It’s not always easy, but if you dedicate yourself to something, great things can happen. That’s how former State University of New York at New Paltz women’s field hockey and softball student-athlete Lisa Wong ’05 trained and played. Later in her professional career, she used this same mentality and dedication to succeed in life.
Wong, a special education teacher in a NYC Department of Education elementary school, tries to incorporate her student-athlete experience and lessons into her job.
“Through my experiences as a student-athlete at New Paltz, I also learned important lessons in leadership and how to motivate my teammates in positive ways, Wong explains. “I use these methods daily in my teaching.”
Originally, her high school field hockey coach inspired her to be a teacher. Wong then chose to focus on special education because she strongly believed that all children deserve teachers who will dedicate their careers to educating them in a way that is suitable for each individual student.
As a teacher in an urban school, Wong uses her prior experiences working as a part of a team. She tries to emulate positive encouragement and support that she received from her coaches and teammates in her teaching every day.
Wong explains, “When I see my students struggling, I think back to how my coaches inspired me to persevere through challenges and try to instill this in my students,” she says.”
Wong earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and her master’s degree in special education from New Paltz. She and her wife (a New Paltz alumni) got married at Mohonk Mountain House two years ago and now live in Long Beach, N.Y. She continues to play softball in an adult league in Brooklyn.
Wong experienced positive encouragement both on and off the field as a student-athlete at New Paltz. The coaches were supportive and pushed her game to new and higher levels. Wong says, “The professors were always very flexible when she needed to miss classes for games.” Being a student-athlete taught her how to manage a busy schedule, one that needed balance between class, practice and games.
At the outset of her freshman year, Wong walked onto campus with twenty instant friends – her teammates.
“For four years, I had field hockey practice at 5 a.m. and if that doesn't make you family I don't know what will,” Wong says. “I bonded easily and quickly with two teammates in particular my freshman year.
“Spending so much time on and off the field with my teammates allowed me to form quick bonds that, for the most part, have lasted through my college years,” Wong explains.
“There are a few friends that I have remained close with after college. In fact, the center fielder on the softball team was a bridesmaid in my wedding.”
One of Wong’s favorite memories at New Paltz is a field hockey team tradition. After the team successfully completed its pre-season training in August, the team would take a ride to Minnewaska State Park to the rock gardens. They would all take a short hike through the woods to reach the gardens, where they would then break off into small groups to create rock art commemorating their pre-season and kicking off the new season. After everyone was done, the groups would share the creation and a story. They would usually stay up there and hang out until the sunset and then caravan back to campus.
Wong’s student-athlete career came to an end with her field hockey “Senior Game.” The team’s seniors were honored at the beginning of the game, which brought tears to her eyes. Everything that day brought her to tears, she recalls.
“It was a bitter sweet culmination of four years of blood, sweat, and tears and I was not ready for it to be finished,” Wong recalls. “I remember the last time they called our line-up and I ran through the double line we formed. I remember the last national anthem that was played (that we always hummed along to), but mostly I remember the game.”
The game was against Elmira College and by the end of regulation time the score was tied. During the first overtime, a penalty stroke was called for the Hawks. They all looked up at the coach to learn who would take the stroke. Wong heard the coach scream out her name. As both teams jogged to the 25 yard line, she remembers thinking and feeling how badly she wanted to score the goal. She waited as the referee placed the ball on the line and blew the whistle.
“When I heard the whistle, I took a breath and counted to three in my head and took my shot,” Wong reminisces. “I always shot to the bottom left of the goal but my last glance to the goal was to the bottom right. I shot the ball shin high and right past the goalkeeper's pad. I heard the beautiful thunk of the ball hitting the wood at the back of the goal. I had scored and we won the game. I loved turning around and seeing my team sprinting towards me, screaming, shouting and celebrating!”
Of all the games, both field hockey and softball, this is the one Wong remembers the most fondly and the one she hopes will stay with her forever.
