Photograph by Stephen Buchanan
This Gunston School junior is ambitious and dominates on the field
Gunston School junior Layla Kent will likely miss her sister Sophia, who is off to Division III St. Mary’s College of Maryland, where she is playing field hockey. The Kents were on the same team together for seven years, including two in high school and five more for the Shore Field Hockey club.
Layla wants to follow in her sister’s footsteps and play in college, too.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was little,” Kent says of suiting up in college. “I don’t see myself not playing the sport. I want to go in and make a big impact for any team I play for in college.”
Kent has the potential to play at a higher level of college than her sister. The recruiting period for college coaches to contact her started in mid-June. She’s received strong interest from Division I Central Michigan, Division II Frostburg State University, and a couple of Division III schools. It could be just the start of colleges pursuing the 5-foot-8 midfielder, who also is a standout in lacrosse and basketball at Gunston.
“She is a Division I player for sure,” Shore Field Hockey Coach Debbie McQuaid says. “She is tall, fast, has a very high I.Q on where the ball needs to go, and is very athletic. She is one of the best athletes around.”
Kent has received accolades in both basketball (averaged 18.9 points as a sophomore point guard) and lacrosse, but obviously field hockey is her favorite sport—and by a wide margin. She dominates in games for Shore Field Hockey. She’s co-captained teams in the program for several years and also scores a lot of clutch goals.
To play for Shore, a team member must be dedicated, and 16-year-old Kent certainly puts the time into the program. The season runs from November to December and the club participates in tournaments as far away as New Hampshire and Florida.
“She is a natural leader, and the anchor of her high school team,” says McQuaid, who also coaches field hockey at Saints Peter and Paul High School. “She is always eager to learn about the sport and is very coachable.”
Gunston Field Hockey Coach Jen Matthews believes Kent’s biggest asset is her love for the sport. Kent always arrives early for practice and stays late sharpening her skills. You might say she is obsessed with the sport.
“Her passion for the sport is just unmatched by any athlete I have ever coached,” Matthews says. “She lives and breathes the game. She is a great student of the game and studies it all the time.”
It seems Kent just can’t get enough of field hockey. She was eager to practice with her sister, a goalie, almost daily on the family farm in Millington.
“I have the most fun playing field hockey of the sports I have done,” Kent says. “I understand it very well. I get the most action out of it. I have a lot of experience (10 years) with it, and I always have played in older age groups. With my high school team, I really enjoy helping out coaching-wise.”
Kent’s first two years on the field hockey team at Gunston were stellar. She earned Field Hockey Coaches Association of Maryland All-Mid Shore First honors both seasons as well as Eastern Shore Independent Conference First-Team recognition.
Kent totaled six goals and three assists as a freshman and boosted her point total to nine goals and seven assists last year. “She is so fluid on the field,” Matthews says. “She is so exciting to watch.”
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