Field-Hockey
Favorite athlete: Tom Brady
Favorite team: New England Patriots
Favorite memory competing in sports: Traveling to Ireland to play with the U17 National Team and going undefeated.
Most embarrassing/funniest moment competing in sports: Running into a teammate in warm-ups and having a giant bump on my head, having to wear a donut-shaped pad on my head for the rest of the games that season.
Music on mobile device: Alternative
Future plans: Attending the University of Maryland, playing field hockey and hopefully continuing my field hockey career beyond college.
Words to live by: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
One goal before turning 30: Travel to Europe!
One thing people don’t know about me: I did Irish Dance from second grade to fifth grade.
By Mary Jane Souder
Taylor Mason leaves behind quite a legacy at Central Bucks West.
During her stint as a four-year starter for the field hockey team, Mason was a key contributor to a squad that won 66 games, captured the SOL Continental Conference title two years ago and last year was the District One 3A runner-up.
Individually, Mason is a two-time first team PFHCA All-State selection and this year was named third team NFHCA All-American. She has signed a letter of intent to continue her hockey career at the University of Maryland, a perennial power with eight national championships.
Mason reached the pinnacle of her sport last year when she was named to the prestigious U-17 US National team and travelled to Ireland where the team won all of its games and did not allow a goal.
“That was hands down one of the best experiences I have ever had,” Mason said. “All the girls and the whole experience, the training and the travel – it was an amazing experience.
“The biggest aha moment for me was when we were standing on the field and we’re doing the walkout, and we’re all lining up and they play your national anthem. You’re just standing there taking it all in. There’s this backdrop of mountains, all your fans, and you’re realizing, ‘Oh my gosh, this is it. This is the dream in a nutshell, and I’m living it.’”
While Mason’s resume is impressive, the senior standout’s true legacy might well be her response when she did not earn a spot on this year’s national squad. Although initially devastated, Mason – in a testament to her character - turned her disappointment into firm resolve.
“At first, I was just emotional and upset,” she said. “At this point, I’m like, ‘You know what – next year is my year, for sure.’
“I just switched field hockey clubs (to WC Eagles), and I’m playing with a bunch of girls that are currently on the team. I’m no longer at a point where I’m disappointed as much. Next year I’m going to go for it and put it all out there.”
Mason’s response does not surprise her high school coach.
“That’s how she’s gotten to the point in her career,” West coach Courtney Lepping said. “Each year there was a different obstacle or thing she had to face and conquer.
“There was being a freshman and being pigeon-holed into one position and then having to change positions and play with different people. In her senior year, after having those kids there, she now had to take on that role of being the person. In conversations I’ve had with Taylor, she knows she wouldn’t be the player she is without each of those growing years she had to get to this point.
“There were times when something might have stopped her in her tracks for a second or it might have made her rethink things, but she always keeps going for it. She keeps trying to find the next bar to hit. It’s not that she’s always been the player, always been the great player. She’s always worked so hard and kept reaching for the next level. She uses her setbacks as motivation for her next challenge.”
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Taylor Mason was destined to excel in sports. Both of her parents – Debi and Jonathan Mason - were collegiate athletes. Her mother played field hockey at Boston University, and her father competed in football at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, but it was watching older sister Makenzie – now excelling in basketball at the University of Scranton - playing hockey for DAA that inspired Taylor to give the sport a try.
“I was too young to play, but my mom bought me this cheapo stick, so I would stand off to the sidelines and watch them,” Mason said. “I was so jealous. I just remember being like, ‘I can’t wait until I’m old enough to play.’”
Before long, Mason got her turn and shortly thereafter also began playing lacrosse. In fifth grade, she began playing club field hockey for FSC and also added basketball to her resume. She continued playing lacrosse through her freshman year and also played at the club level for Ultimate Lacrosse.
“It got to the point where it was either indoor field hockey or basketball, and I was like, ‘Basketball is just not happening,’” said Mason, who grew up with her sights set high in lacrosse, not field hockey. “Up until sixth grade, I wanted to go to Syracuse for lacrosse.”
Mason can’t pinpoint why she had a change of heart and opted to devote her time to field hockey instead.
“I don’t know – I just think I enjoyed myself a lot more playing field hockey, and I knew I wanted to pursue it,” she said.
Mason committed to Maryland on March 22 of her sophomore year, falling in love with the campus when the Bucks attended team camp at the school the preceding summer.
“I know that Bryn Boylan was looking there, and (head coach) Missy Meharg was watching her games, and I think that’s when she saw me,” Mason recalled.
Mason returned to Maryland for a visit, and in March of that year, the Terrapins made an offer she couldn’t refuse.
“I remember Taylor when she first came along as a freshman – a little skinny, fast kid that we weren’t quite sure what to do with,” Lepping said. “She came along that whole freshman year, her skills developed.
“As a sophomore, she was still that skinny fast kid whose skills were developing. These last two years you’ve seen the growth of Taylor Mason into a complete hockey payer. She has the skills, she has the desire, and she’s brought it all together. She’s learned from every leader she’s played under and truly grown into a complete player.”
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Mason has fond memories of her field hockey playing days at Central Bucks West, recalling how each year was different than the year before.
“My freshman year was such a blur to me,” she said. “I remember I was so nervous my first game. I couldn’t stop a single ball on the sideline.
“I let five or six balls over the sideline because I was just so nervous. That year was a good year to get used to everything.”
Mason’s sophomore year was one of her favorites and not only because of the Bucks’ success.
“Getting to play with Bryn (Boylan), Cadera (Smith), Emily Halderson and Anna Hall – it was such a good year to play against such good players and make my skill better,” she said.
Mason’s junior year was highlighted by the Bucks’ stunning upset of top-seeded Unionville a District One 3A semifinal game in double overtime. This past fall, Mason found herself without the upperclassmen, who not only were leaders but also her close friends.
“At first I was super nervous because how am I supposed to fill those shoes?” she said. “I just felt like there was a huge weight on my shoulders, but honestly, this year I can say the girls on the team made a difference.
“There was no drama whatsoever, so it made it easier for me since I was doing my best to help everybody out and be a team leader. We all just got along.”
This fall, the senior midfielder scored 27 goals and contributed 18 assists (72 points) to cap a stellar four-year career. Mason shared her high school career with her mother, an assistant coach under Lepping.
“When I’m really frustrated, she’ll talk to me, and it seems like I don’t appreciate it at first because I’ll be in a bad mood, but it’s just so nice to have somebody that I can ask any kind of question to,” Mason said. “She’ll answer me honestly.”
Mason – motivated student - is undecided on a major but leaning towards communications or journalism. She’d like to continue playing hockey as long as she can and wouldn’t mind one day coaching.
Listening to Lepping talk about her former standout, it sounds as though Mason stands a good chance of doing both.
“She has done so much to become a better hockey player, and look where it’s landed it her – she got a scholarship from Maryland,” Lepping said. “Taylor took everything she learned from everybody and became the star for sure his year.
“She was all about the team and working to get the team better but also devoted to her love of the sport and never stopping. She’s a kid that wants to go out there and say, ‘I gave everything I could.’”
