Field Hockey
Favorite athlete: Jesse Owens
Favorite team: Manchester United
Favorite memory competing in sports: Everything: the rides home, singing the alma mater, the games, pasta parties, practices. It has all been unforgettable.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: In the hallways of our dorm at camp, one of my teammates was showing us all Beyonce’s alley cat move because we had no idea what it was. She was simultaneously brushing her teeth. During the part when Beyonce whips her hair, my teammate’s toothbrush and all accompanying paste/saliva dribbled out of her mouth and onto the floor. It was hilarious.
Music on iPod: A whole lot of classic rock.
Future plans: When I figure it out, I’ll let you know!
Words to live by: ‘There are no facts, only interpretations.’
One goal before turning 30: See as much as I possibly can in the world.
One thing people don’t know about you: I’m a closet nerd.
By Mary Jane Souder
Stefani Ruzic, according to coach Heather Whalin, has a style all her own.
“She’s such an interesting kid,” the Council Rock North field hockey coach said. “She has her own style of dress – she’s that Bohemian kind of kid. She’s just that well-rounded kid that any school is going to want.”
The Rock North senior also has a unique philosophy about sports, and it is as rare as it is refreshing.
Last year, Ruzic saw almost all of her playing time at the junior varsity level. Some might have been impatient biding their time on the jayvee.
Ruzic is not in that number.
“They were better than me, so they played because they earned it,” she said matter-of-factly. “I was happy to be part of the team.
“For me, I loved being on jayvee. I loved it because it’s so much fun, and there’s absolutely no pressure at all. Last year, we just tore it up. We destroyed everyone. It was so much fun, and because there were so many seniors, almost all my friends were on jayvee, so we pretty much had a party together.”
Ruzic, it seems, gets the most out of every situation, and although she wasn’t a captain of her field hockey squad this fall, she was a respected leader.
“This year she really stepped up and was the emotional leader on the field,” Whalin said. “You could hear her the whole time, directing the girls, and that’s something I really needed.
“Alex (Kuzma) and Gabby (Tofig) are so good, but they both play up, so they can’t see the game. We lost Courtney Titus, who was such a good back and really saw the field and would direct everybody. Stef just stepped into that role and really became a huge emotional leader on the team.”
Directing the defense came naturally to Ruzic.
“I talk a lot,” she said. “I’m really talkative, and I enjoy being in a leadership position.”
Despite the loss of 11 seniors from last year’s National Conference championship squad to graduation, this year’s team was in the hunt for the title until the final week of the regular season, finishing second and advancing to the District One AAA Tournament.
“Over the summer, my teammates and I talked about it a lot,” Ruzic said. “The talent was there, but none of us were used to playing under pressure except for the four returning varsity players, so it was a lot of game situations that we just didn’t have experience for.”
Ruzic stepped to the fore and anchored the Indians’ defense.
“Whenever the ball came down to Stef, we never worried,” Whalin said. “Her stick skills this year really improved, and there were so many games where she started our offense from all the way in the back, which was impressive. When I needed someone in the circle to make a stop, she definitely did that.”
Ask Ruzic what she’ll remember most about her high school hockey career, and it’s not the wins or losses but rather the members of her field hockey family.
“If I didn’t know exactly where every single person on my team lived, I would be incredibly disappointed and upset because they truly are my friends, not just my hockey team,” Ruzic said. “There’s only a limit how upset I can be because I know I’m going to see them again, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t upset when it was over.”
Field hockey was a relatively late entry for Ruzic, who says she was a “soccer kid through and through” until the got the hockey bug in eighth grade.
“I did not want to go out for field hockey, but my mom forced me to go to camp,” she said. “My sister played it, and my mom wanted to make sure I tried it. She wasn’t forcing me to go out for it. New experiences – we’re all about new experiences.
“I ended up loving it. I have to say it worked out pretty well.”
Ruzic admits her interest in field hockey initially was strictly social.
“But once we hit freshman year and my team became a family is when I just absolutely loved it,” she said. “The hockey girls are so amazing. We’re friends in the team and out of the team. This is really the first year we click beyond grade levels as well. Freshmen or seniors, we’re all friends.”
Playing field hockey is just one small part of Ruzic’s life. The Rock North senior is a member of the Student Executive Board - a branch of Rock North’s student government - as well as the Model UN. An excellent student, she is a member of the National Honor Society, Rho Kappa (a social studies honor society), and the Spanish NHS. She is an officer with SHARE, a student group that is involved in community service.
One of her passions is working at Camp Discovery, a camp for youngsters ages eight through 11 who have been abuse victims. For one week each summer, the youngsters are paired one-on-one with a counselor for a week of camp. Ruzic has been a counselor at the camp for the past three summers.
“We give them a chance to be a kid and not worry about anything,” said Ruzic. “They have one friend who is there entirely for them.
“It’s a lot of work, it’s 22 hours a day. Working with kids who are so loving and you don’t really have to earn it is amazing, plus everyone is so nice, and that’s another family I have.
“It’s amazing, especially going to Council Rock North – it’s such a great school, and it’s easy to forget how fortunate you are. This is another influence to remind you how lucky you are.”
Ruzic also is the senior vice president of the Future Business Leaders of America Club, and she is co-captain of the school’s debate team where she is involved in a model congress. As for a possible career in politics, Ruzic says thanks but no thanks.
“If I didn’t get so easily frustrated with politics, yes, but I will leave that to someone else with far more patience,” she said.
Ruzic’s future plans are up in the air.
“I don’t know where I want to go, I don’t know what I want to major in, but it’s cool,” she said. “This is what it’s supposed to be like. I’ll figure it out. I just have a lot of passions.”
Ruzic hopes to continue competing in sports at some level.
“I would never want to give up the team feeling, plus I’ve been playing sports my whole life, so it’s a lot to give up, which would be a hard adjustment,” she said. “If my schools that I choose have club field hockey, I would love to keep playing because it’s a really fun sport.”
