James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
DE ROOIJ ADDS FOREIGN FLAVOR TO FIELD HOCKEY DUKES
7/7/2009 6:30:00 PM | Field Hockey
Unlike in the United States, in Holland sports are done solely through club teams instead of through your school. From age six to 16, Dolores played for a club team called “Pollux” that her mother helped coach. She then went on to play for two more club teams between the ages of 16 and 18.
During what would be considered her senior year, Dolores found a flyer that advertised the possibility of playing field hockey in the United States. Extremely interested, Dolores was taped while playing and sent her DVD to several coaches. In the end, she chose to attend JMU because “it was the best option academically and athletically.”
When asked how she learned English so well, Dolores smiled and, with flawless English, explained that she learned it through watching TV and taking classes in school. When asked what was the hardest thing to adjust to upon coming to JMU, Dolores said, “speaking English fluently and thinking in English.” Given her natural passion and skill, playing field hockey was by far the easiest adaptation.
When she joined the team in the fall of 2007, she felt she was “not very prepared, but also not overwhelmed,” because she “knew it was going to be a very different experience.” Now that she has been on the team
