Field Hockey
Favorite athlete: Alex Morgan or Erin Matson
Favorite team: Eagles!
Favorite memory competing in sports: There have been so many exciting moments, but the thing that sticks with me the most is the memories that I make with my teammates on and off the field.
Most embarrassing/funniest moment while competing in sports: When I was playing softball and swung at a ball, I lost my balance and fell into the umpire.
Music on playlist: Taylor Swift, Zach Bryan, and Dave Matthews Band
Future plans: Attend college for physical therapy and receive my doctorate.
Favorite motto: “If it comes, let it. If it goes, let it.”
One goal before turning 30: To have travelled a lot of the world.
One thing people don’t know about me: I want to own a farm when I’m older.
By Mary Jane Souder
Lily King’s field hockey career has not exactly been smooth sailing. As a matter of fact, it’s included more than its share of setbacks.
In truth, it would be easy to understand if the Council Rock North senior had walked away from sports completely, but King’s love for field hockey and her teammates made her persevere even when the odds were stacked against her.
And they were stacked against her.
What began as discomfort in her knee as her sophomore field hockey season was winding down resulted in surgery for a shattered kneecap, an injury she believes occurred during offseason softball. The surgery was followed by extensive physical therapy.
King returned in time for the start of her junior field hockey season, but on the third day of preseason, she felt her knee pop during a drill. This time it was a torn meniscus that kept her out for the entire season and resulted in another round of intense physical therapy.
“My heart broke a little bit,” King said. “It was just super frustrating, and I felt really down on myself, and I was even considering not coming back because I was like – ‘Is there even a point anymore? I only have a year left.’ It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through.”
A year later, King is back on the field, and she’s not only excelling but is a captain and leader of a Rock North squad that is off to its best start in years.
“I was afraid she was going to be a little rusty, but she just completely persevered and stepped up when she needed to, and she’s continually doing that,” Rock North coach Jules Singer said. “Skill-wise, she’s a great player, but I think the biggest thing is her character. She’s just a phenomenal kid.”
For King, getting back on the field with her teammates has been worth every grueling minute spent in PT.
“Honestly, it feels amazing,” she said. “Our team is doing phenomenal right now. We beat (defending Patriot Division champion) Neshaminy for the first time in 10 years.
“I’m captain this year with three of my best friends. It’s awesome, and I’m having so much fun. I’m just so happy to be back, and the feeling of being on the field again and the feeling of winning with all my friends is just awesome. I love the sport, but I also love the community that comes out of it, and I feel so close to all of my teammates.”
The injuries have not only given King a new appreciation for the opportunity to play a sport she loves - they have also altered her career choice. King plans to pursue a career in physical therapy.
“Even though at times it made me so angry and frustrated, the process for me was kind of beautiful – seeing how exercises and different motions can heal the body in such a cool way, going from completely destroyed to coming back to new,” King said. “I want to do that for people, I want to be active, and I wanted to find a way where I could work with people one-on-one. I think it’s the perfect role for me.”
Back to the beginning
As a youngster, softball was King’s sport of choice.
“My dad was a big sports guy in high school, so I started playing softball when I was probably preschool,” she said. “It was a tee-ball team, and I fell in love with it.”
It wasn’t long before King joined the travel circuit, but in middle school, she was introduced to field hockey.
“I didn’t even know what the sport was,” she said. “The first day of seventh grade they talked about tryouts, so I went and I picked up a stick they had at the tryouts.
“The first practice I honestly started to fall in love with it, and it was super fun for me. It kind of gave me a different feeling than softball did. I felt more like a team player. Softball felt more like an individual sport at times. Field hockey was so much fun. I started playing in seventh grade, and I’ve been playing ever since.”
In the spring of King’s eighth grade year, the COVID pandemic shut down schools, and there were no sports.
“I was pretty much virtual my whole freshman year,” she said. “Everyone felt isolated during COVID, and it affected everyone’s mental health.”
That fall, King was a contributing member of the jayvee team, and a year later, she was on varsity but then came the knee pain and the beginning of a long and painful journey.
“We were getting into preseason for softball,” she said. “I was practicing, and I was down on my knees, and I felt something pop, but I kept playing on it.”
An X-ray revealed that she had a shattered kneecap.
“All the cartilage was damaged, and I had to get surgery,” she said. “I was at PT three or four times a week. It was a lot. Some days I would feel better, and some days I would feel like nothing’s working.
“It would get me super frustrated. I’m sometimes a perfectionist, so when I’m there and something isn’t working and it isn’t feeling better, I felt like there wasn’t a lot of hope. Getting back into running was the hardest thing for me because it was just super painful.”
After months of rehab, King was back on the field for hockey the following fall when she suffered the torn meniscus. It did not require surgery but involved more intense rehab.
“It was never ending,” she said. “It was probably one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve ever had in my whole life, and and I was elated to get back out there.”
Although she was relegated to the sidelines, King never left the team.
“I showed up at every practice, so I was essentially the manager – I kept the scorebook for all the games,” she said. “Since I was still able to move, I would work with the goalies just shooting with them and helping my coach, so I was still able to go to everything and help out.
“The fact that I couldn’t play and had to watch – it almost felt the same (as COVID). I kind of felt isolated the same way. I took a big hit and just had to come through it.
“I just told myself – this is probably one of the worst things I’ve ever gone through, and it can only go up from here. If I keep following what my doctors are telling me to do, if I keep trying to run even if it hurts, if I keep going to the gym even though it’s frustrating, it will eventually get better. And even though it was super hard for me to put myself out there and keep trying again, I was just pushing myself because I didn’t want to look back and think that I didn’t try hard enough. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do something I didn’t think I could do.”
Back in action
With five straight wins to open the season, the Rock North field hockey team was just one win shy of last year’s win total in only six games.
“I think we have a different drive that we haven’t had the past few years,” King said. “I think we’re hungry to win, and I think our team dynamic is fantastic.
“We all work so well together, and I think we all appreciate each other for our different strengths, and we use all of that to achieve different things.”
King helps anchor the Bucks’ defense at left back.
“She’s a wall back there,” Singer said. “The biggest highlight of her as a player is her leadership. Whether it’s on the field or off the field, there’s a reason why I made her a captain.
“She truly embodies everything – she’s the first person to go up to a player and tell them they did a good job. If she sees a player who’s down, she’s the first person to go check in with them. She steps up when she needs to. I can’t say it any other way than she’s just an amazing kid.”
King acknowledged the significant role Singer has played in her journey.
“My coach has been an amazing supporter and positive role model throughout my field hockey career,” the senior captain said. “She has encouraged me to keep pushing myself, while insisting that I put my health first. She has allowed me to instill more confidence and trust within myself throughout the years. I credit her for making me a better player and leader.”
Next fall, King plans to begin her pursuit of a doctorate in physical therapy. An excellent student, she is taking two AP classes in addition to anatomy and physiology to prepare for her major. Her list of schools includes a number of East Coast schools such as the University of Delaware, the University of Pittsburgh among others.
A point of pride for King is her role as an officer of Rock North’s Student Executive Board.
“We plan almost every single event at my school – it’s almost like we’re the backbone of the school,” she said. “I’ve been involved in that since freshman year, and I’m in PR and I run all the social media, I take all the pictures at school, I put things in the newspaper. It’s awesome. I put my heart in that.”
King is also a member of the National Honors Society, which involves community and service work. She is also involved in a volunteer program called Share and serves as an officer of that organization as well.
“What we do is reach out to organizations, and we’re able to help them through our school community,” King said. “For instance, we go to St. Andrew’s Church and we do food wrapping for the food kitchen. We donate things to the women’s shelter, we donate stuff to the animal shelter. It’s a super great organization.”
King is not planning on playing collegiate field hockey but hasn’t ruled out the possibility of playing club depending on the school she chooses. Wherever King goes, her coach is certain she will make major contributions.
“Lily is the definition of a student-athlete,” Singer said. “Not only does she excel on the hockey field as a captain, but she dominates in the classroom.
“Lily has not only overcome adversity with her injuries, but she just gets it and is a phenomenal asset to CR North field hockey.”
