While most student-athletes sleep in until their summer practice sessions start, Molly Nolan sets her alarm clock for 6 a.m. every day.
“I come out early mornings before other teams come out to practice,” the Robbinsville High senior said. “I had a graduated senior (Zara Khan) that would come out and help me with that.”
So Nolan would go out early to do drills, then join her official practice with the Ravens field hockey team. She also helped run summer captains’ practices that involved a lot of running and working on stick skills, and for good measure has a rebounder at home that she drives into.
Now that’s impressive.
“She put a lot of work in during the offseason,” coach Jen Didun said. “That’s been a big improvement for the whole team this year. She’s stepped up leadership-wise, staying after, putting in the work outside of regular practice hours. The past couple of years she took it upon herself to step up to a needed position of attack and do what needs to be done.”
Nolan stepped up big time early this season, as she led the Ravens with seven goals and an assist through their 2-1 start. In a 3-0 opening-day victory, the forward collected two goals, then erupted for a career-high four against Nottingham before scoring the team’s lone goal in a loss to Princeton. She has already surpassed her career high of five goals, set last season.
When it was noted she didn’t score much last year, Didun chuckled.
“No, but neither did a lot of us,” the coach said. “I think our schedule is a little better fit this year so that’s helped. We’ve focused a lot more on getting the ball up the field and getting her the opportunities. We watched her practice last year and she did a lot of hard work. You couldn’t see the goals and the numbers but this year we’re seeing the results of all that work.”
Nolan credited her fast start to two things: work ethic and cohesiveness.
“We worked hard during the summer and the team’s just working really well together this year,” she said. “I think (the chemistry) definitely helps. The majority of our team is seniors so we’ve been playing together since sixth grade. I can talk to my friends back and forth while we’re running up the field and that helps.”
Some of those seniors who aid Nolan up front and from the midfield include Lucie Canuso, Alyson Klinger, Gunneet Kuar, Renn Beeman and Julia Boss, along with junior Cam DeRezze.
“They’re all in the mix, all the time,” Didun said.
Other members of the Class of 2027 include defenders Gabi Milacci, Sara Aras, Keira Pierini and Olivia Naperkoski. With a ton of experience, the Ravens were running smoothly in September.
“It’s great they feel that (cohesion) on the field,” Didun said. “We have 10 seniors so they’ve been playing together a long time; and a lot of them consistently in the same position so that’s helped as well.”
The coach was quick to add, “I stepped into the chemistry. (Former coach) Jenna (Colicchia) established good work ethic and good balance. And a few years ago we didn’t have field hockey players, we had good athletes that played field hockey. Now I think they’re playing on their own a little more. They’re excited to come to practice.
“Molly is one of them. She’s watching more films, more games, she’s getting excited about it.”
Nolan began playing field hockey in middle school “just for fun. It was my first time playing, all my friends were joining and we all just did it together.”
Like many novices, she didn’t understand the frequent stoppages.
“When I first started I thought it was really hard with all the rules,” she said with a laugh. “It was kind of confusing. They just kept blowing the whistle. I got used to it as the years went on and it was definitely fun.”
Nolan began as a forward and has played there ever since. It’s a good fit, since she has a hunger to score that is necessary up front.
“I think I have that,” she said. “When I get stopped it just angers me to score more and more, to always fight back and never give up.”
When Nolan arrived at Robbinsville, she was considered an unpolished gem by Colicchia and Didun, who was an assistant at the time. Nolan’s experience was limited to middle school. She went to some clinics but did not play on outside teams.
“Middle school is a little different than playing up here,” the coach said.
During her playing days, Didun excelled in field hockey and basketball at Hopewell Valley and then rowed for the Rutgers crew team. Thus, as an all-around athlete, she has pretty good insight into a player’s skills.
And she saw them right away when Nolan was a freshman.
“Her athleticism stood out for sure,” Didun said. “You coach certain athletes and tell them to do certain things and you can tell their responsiveness right away. She showed that from a very early age.
“Her biggest jump came from her sophomore to junior year. Last year she really started to make an impact and this year we’re seeing a lot more of the effects of it.”
In assessing Nolan’s abilities as a goal scorer, Didun feels she can do a little bit of everything.
“Last year we saw it but this year, especially, she just knows how to receive and go,” the coach said. “She’s very coachable, she can watch film and apply it right away. She has good stick skills, she can read the defender very well and also read the off-ball movement. That’s helped her a lot. We’ve had a couple different formations where she’s been able to adjust and move.”
Nolan’s aims this season are for the team to do well, which she thinks it can, and to score at least one goal in every game. She was still on target after three games.
When not playing field hockey, Nolan dabbled in lacrosse and last spring decided to play golf, although she will not reveal her scoring average.
Academically, she reflects many of her teammates with a 4.03 grade point average while taking Advanced Placement courses in literature, biology and psychology.
“You don’t have to worry about this bunch in the classroom,” Didun said.
Academics have long been a point of emphasis for Nolan, who said, “I always try to focus on it and my parents push me to be good in school.”
In her free time, she is in the RHS UNICEF and Red Cross clubs as she prepares for a future in the medical field. Nolan has not picked a college yet but is applying to various nursing programs, with plans to specialize in a field she has not yet decided on.
“I always like helping people and making them feel better about themselves,” she said.
Her coach certainly feels better about having Nolan on the team.
“She’s one of your top athletes that you hope for,” Didun said. “She’s always saying ‘Yes coach, whatever you need.’ She has stepped up, got voted as a captain.
“She’s quiet in that she doesn’t speak unless it’s needed. If something needs to be said she’ll say it. She does a lot of the off talk that coaches might not have to ask for. If a player is struggling she’ll go over and say ‘Try this, try that.’ There’s a lot of unseen qualities with what she does.”
Such as rising at the crack of dawn to go out and practice.
