Hockey outside the rink

Terrapin field hockey player Ali Morawski lettered in four sports at Grosse Point South High School in Michigan.

However, when deciding to play collegiate field hockey, there was one sport above all that was toughest for Morawski to leave behind - ice hockey.

"If I had anything that I miss most about home is the family and [ice] hockey," Morawski said.

Since joining the Terps, the 2006 winner of "Miss Michigan Hockey" has worked hard to adjust to life away from the rink and to use knowledge gained on the ice to help her on the turf.

Morawski was turned on to the game by her three older brothers. Growing up in a big hockey area just outside Detroit, she started skating by the time she was five.

Soon she was playing on teams that traveled all over the country.

Morawski played two years of ice hockey in high school, earning all-state honors both years.

Then she walked away from the sport to concentrate on field hockey, in which she was a four-time all-state selection.

"I was going to try to play both field hockey and ice hockey, but that slowly faded," Morawski said. "I decided to focus on one sport."

Part of what attracted Terp field hockey coach Missy Meharg to Morawski was her experience on the ice.

"Her ice hockey background gives her a great opportunity to play field hockey," Meharg said. "She's still getting used to the technical skill differences between ice hockey and field hockey."

These technical differences between the sports have led to some bad habits for Morawski.

"[In ice hockey,] you do a lot of dragging, and you do a lot of playing on the sides of your body," Meharg said. "We're trying to work with her to play more out in front."

Another part of the game that's different is the stick-handling. Morawski said repetition has been the only way for her to become completely comfortable using a smaller stick. This has been aided by the opportunity to focus on one sport for the first time in her life.

"It's just a part of your life," Morawski said. "You eat, sleep and play field hockey. It's just like running from one sport to the other, but you're a lot more focused."

Morawski redshirted last season because of back and ankle injuries, but has made rapid progress since coming to College Park, according to Meharg.

"Without being able to use the backside of the stick, it's that movement quickly with your lefthand that's important [in field hockey], and she's getting better and better," Meharg said. "A slapshot is really different than a swing, and she's just getting those skills down. But the nice thing is she's a freshman eligibility-wise, so she's got a lot of time."

However, Meharg said the sports are the same tactically, and Morawski's ice hockey background is evident in her ability to mark other players and anticipate on defense.

And while Morawski has fully devoted herself to playing field hockey, she hasn't completely given up her passion for ice hockey.

"I play any chance I can get," Morawksi said. "I'm thinking about bringing my skates down to school, actually."

edetweilerdbk@gmail.com