On Tuesday, May 11, 2021, Hatboro-Horsham senior Jordan Brown was recognized for committing to continue her field hockey career at DeSales University.
Jordan Brown – DeSales University (Field Hockey)
Major: Biology/Physician Assistant (PA)
Final list of colleges: DeSales, Arcadia, Bloomsburg
Reasons for choosing DeSales University: “It was a tough decision, but DeSales has a solid physician assistant program and the coaches were very welcoming. DeSales just felt like home, and after talking with the coaching staff, I felt it was a great fit academically as well as athletically.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in field hockey at the collegiate level? “I played soccer and lacrosse when I was younger. I started with Horsham travel soccer with coach Rich Portelli, who emphasized playing as a team. I later moved to Montgomery United Soccer playing with a team in the Elite Division with Chris Varilla where we won the President’s Cup and went to regionals. I thought I would play soccer in college at this point, but in eighth grade, I did not want to have soccer practice at school, then go to club soccer practice as well, so I decided to give field hockey a try to break things up.
“My freshman year I joined FSC as a club team and learned a lot and grew into the sport. By sophomore year, I knew I wanted to focus solely on field hockey but had to convince my parents who did not know much about the sport. I started doing more club clinics for field hockey as well as indoor during the winter.
“At Limelight in summer 2019 is when I got my first college interest. After that I started talking to a lot of coaches and did several clinics at colleges to meet some of the girls on the teams as well as the coaches. I also started to focus on what I wanted to major in (Physician’s Assistant), and I crossed referenced it with who I had been talking with to play field hockey and narrowed down my options to my top three schools.
“After getting a chance to visit each campus and talk with coaching staffs in person (just before COVID-19 broke out last year), I talked with my club coaches and parents to weigh everything. For looking to major as a physician’s assistant and play with a great coach, DeSales kept coming out as the school.”
Coach Dipi Bhaya says: “Jordan grew right in front of my eyes when I first started coaching. She played a lot on her own, and she really took her game to the next level. I’m so proud of her for what she did for Hatboro-Horsham when she was there, and I’m really proud of her for establishing herself and going to the next level playing in college. She was just somebody I could count on. Whenever there was a breakaway, Jordan was always there to stop the play. She would break up the play, she would step up. She was amazing for us. I had Jordan involved in my defensive corners. We had her in offensive corners. She was everywhere and was such a crucial factor for us. She could play anywhere I asked her to play. Just her ability to read the game and see the play develop and she grew her skills exponentially throughout her time, and she was able to execute exactly what she wanted to get done. Not only was she a good player, but she was also a great teammate. She was a good leader, she was dependable and reliable, and there’s a big hole without Jordan on our field, and it’s very tough to fill.”
About Jordan:
Favorite food: Mac and cheese
Favorite TV show: New Girl
Favorite music: Pop
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