On Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, Central Bucks East senior Reilly Finegan was recognized for committing to continue her field hockey career at Drexel University. To view photos of the event, please visit the Photo Gallery.
Reilly Finegan – Drexel University (Field Hockey)
Major: Engineering
Final list of colleges: Drexel, Fairfield, Villanova
Reasons for choosing Drexel: “I really liked the school. I met the team and the coaches, and I liked all of them. They have what I want to major in which is engineering, and they have a really good program for that. The academic side, the sports side and the city – it all kind of came together and I was like, ‘This is where I could live for the next four years.
“I looked at Fairfield and Villlanova, and I liked both of them a lot and I liked their coaches, but I think it came down to the city for Drexel. I think that was the major decider.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in field hockey at the collegiate level? “I just had it set in my mind – Oh, I’m going to play in college. I’ll figure it out when I get there – when I was seventh grade all the way through high school. When I finally got down to figuring out where I was going to go, that’s when it hit me that I’m definitely going to be playing. It’s kind of exciting.”
Coach Michelle Finegan says: “What I think Reilly contributes that is not like a lot of players who potentially have more talent is her heart, her passion and her love for the sport, but also her knowledge of the sport and what to do and when to do it and never give up. When there’s a time in a game where something needs to happen, she’s the one that won’t quit. She pushes through and delivers. There were quite a few games this year where she knew what to do and got it to the right person. That person might have shot and scored, but it was a lot of effort from her just gutting it out and getting it up the field to the right people.
“Originally, I was a little nervous about (coaching my daughter), but I did ask Reilly. We both had to make a couple of compromises as far as how we interact with each other on the field and not cross boundaries as coach and daughter and that kind of thing. I think we did that pretty successfully. I think we have a good enough relationship – we respected each other enough both her to me as a coach and me to her as a player, and we were able to get along. I didn’t want to infringe upon her friendships. I didn’t want to interfere and that kind of thing. I think it’s neat because you know your daughter pretty well, so you can pretty much read how they’re feeling. Sometimes that gives you insight into how the team is feeling too.”
About Reilly:
Favorite food: Ice Cream
Favorite movie: Inside Out
Favorite music: Alternative
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