Alexandra Hammel is a Duxbury native who is the only Massachusetts woman on the USA Field Hockey team. They are competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris starting in June. Ally played at Duxbury High, then at BU, then got called up to the US National team. Ally’s story is a good one. She played ice hockey as a kid, but then at the urging of her mother Jennifer, she tried field hockey and she fell in love with the sport.
When she graduated from Duxbury High she was recruited for field hockey and chose Boston University. Ally really worked hard and refined her game. Her freshman year she won a Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week award and by the time she was a Senior, she won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.
After graduating college Ally got the call to play for the U.S. National Field Hockey Development team.
“The jump from college to International competition in field hockey is huge. It was really hard”, said Ally.
She struggled along the way and had moments that really tested her.
“I had times where I said, maybe this is not for me?”
But Ally never gave up. And now she’s playing for the US National team and representing her country in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
“It’s one of the coolest things. Standing on the pitch with my teammates and hearing the National Anthem be played”, Ally says. “I’m so proud to put on that jersey and fight for our flag”
Ally wants other girls to be able to pursue their field hockey dreams like she did.
“Field hockey in the United States is a growing sport. But unfortunately we are not growing enough. We would really appreciate any support we can get”.
If you would like to help support US field hockey go to www.Path2Paris.com
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW