It’s like one big family at Peters
Tri-State Sports & News Service
In many instances, members of a team will talk about how important their teammates are to them, going so far as to mention they are all part of a family. At Peters Township, the field hockey team is just like one big family ... literally.
Four members of the Schratz family are part of the Indians’ field hockey team, with three currently on the roster.
The oldest sibling, 22year-old Courtney Schratz, played at Peters Township and at Robert Morris before the school suspended its field hockey team.
Along with working at Allegheny General Hospital as a nurse, Courtney is an assistant for Indians’ coach Amy Casciola. Her younger sisters, Samara, 18, Greta, 16, and Veronica, 14, all are members of the team that improved to 3-0 after Monday night’s 7-1 Class 3A Section 2 victory against Oakland Catholic.
The Schratz sisters all have key roles in the team’s offense. After three games, Samara has five goals and two assists, Veronica has six goals and six assists and Greta has two goals and four assists.
Courtney was the first in her family to play field hockey, becoming acquainted with the sport in her sophomore year and gradually picked up the game’s nuances.
“I fell in love with it,” she said. “I took off with it, started playing in clubs and going up to the field by myself, and then I got the girls involved. My brother [Christian] played to try to show us up with the competitive edge in the family, but I was the trailblazer in the family.”
When Christian played, the rules weren’t as tight as they are now. As currently written, boys can play on a team, but that team may not be participate in district or PIAA tournaments.
When her younger siblings saw the passion that Courtney had for the game, they also took to the sport. And, they also play girls lacrosse in the spring.
Samara Schratz likes the team aspect of the sport.
“You can’t get up the field [and score] by yourself,” the senior said. “In field hockey, you need to pass and work with your teammates. It’s a team sport, and that’s what I like most about it.”
And, it was pretty much a given that if you are a female in the Schratz family, then field hockey is your sport.
“Other families have soccer and basketball,” Samara said. “Field hockey is our sport.”
Greta Schratz, a sophomore, said she and her sisters are constantly talking about the sport.
“As soon as we come home from practice, we talk about if we had a good pass or what we need to work on with our transfers and how we need to work as a team,” she said.
In a 5-0 victory against Woodland Hills that was halted in the second half by lightning, the three Schratz sisters accounted for all of the team’s scoring. Samara had three goals, Veronica had two goals and an assist and Greta had three assists.
“That was a lot of fun,” said Veronica, a freshman. “I love being out there with [my siblings] and my [oldest] sister on the sideline,” she said. “It’s amazing to work together and to see how much chemistry we have on and off the field. It’s an amazing experience.
“Sometimes, we do have unspoken communication,” she added. “We’ll just make the pass [and not say anything], and a girl will say ‘How did you know [a sibling] was going to be there?’ Sometimes, you just know because your sister always has your back.”
The younger Schratz sisters enjoy having their oldest sister as a coach. But Courtney has directed her siblings to call her “coach” or “coach Schratz” on the field. She and her siblings consider themselves fortunate.
“It’s unbelievably fun,” Courtney said. “I smile every day when they are on the field. We have our rough spots, but what family doesn’t? We keep things separate. When I’m on the field, I’m a coach. But when I’m off the field, I can offer criticism as their sister. But it’s so much fun. You talk about twin connections, there are three of them on the field with that family connection.”