This has been a summer of fulfillment for field hockey head coach Liz Tchou. She has seen two of her greatest athletic dreams come true. Now, as the eyes of the world turn to Atlanta for the Olympic games, Tchou will compete as a member of the United States' national team and attempt to provide a perfect conclusion for her summer by helping to bring home the gold.
It all began on the first of May when Tchou was promoted to head coach, replacing Jacki Silar. Tchou spent the last two years as an assistant under Silar where she concentrated on working with the Blue Devil field players. Tchou's experience as an assistant is extensive. She was at Temple for three seasons ending in 1991 and worked one-year stints at Virginia and North Carolina.
At the time of the hiring, Tchou was participating in tryouts for the national team. Less than two weeks later, she became an official member of the 16-member squad, trimmed from an original field of 24. Tchou has been a member of the team for several years, so the selection process eliminated several former teammates.
"That was really hard, because a lot of the players [who got cut] had been with us for a long time," Tchou said.
The U.S. team began competition on July 20 and will face all seven other countries in the preliminary round. The two teams with the best round-robin records will then face-off for the gold, with two next best squads competing for the bronze.
The two countries most heavily favored to take home the gold are Australia and Korea. "If you come out within a point or two of them, then you are really doing a good job," Tchou said. "If we came out beating Australia, it would be a huge upset."
"Those two teams are definitely at the top of the hill right now, but it is really very wide open," said Pam Hixon, head coach of the U.S. Olympic women's field hockey team. "We are in the most difficult format with the single round-robin. It's almost anyone's game."
Great Britain should also provide a tough match for the U.S., as a strong rivalry has developed between the two countries in field hockey.
Despite not being cast as one of the favorites to capture the gold medal, the U.S. team does have its' sights set high. "We've prepared and geared all of our preparation towards putting us into position to medal," Hixon said. "I think we've had an excellent two years of preparation for this moment, so I feel confident that we are going to put our best step forward. If we can take care of business, we should be able to challenge for a medal at the end."
"I would be quite disappointed if we didn't medal, but it is a really long tournament, so anything can happen during that time," Tchou said.
To prepare for the games, the team spent almost the entire month of June in San Diego, CA. competing in various exhibition matches. The primary focus of their stay in Southern California was a mock Olympic competition. If these pre-Olympic games are any indication, the U.S. team appears primed and ready as they captured the gold.
During that same time, they also honed their skills against two opponents they are certain not to face during the Olympics-the under-21 men's national teams from the U.S. and Scotland. "It was a good experience because they are so fast," Tchou said.
Tchou has no actual set position on the team, instead she fills in where the team most needs her services. "Liz's best asset overall is her flexibility to play a multitude of positions on the field," Hixon said. "That is really her position on the team; she is one of our utility people-she can play on the forward line, or in the backfield. We're using her right now as a midfielder. Her specialty is a really good hit, so we use her on our corner battery, which is an important part of the game. The flexibility Liz brings to the team is what proves most valuable."
Tchou realizes that once the games have ended her entire focus will have to shift towards Duke's program, which has led her to consider making this Olympic competition her last hurrah as a player.
"It's really hard for me to say how I am going to be feeling after the Olympics," Tchou said. "I'm probably leaning towards retiring after the games. Its really difficult, I can't even imagine the emotions that will be going on after the games."
In light of these circumstances, Tchou will approach these Olympic games as her final chance to compete as a player. In doing so, she will be writing the final chapter in what has been a tremendously successful career. She was a national team member in 1989 and 1991 and has participated in six Olympic Festivals. She also competed in the 1989 Intercontinental Cup and the 1994 World Cup.
Tchou had an exceptional collegiate career at the University of Iowa, highlighted by a National Championship in 1987. The team also claimed three Big Ten Championships and three NCAA Final Four appearances during her four years. Individually, she received a number of accolades, including the Big Ten Medal of Honor, which is given to players for academic and athletic excellence, four first team All-Big Ten selections, one All-America selection and a retired jersey-the first in the history of Hawkeye women's athletics.
For now, Tchou plans to live the full Olympic experience including the myriad of amusement park trips, Olympic Village social life, and a visit to the White House.
Once the games have ended, Tchou will turn her attention to starting up her first season at the helm of the Blue Devil team. She plans to focus on the technical aspects of the game as well as placing an emphasis on hard work.
"I know for a fact that she is going to work our butts off," senior forward Alison DeLeo said. "She knows the game extremely well, and being a player, being an Olympian, I think is going to be a huge insight into the fine points of the game we might not have used as much as we could've."
As would be expected, Tchou's play has improved over the years, due largely in part to her work as an assistant coach. The corollary of that ethic should also give Tchou an edge in the coaching world.
"I think every single player that plays at an elite level learns so much about the sport that it really makes them a better coach," Hixon said. "When you reverse it, athletes who are coaching are, most of the time, better players. You need to explain to other people what you're doing when you're coaching, so it makes you think even more. Liz has grown as a player, largely due to her work as an assistant coach. That, in turn, will help her coaching in her new position at Duke."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.