Arundel High School junior Lana Hamilton is one of the nation’s top field hockey players, and she isn’t afraid to boast about how she’s outworked many players to get to that level. She’s just as blunt when it comes to talking about her dedication to the sport.
She’s traveled to prestigious tournaments everywhere, from California to Florida, and MAX Field Hockey ranks her as one of the county’s top 50 players in the 2022 class. Her parents even installed a turf field with a goal in their backyard so she can constantly work on her skills.
“Field hockey is basically all I do,” says Hamilton, who carries a 3.5 grade-point average. “I am always doing something to get better. My first season of rec, I didn’t take it that seriously, but once I started playing for Freedom Hockey Club, I dedicated my whole life to field hockey. When I don’t have a team practice, I am practicing at home.”
Clearly, all the hard work has paid off. More than 20 colleges have been aggressively recruiting Hamilton, a member of the USA Field Hockey AAU Junior Olympic team the past three years. The 5-foot-6-inch Hamilton has a three-page resume of her accomplishments.
“I am hearing from some of the top-10 programs in the country,” Hamilton explains. “I want to go to a school that meets my field hockey and academic needs.”
Hamilton’s goals are more than just to play for big-name school. “I want to play at the highest level I can,” she explains. “I would love to play on the women’s national team. It’s a dream of mine.”
Arundel Field Hockey Coach Carrie Vosburg has coached some vastly talented players in her 16 years at Arundel and Meade, yet she wonders if she will ever get the chance to work with another player of Hamilton’s caliber and skill set again.
“I put her at the top of the list of the players I have coached,” Vosburg says. “She is a very rare player. She just makes players around her better and motivates those around her to be better.”
After totaling seven goals and four assists as freshman, the 17-year-old Hamilton blossomed as a sophomore by totaling 13 goals and 23 assists. Her best game came in a 5-2 playoff victory over South River when she scored two goals and had an assist.
“She is most selfless and team-oriented player I have coached,” Vosburg says. “She is all about passing the ball and creating plays. It’s just not about her.”
Hamilton really started to blossom as a player when she joined the Freedom Field Hockey Club at age 10. In her six years with the organization, she won three national indoor championships and has been named to the National Futures Championship team three times.
“Club has really helped me grow as a player since I started at such a young age,” Hamilton says. “It made me a competitive player in the right way.”
Playing club hockey is a year-round sport for Hamilton and she’s playing either in tournaments or games in the fall, winter, and spring on the weekends.
“She always wants to get there early and she’s one of the last ones to leave,” says Hamilton’s mother Sam. “It’s something she’s always really enjoyed doing. She’s gotten so much training and a lot of great experience.”
When Hamilton isn’t playing club hockey or for her high school team, she’s practicing on the 15 by 15-foot turf in the backyard of her Odenton house. “I set up cones and go around them to improve my stick skills,” Hamilton says. “I also shoot about 100 times at the goal often and it helps me get my shot off faster.”
