Field-Hockey
Favorite athlete: Michael Phelps
Favorite team: Notre Dame
Favorite memory competing in sports: I know this is really recent, but tying Episcopal 2-2 on our season opener. We play them every year and we usually get beat pretty bad, but this year we held our own and I couldn’t be more proud.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: There are so many hilarious moments I could choose, but to name a few, I would have to say our dance parties on the bus, team bonding/team challenges, and when one of my teammates was so focused on dribbling the ball, she ran right into the gym wall.
Music on your iPod: John Mayer, Hozier, Florence and the Machine, Adele, and One Direction
Future plans: Major in nursing and play division three field hockey
Favorite motto or words to live by: “F-E-A-R has two meanings: ‘Forget Everything And Run’ or ‘Face Everything And Rise.’ The choice is yours.”
One goal before you turn 30: Go on a road trip across America
One thing people don’t know about you: One of my favorite things to do in my free time is read.
By Mary Jane Souder
Erin Chioffe found herself at a crossroads.
Although only in seventh grade, the now Central Bucks South senior had to choose between playing field hockey for her middle school team or moving into the world of more competitive dancing. She opted for field hockey, a decision she’s never regretted.
“I think if I didn’t play field hockey I would still be a dancer to this day because I really did love it,” said Chioffe, who had been taking dance lessons since she was four.
Field hockey became one of Chioffe’s passions, and she is co-captain – along with Lauren Dougherty - of a squad whose seniors have the dubious distinction of playing for four different coaches in four years. Not exactly the kind of thing that gives a program stability, and after the Titans advanced to the district title game three years ago and the state semifinals when Chioffe was a sophomore, the success that always followed the Titans came to a halt last year when they won just three games.
The team opened yet another chapter this season when veteran coach Pat Toner took over the helm and was joined on her staff by former South coach Meg Hutchinson.
“Having four different coaches with four different expectations and systems of play has no doubt been difficult for the seniors, but they have been a lot of fun, and I am thankful for the opportunity to coach them,” Toner said. “Every day I see improvement, and with the help of our captains, I think we’ll be able to put CB South back on track to being successful.
“Having been around a long while, I know that no team is successful without players like Erin, who are willing to adjust and adapt to whatever is placed in their path.”
Chiofe and Dougherty were two of the first players to approach Toner when she arrived on the scene.
“They asked if they could help in any way,” the Titans’ coach said. “They’d been coming to a lot of summer workouts, and they’ll volunteer and do whatever I ask them to do, so that, to me, is the beginning of repairing anything that needs to be repaired. You have kids willing to learn, and I have no doubt they’re willing to learn.”
For Chioffe, welcoming a new coach was the most natural thing in the world.
“I had gotten a text from one of our former seniors, and it was a picture of (coach Toner), and she said, ‘This is your new coach. I’ve heard good things about her,’” the senior co-captain said. “When we first met her, I was like, ‘What can we do to help you?’
“She’s the new coach coming in, and she has so much to teach us. What could we offer her? That’s kind of what we’ve done every year, and I think the fact that Lauren and I are seniors – we’re ready to put last season behind us. We’re ready to move on and really bring back what South field hockey was.”
The senior co-captain even managed to put a positive spin on the coaching carousel.
“Having a different coach every year gives you a lot of individual skills,” Chioffe said. “But when you have a coach come back every year, you get closer as a team. I think that’s where we fell short last year. Last year it was really difficult for us to stay together and work as a unit.
“I’m a firm believer in having those building years as a team. Yes, we’ll concede we had some struggles last year, but this year we have PT – as we like to call her – and coach Hutch. We have some great coaches that have come to us, and we’re coming together as a team and we’re working on coming out strong this year.”
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Chioffe came by her love of sports honestly. Her mother – the former Kelly McGlynn – excelled in field hockey and soccer during her high school career at Neshaminy, earning Bucks County Courier Times Player of the Year honors in hockey in 1986. She went on to play at the University of Delaware, but according to Chioffe, there was absolutely no pressure to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
“I grew up playing soccer for Warrington soccer,” she said. “I knew my mom played field hockey. I always saw her field hockey sticks hanging around the house, but it was always – do your own thing.
“I have an older brother, and he played soccer, so I kind of just followed. My friends were all playing it, so I went into that. I never really thought about hockey until seventh grade when they offered it at Tamanend.”
Interestingly, Chioffe used her mother’s old stick when she first tried her hand at the field hockey.
“(I wanted) to make sure I really liked the sport and didn’t end up buying a stick and not using it,” she said. “It was made of wood and fiberglass and weighed way too much.”
It wasn’t long before Chioffe joined the hockey club circuit, and she is in her final year with True North, a club owned by former South coach Jeff Harding.
A three-year varsity player, Chioffe continued playing soccer through ninth grade when she decided to focus her energy on hockey.
“I decided field hockey was a lot more interesting,” she said. “I was getting bored with soccer.
“There’s something about field hockey that’s so much more technical. There’s so much skill involved – you’re using a stick and you have to think through situations. I don’t know – I just liked it better.”
Chioffe plans to continue her hockey career at the collegiate level.
“I’m looking at a couple of places, and that’s really as far as I’ve gotten,” she said. “I don’t want to go D1 or D2. I’ve looked at a couple of D3 schools.”
Chioffe plans to pursue a career in nursing, an interest that was piqued listening to her father – a salesman of orthopedic medical devices – talk about his job.
“I’ve always had nursing in the back of my mind,” she said. “I just didn’t think I would like all the blood and guts – not that it’s like that, but it’s an intense environment.
“I really like English. I’m a big writer, but recently I’ve been thinking – ‘Wow, nursing seems so interesting.’ The ability to help people and to make them better is amazing. The human body is incredible.”
An excellent student, Chioffe – whose course load includes AP and honors classes – is a member of the National Honor Society. She is also involved in Titans Connect and Athletes Helping Athletes and is active in her youth group at Cyril’s of Jerusalem.
“The fall is field hockey time,” Chioffe said. “Now that I’m a senior I know exactly what I need to do.
“I try and get my homework done right when I get home from practice. You have to stay on top of your studies. I’m a firm believer in that.”
With players like Chioffe leading the way, the field hockey team’s transition to its fourth coach in four years has been a smooth one.
“She’s a good kid,” Toner said. “She works hard, the kids respect her, and she has a positive attitude.
“Being able to be successful in hockey requires a group of people moving towards the same goal – literally and figuratively, talent, hard work and leadership. I am thankful to have the leadership and calm presence Erin provides.”
