"Camaraderie on the field and off the field, that's why they stick around," said player-coach Riyaz Mohammed about his fellow ASU field hockey club players at practice Sunday night on the ASU band practice field.
Mohammed, 31, a computer engineer for a prescription benefit company, is dedicated to the ASU team that is comprised of both students and nearby residents.
"I have missed only two practices in the six years since I started the program here," said Mohammed, while watching the field, trying to coach and participate in an interview at the same time.
Mohammed is a native of Ghana and once played on the country's national team. He has been playing field hockey since he was 18.
"In Ghana there was a chance to play cricket and soccer, so I chose field hockey," Mohammad said.
Field hockey provided a chance for Mohammed to get out of Ghana and travel.
"I came to Phoenix for the weather," said Mohammed, who added that he wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon.
ASU field hockey president Josh Almond said the variety of players made the club unique.
"This is a very diverse team," Almond said. "There are players from several countries on our team. The team is almost 50 percent men and 50 percent women."
Players on the team come from Great Britain, Vietnam, India and France, among other countries.
The female athletes have especially stood out for the ASU club.
Four of them will be competing in the Pan American field hockey tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico, this coming year.
One of these players, Elizabeth Adams, 29, is a true veteran, having played the game since fifth grade. Adams swam and played lacrosse at Annapolis University where she received a degree in physics before working for the Navy for a five-year term. She currently works at the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant as a reactor engineer. Adams said she enjoyed "the friendly players in field hockey" who provide a break from her high-maintenance job.
A fellow teammate of Adams' is Marina Wynn. Wynn, 39, is a native of Malaysia who played on its national team from 1988-90. Wynn said she loves to be out playing on the field. She just gave birth to her child, Van Lathan Wynn, 16 weeks ago and has been back on the field for six weeks.
"It's a great sport, and the people are nice," Wynn said.
The ASU club has some solid, experienced talent, but it is also for people who have little or no experience in the sport.
"Most players on the team only have one or two years experience," said Almond, a former soccer player who included himself in that category. "Soccer and field hockey strategy as far as field positioning is very similar. The only difference is that you're hitting the ball with a stick instead of your foot."
The team plays in about three tournaments each year, in social and competitive divisions.
"The social being for the more inexperienced players," Almond said.
For the first time, in January of this year, the ASU club hosted it's own tournament.
"It was a big success," Almond said.
The club grossed more than $2,500 for the team during the tournament, making it the most lucrative fundraiser the program has ever had. The tournament is being held again in January 2006.
Reach the reporter at branko.seretti@asu.edu.
