Jan. 30, 2012

OXFORD, Ohio - With the national signing period for field hockey beginning on Feb. 1, soon head coach Iñako Puzo will bring in the newest class of RedHawks who will take to the pitch for Miami this fall. One of those players is already at Miami however. Anna McQuaid (Easton,  Md.) chose to graduate in December from Saints Peter & Paul, allowing her to enroll at Miami starting with the winter semester. Due to her early enrollment, she will be able to play in the spring exhibition games the team participates in this year.

McQuaid had to work hard in order to enroll in college early. The Saints Peter & Paul school is known as one of the toughest academic schools in Maryland, but she was up to the task.

"The first step I had to take to get to Miami was to get permission by my principal, because no one else has ever graduated early from our high school due to the class rigor," said McQuaid. "After getting his permission, I had to take an English 101 online class at the community college near me this summer in order to complete the fourth English credit requirement for high school. I also had to take a physics class to get my fourth science credit. I took two religion credits instead of one in the fall as well."

McQuaid was a four-year varsity player at Saints Peter & Paul, and led the team to the ESIAC Championship as a senior. She was selected to the Maryland Senior All-Star game and was named a Second Team All-American. She has been a member of the United States Field Hockey Association's Futures Program the past five years. This past summer McQuaid was able to participate in the U19 National Futures Championship.

One of the key people in McQuaid's growth as a field hockey player has been her mother, Debbie McQuaid, who also happened to be her high school coach. Debbie knew Anna was destined to be a field hockey player from the moment she was born, which happened to be only two days before Debbie had to coach her team in a playoff match against a local rival.

"She had a stick in her hand at an early age traveling to many field hockey events as a spectator eagerly waiting for the time when she could get on the field and play," said Debbie McQuaid. "It wasn't always easy being the coach's kid, but Anna learned how to handle that pressure at an early age."

 Debbie was instrumental in helping Anna decide which field hockey program would be the right fit for her in college. She was set to verbally commit in the spring of 2011, but former coach Jill Reeve left to take over the program at Brown. Not sure that Puzo and the new staff would still want her daughter, she was instead surprised when they offered Anna a unique opportunity.

"Upon learning who was to take over, we were excited but nervous, what if the new coaches didn't want her?" said Debbie. "As things began to fall in place for the new coaching staff, Anna was offered the opportunity to verbally commit and we were introduced to the idea of attending Miami earlier than we expected. Greyshirting, what in the world was that? After weighing all the pros and cons of this possibility, Anna decided to go for it. Her biggest hurdle was how to graduate early and take advantage of this unique opportunity. Working with her principal at Saints Peter & Paul she was able to come up with a plan to complete her senior year credits into one semester. A combination of classes at our local community college, an online Physics class and a full fall semester of high school classes Anna was able to earn her final high school credits. On Jan. 4, she finished her last exam at 10 am and by 1 pm she was in the car en route to Miami University for her first semester as a RedHawk."

Attracted to the educational opportunities, the beautiful campus and the athletic programs at Miami, Anna McQuaid has been attending classes here for the past month. It has been an adjustment for her to suddenly go from high school to college in a period of less than a week.

"Before coming to Miami, I visited three times and that helped with the transition because I knew the campus well," said McQuaid. "Orientation helped me to further understand the academic aspect of the school. The team and my coaches have been the biggest help to make my transition easy. They are inclusive and encouraging and made me feel very welcome. Some challenges have been time management, but (assistant coach) Chip Rogers has helped me an awful lot with that by giving many study suggestions."

McQuaid has chosen to major in speech pathology at Miami. She has several long-term goals both athletically and academically as a RedHawk, helping her with her eventual career goals.

"My long-term goals athletically are to be a contributing factor in this field hockey program and have our team compete at a higher level," said McQuaid. "Academically I would love to get a master's in speech pathology and audiology and eventually open a practice with my cousin back in my hometown. I choose my major because I know I want to work with people and my cousin and I discussed this when she was deciding what her major was going to be."

Graduating high school in December to enroll in college early is not for everyone, but McQuaid has decided that she is up for the challenge. She does have some advice for anyone thinking of following in her footsteps.

"The advice I would give to any student-athlete considering early attendance is to really weigh out your pros and cons and discuss it with your family and friends before jumping into anything," said McQuaid. "Make sure you really love the school and athletic program and understand what is going to be expected of you. Listen to your heart because there will be some people who disapprove, but you have to remember what is best for you academically and athletically. My other advice is to decide early that way you can prepare yourself academically and mentally. Finally, remember to really enjoy your family and friends before you leave and cherish every moment you have with them."  

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