Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Allison McKenzie, multi-talented

Tony Altobelli

If you’re ever at a Newport Harbor High field hockey game and you

see Allison McKenzie running all over the field, looking like she’s

playing every position out there, chances are she is.

The junior co-captain wears many hats for Coach Sharon Wolfe’s squad,

which suits McKenzie just fine.

“I want to be where the action is,” the Daily Pilot Athlete of the

Week said. “If it’s a tight, defensive game, I feel more comfortable back

on defense. But, if the game is more wide open, the coach will put me up

front to add some offense. I don’t care where I play. I just want to be

involved.”

So far, that hasn’t been a problem for McKenzie. McKenzie has been a

major force for a Sailors’ defensive unit that has allowed only two goals

this season.

On the offensive side, McKenzie scored two game-winning goals last

week, both in 1-0 wins.

The first came at Harvard-Westlake last Tuesday while the second came

in the championship game of the Orange County Invitational, beating rival

Marina.

McKenzie also added an assist to one of Elizabeth Evans’ three goals

in the Sailors’ 3-0 win against Santiago.

“She’s extremely unselfish with the ball,” Wolfe said. “For only a

junior, she’s very mature, both on the field and off. That’s why the

girls selected her as one of the captains even though there’s a bunch of

seniors on the team.”

McKenzie first got into field hockey only a couple of years ago when

she first stepped foot at Harbor.

“I saw field hockey in all the registration packets and it sounded

fun,” she said. “I play a little golf and a little soccer and I thought

that field hockey was a nice combo of both.”

After a few practices, McKenzie quickly realized which sport field

hockey resembled. “It’s definitely more like soccer,” she said with a

laugh.

According to Wolfe, making the transition from position to position is

not as easy for some players as it has been for McKenzie.

“She does it happily,” Wolfe said. “She doesn’t get rattled out there

and she adjusts to whatever’s going on very fast. A lot faster than most

players.”

Newport is currently 13-1-1 and is on the right track to a Sunset

League title with a perfect 8-0 mark, outscoring its opponents, 36-2.

“I think our defense is so strong because we always know where we all

are on the field,” McKenzie said. “We know how to read each other and we

communicate well. Plus, our two goalies (freshman Amanda Wittman and

sophomore Chloe Cox) have played great all year for us as well.”

With the ball, Wolfe sees McKenzie as a steady offensive weapon. “She

doesn’t do anything too flashy out there,” Wolfe said. “But, she’s always

doing the right thing. Allison put in a ton of hours in the summer

workouts and her game has really blossomed.”

As a captain, McKenzie takes the role fairly seriously, but also isn’t

too absorbed with the title.

“I’ll try to motivate if that’s what we need, but my teammates don’t

listen to me,” McKenzie joked. “It’s not as an insult. It’s just that

we’re all such good friends they’re just like, ‘Whatever, Allison.’ But

I’ll put in my two cents whenever I can.”

McKenzie’s hard work on the field also carries into the classroom,

according to the junior class vice-president. “My free time is pretty

limited,” she said. “All of my classes are honors or AP classes so when

I’m not playing field hockey, I’m studying, studying, studying.”

Despite her solid play, Wolfe still sees room for improvement. “I’d

love to see her become more of an offensive weapon,” she said. “Her

scoring, assists and her lateral movement can all improve. The nice thing

is I have her for another year. I don’t think she realizes just how

important a player she is for us.”

Does McKenzie see herself playing field hockey beyond Newport Harbor?

“I’d like to play, perhaps on a club team or on an intramural team,”

she said. “I have the feeling I’m going to be extremely busy with

schoolwork when I get to college. I really do like the sport, so we’ll

just to wait and see what happens.”