,” she said.
And with a field hockey state title, a girls lacrosse state title and a USA National Team tour already on her résumé, Chapman has figured out that no opportunity is beyond her reach and no accomplishment is unattainable.
“I’m just going to keep working hard and see where things go,” she said.