Most field hockey players remember the sights and sounds of their first National Indoor Tournament. Maybe you remember Spooky Nook Sports, where a maze of stairs, vendors, and even rock-climbing walls make finding your team almost as impossible as finding the bathroom. Or maybe you are thinking of the Richmond Convention Center, dodging wild shots and flying corner masks as you walk between courts. Either way, the National Indoor Tournament, better known as NIT, is a perfect mix of chaos, excitement, and competition that brings out the best in each athlete.
However, NIT can also be daunting, especially for players experiencing it for the first time or navigating the college recruitment process during the tournament. I have been through my fair share of stressful moments at NIT, and I am happy to share some advice that helped me go from fearing the tournament to looking forward to it every year.
In 2024, my U16 team and I competed at the U19 NIT in Richmond, Virginia. We started the tournament strong, but things began to unravel during our third game. On Saturday evening, frustration boiled over, fueled by the pressure of seeing coaches from our dream schools lining the sidelines and stands packed with spectators and friends. We finished second in a pool we could have won, and our seeding meant a 7 a.m. game the next morning against an older team full of Division 1 commits. While the circumstances were far from ideal, we resolved to come ready to play on Sunday.
The next morning, the tournament site was almost unrecognizable. There were no college coaches, no random spectators, and no teams crowding the sidelines- just us and the other teams assigned to the early game. With the pressure gone, we rediscovered the excitement of playing as underdogs. We played freely, focusing on winning as a team instead of looking good for colleges. In a back-and-forth contest, we finished with a 7–7 tie, a huge accomplishment for a team of sixteen-and-under girls competing against high school seniors. Playing without external pressure reminded us of the best part of NIT: competing together as a team.
Since that tournament, I have adopted a new approach to indoor field hockey. No matter who is on the sidelines or in the stands, I imagine they are completely empty. I remind myself why I am there, what my goals are, and how much fun it is to chase them with my teammates. The hectic nature of NIT can make it easy to lose sight of the simplest part of sports: just playing. But if you can learn to enjoy the game without focusing on external influences, I promise you will enjoy the tournament more—and play better too.
