Field Hockey
Favorite athlete: Chris Long (Eagles)
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Playing in the District One Tournament in back-to-back years.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Concussing myself by running into a girl on the other team who was standing still.
Music on mobile device: Alternative/Rock
Future plans: Major in Neuroscience
Words to live by: “Veni, Vidi, Vici”
One goal before turning 30: Go to every state in the United States
One thing people don’t know about me: I ski
By Mary Jane Souder
Something to occupy her time.
Field hockey was nothing more than that to Olivia Geissler when she went out for the team the summer entering her freshman year.
“In ninth grade, the high school had jayvee and varsity for only soccer,” said Geissler, who had been playing soccer since she was a youngster. “I really didn’t know if playing soccer in high school was going to be fun like it was in middle school.
“My friends said, ‘Livie, you should try field hockey, you’ll like it.’ I said, ‘I honestly don’t know what field hockey is really about.’ I did a clinic in fifth grade with my one friend, and that was the only thing. Back then, I was probably like – ‘This is something that might keep me busy for now.’”
Field hockey became a whole lot more than a diversion to the Abington senior, who was elected captain of her squad this year. It’s not exactly a script she could have imagined.
“I definitely had doubts because I had never played hockey, but the seniors who graduated last year – I knew a few of them from elementary school, so that made it a lot easier,” Geissler said. “They were very welcoming.
“As it progressed over the last four years, I was like – I love this sport. I couldn’t see myself playing anything else in high school.”
Abington coach Katie Small is certainly glad she chose hockey.
“Olivia was the heart of our team,” the Ghosts’ second-year coach said. “She definitely was a true team leader, and she was one of our strongest players on the field day in and day out.
“She rarely was subbed out. If we ever needed a pick-me-up, she was there to do it.”
Geissler excelled at the thankless task of playing defense.
“She was strong on the defensive line,” said Small. “She definitely has a very strong stick. I would always put her on the strongest player on the other team.
“She’s just a force on that field. I really enjoyed watching her.”
Geissler recorded 10 defensive saves – stops at the goal line to prevent sure goals.
“I love defense,” she said. “A lot of people don’t like it for some reason, but I like keeping the ball out of goal. The main goal is to get the ball out and get the ball up.”
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Geissler got her first taste of competitive sports in kindergarten when her parents signed her up for community soccer. Soccer was her sport of choice until she made the switch to field hockey in ninth grade.
“The previous coach (Amanda McMahon) held summer stuff, so I went in the middle of July and was like, ‘Hey, I don’t know how to play, but I’m here,’” Geissler said. “Preseason came and I tried out for jayvee and I made it.”
By the end of her freshman season, Geissler had developed a passion for the sport.
“Everyone got along really well, and this was definitely what a team sport is and what I thought of as a team sport,” she said. “It was the perfect mold for one.”
As a sophomore, Geissler was in the varsity lineup, but things changed when Katie Small took over the helm the following year.
“We were all nervous,” Geissler said. “What’s it going to be like?
“(Coach Small) said, ‘My expectations are you’re going to run five miles.’ Everyone was like, ‘What?’ We did that preseason this year and last year.
“At first I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what have I signed up for?’ I realized her goal was wanting to win, and I believe that getting there was all of the preseason runs and workouts we did to really change what our team was the last two years.”
The Ghosts advanced to the District One 3A Tournament in each of the last two years under Small. Geissler – who did not crack Small’s starting lineup until midseason last year – has been a key piece of that success.
“She never played any club, so every game she just kept getting better and better, and I just feel she’s peaking, and our season is over,” Small said.
Geissler – elected captain by her peers – was a natural leader.
“I took it seriously,” she said. “It’s expected of everyone to show up and want to be there. We definitely emphasize that.
“I was always nervous for starting games. Even just playing – it changed when I was named captain because I knew some people would look up to me as a teammate, and I had to be almost fearless on the field, which is not always the easiest when you’re playing the number four seed (Plymouth Whitemarsh) in the district.”
Small valued Geissler’s organizational skills.
“She was the first one to the field every single game,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “She’s there before I even get there and has the entire field set up and ready to go for the pre-workout before a game.
“Once everyone comes in, she organizes them and she’s just a go-getter. She’s like, ‘We’re going to be ready for this game, and we’re going to do this. You’re going to be prepared.’ That’s who she was – she was definitely the most prepared every single game, ready to go out there and got everybody else ready. She’s very unassuming, she’s quiet, and she’s not your typical cheerleader, but when we needed a pick-me-up, she was the one who did it.”
Ask Geissler what she enjoyed most about her hockey experience, and she doesn’t point to the wins or the team’s accomplishments.
“It just added a level or an aspect of friendships,” she said. “I’m going to miss everything about it. I don’t know what I’d be doing if I didn’t play.”
She is hoping to continue playing hockey at some level in college where she plans to major in neuroscience, an interest she developed when the husband of her mother’s friend had an injury that impacted his nervous system.
“I thought it was interesting – how could you prevent this or fix this?” Geissler said.
An excellent student, Geissler – who boasts a 3.9 GPA – takes honors and AP classes. She is involved in the school’s Garden Club, the Buddy Club (which works with special needs students) and the Alternative Sports Club – she is an avid skier.
Geissler and her family work with the Breathing Room Foundation, which assists families and individuals who have been affected by cancer. Sharing Thanksgiving meals and Christmas gifts are an annual event for her family.
“It helps to give back to those who are less fortunate,” Geissler said. “A few times people were so grateful - they would start crying, and I would start crying. There are so many emotions at once.”
She also shares her passion for hockey working at GYAC (Glenside Youth Athletic Club) clinics.
“I realize those kids are like, ‘Oh my god, this is so frustrating’ because it’s a lot at once,” she said. “I always stick to the younger side because I know the basics are really important.”
Geissler, according to Small, is a special and selfless student-athlete.
“You can’t say anything bad about her,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “She’s the sweetest, nicest person. She thinks about everybody else before herself.
“She’s just such an exceptional person that to know Olivia – you’re lucky.”
