Family, culture, competition: Meredith Civico's 3 foundational values of Rutgers field hockey
The Rutgers field hockey team is coming off one of its most successful seasons in program history. The Scarlet Knights (15-2, 6-2) won 15 consecutive games and earned eight wins against ranked opponents this year.
No. 6 Rutgers ended its season with a 2-1 defeat to Harvard in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Despite the loss, the Knights have continued to grow and improve as a team.
In just a few years, the program has flourished and is among the premier field hockey programs in the country.
How it started
Head coach Meredith Civico has been with Rutgers for more than a decade and expressed that the team always sets high goals heading into a season. When Civico first became the Knights' head coach, Rutgers was coming off a 5-12 season in 2011 and was not even in the Big Ten. The program has grown leaps and bounds in Civico's hands and since joining the Big Ten.
"At the beginning of my tenure as the head coach, Rutgers joined the Big Ten, which was a massive jump," said Civico. "The Big Ten is and always has been historically one of the best (conferences)."
Joining the Big Ten brought many new challenges for the Knights. Rutgers had to find a way to be competitive in a brand-new environment. Staying consistent was key.
"Every season, we just would focus on the big competing aspect — let's just be the best Rutgers team we can be and compete in every game," Civico said.
That is exactly what they have done. The team's values of competing daily and maximizing potential have manifested in the creation of a national powerhouse.
A family on and off the field
The idea of being a family is important to the Knights, and it is something that helps them on and off the field. This has been obvious this season, as the team has looked truly connected.
"We talk about family, and I think we're definitely a family. And that's not just the girls, it's the coaching staff as well," said redshirt junior goalkeeper Sophia Howard. "I feel very fortunate that we have amazing coaches who ... literally would do anything for you."
Civico often gets praise from her athletes about the kind of environment that she has built for her team. This family feeling is one that makes this team so unique and makes a real difference in their program.
"(Civico), a lot of us would say, is almost like a second mom," said Howard.
Civico has recruited players from all over the world and made them feel at home on the Banks, which has helped the team succeed.
"I think that we tend to get a lot of transfers into our program," Civico said. "When they do come to Rutgers, they're really floored by the culture and the team and the environment ... Not everywhere is like this. Not every team is genuinely this close, where it really feels like a family."
The family aspect is an obvious asset on the field, but the impact also extends off the field.
"Don't get me wrong, I want to win more than anyone, but also, these are young people who are trying to figure out what they want to do in life, and they wanna be great in everything they do," Civico said. "And it's really my responsibility to support them in that, and make sure that they leave here having reached and achieved their goals, and I take that very personally and seriously."
Civico has changed the program for the better, giving it more purpose than just winning games and championships.
A season to remember
The 2023 season is one that the team will never forget. Rutgers had an incredible run, starting the season off with a 15-game winning streak. The Knights advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament and made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Though things did not end the way Rutgers wanted, the Knights still made an incredible impression and gained valuable experience by being in these tournament settings.
"It's really good experience for us for the future," Howard said. "And especially for the younger players as well, to kind of be put under that pressure and just know what it feels like to be competing for something like that."
Civico has been impressed with Rutgers' resilience and motivation throughout the whole season.
"You could just see that no matter what was going to be thrown at them, they were going to respond to it, and they were going to stand up and not back down from anything," she said.
Despite their early exit in the NCAA Tournament, the Knights are determined to build off their success next season. Growing the program has been a slow burn that has really ramped up in the last couple of seasons.
"There definitely is this feeling of unfinished business, that we really could be still playing," said Civico. "We learned a lot, and we're very motivated to come back next season, for sure."
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