Driscoll driven to add to legacy in Watertown
The 20-time state champion Watertown field hockey team has never been better. At 11-0, the Raiders sit atop the MIAA’s Division 3 Power Rankings, as well as the No. 1 spot in the Globe Top 20 poll. They have not allowed a goal.
At the other end, much of their success can be linked to the stick of senior Molly Driscoll, a returning Globe All-Scholastic bound for Boston University who has racked up 31 goals and 13 assists so far. She has great hand-eye coordination and stick skills, combined with an explosiveness that allows her to find the net quickly.
A number of dynamic athletes have contributed to Watertown’s three-decade run under the direction of coach Eileen Donahue. And Driscoll is not even the first in her family to do so: Her mother, Patty Grady, played under Donahue in the early 1990s; and her sister Maggie was the Globe’s Division 3 Player of the Year last fall before heading off to BU this year. Younger sister Regan, a sophomore, is following in the family footsteps.
After the team’s 7-0 victory over Winchester Monday, Driscoll talked to the Globe about living up to Watertown’s legacy, her future, and the team’s unique scoring trend.
What is an element of your play that has improved over the past year?
I think my shots over the past couple of years have gotten better, and also my stickhandling. I’m just constantly practicing it — waiting in line for a drill and just pulling in line or just little things like that add up over time into making me have a stronger pull.
What have you learned from Eileen Donahue?
She’s such an inspiration and such a good role model for, honestly, anyone, and I look up to her. You can ask past players, and they’ve probably learned so much from her. She’s such an inspiration.
The main thing that I’ve learned is just that it’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. We have players on our team that are starters now that didn’t even see the field last year, but they worked hard to get to where they are. She doesn’t care if a team has more talent than us because we will work harder, and it doesn’t matter how much talent a single person has if you’re not willing to put in the work.
I think that’s really important for people to know because I think people get into their heads about, “Oh, this person is way better than me.” But if you’re willing to work harder than them to get what you want and get where you need to be, then you’re able to succeed, and I think that’s super important.
Many current seniors had their college commitment process impacted by the COVID pandemic. What was your own college commitment process like?
The spring/summer of your sophomore year is when you get to start talking to D1 coaches. When I did, there were schools that were interested in me, and I was interested in schools, but I just didn’t feel like I could make a sure decision, and I wasn’t ready. I didn’t know what I really wanted to do. I felt like I missed out on a lot with COVID, and also, I’m a July birthday, so I’m younger for my grade, and I just feel like I wasn’t mentally ready to make a decision.
I ended up talking with my coaches and parents and decided that I was going to do a postgraduate year, so I was kind of reset back one year, which I was so thankful to take. I’m not sure where I’m going to take my postgraduate year yet, but I’m going to be going to a prep school in New England following my senior year and then I’ll go over to BU.
I was really relieved to be taking that postgraduate year because, when June 15 came around this year, I felt like again I got looks from bigger schools that I wasn’t sure about. What it really came down to was seeing Maggie’s adjustment to BU and how amazing the coaches were to her, and the team, and how much she was loving it. I also decided to go there because they have a great education program, and a really nice team environment, and it’s close to home.
You have won all of your games so far by a 7-0 score. Would this team now consider 7 its lucky number?
We actually haven’t really talked about it that much. It used to be, score six goals and then stop, but now, because of the new Power Rankings, we go to seven goals. We get our seven goals, and then we work on our passing and cutting.
Watertown is a town truly dedicated to field hockey. How does that legacy impact how your team practices and plays?
It’s definitely a lot of pressure, but at the same time, it’s also rewarding to be able to be a part of this legacy. And being able to have that pressure is impressive, because it means something’s expected of you. People obviously get tired of us, hearing that we’re winning, but it doesn’t matter because we’re proud to be adding to Ms. Donahue’s legacy and the legacy of Watertown field hockey, and it’s really special for us.
Corner hits
The two officials who worked last Thursday’s Bay State Conference game between Brookline and host Needham, Kate Daley and Rich Fahey, found something in their gear bags afterward that was a first for both: Thank You notes.
The newly established Student-Athletes Advisory Group at Needham High brainstormed ideas of how to best celebrate National Officials Appreciation Week to bring back to their teams. The Rockets volleyball team made signs and gave officials candy. The football team made a video. The Needham field hockey team wrote handwritten cards, which officials found in their bags postgame.
“The students took it and ran with it,” said Needham athletic director Ryan Madden. “The messages come down from us as administration and coaches that we wouldn’t have games without officials. They mean so much to the game.”
Fahey, a 20-year official who estimated he had worked 30-plus games through the first five weeks of the season at various levels, said the heartfelt notes “hit the spot. The month of September was a tough one, between high heat and working in numerous downpours.”