Quick on her feet, anxious to dribble the ball, hoping to score a goal – Emilia Callahan ‘21 plays midfield and defense on the Dartmouth women’s field hockey team.

Callahan graduated from Hockaday in 2021 and played varsity field hockey for all four years of Upper School, as well as varsity soccer and varsity track & field. Her freshman year, she won the Coach’s Award: an award is given to a player that demonstrates star player qualities like sportsmanship. Her junior year, she was named to the High School National Academic Squad for field hockey along with eight other juniors and seniors, in addition to winning Hockaday’s Most Valuable Player in 2019. 

Because she learned how to balance playing sports and studying, Callahan took the values and habits she formed at Hockaday with her to Dartmouth. 

“I learned a lot at Hockaday and most importantly I developed the ability to balance my schedule and not wait until the last minute to get something done and not putting the proper amount of time into something,” Callahan said. “Having 20-plus hours of field hockey on top of school is difficult at times, but Hockaday gave me the skill set to be able to do it.”

When it wasn’t field hockey season, Callahan played field hockey at Lone Star Field Hockey Club. She still plays at Lone Star when she isn’t at Dartmouth with her head coach, Clarence Jannelle encouraging her every step of the way.

“Whenever I can catch five, 10 minutes of the game, I’m jumping onto the Big10 platform so I can see a little bit,” Jennelle said. 

Janelle was amazed at Callahan’s endless stream of talent.

“She started playing in 7th grade but I had the pleasure to coach her when she was in 9th or 10th grade, she was already one of Hockaday’s better players because of her speed more than anything else,” Jennelle said. “Field hockey gave her an outlet for things that build up during school and she could just cut loose and run and do her thing.”

With her positive attitude and contagious smile, her impact on others was undeniable.

“Emilia was always happy, you could never find the time when she wasn’t smiling about something,” Jennelle said. She would always be running around, trying her very best in the game.

 Not only has she impacted club field hockey, but she was also a role model to her younger sister, sophomore Annabel Callahan.

“When I watched my sister play field hockey, she was always having so much fun with her teammates, this inspired me to want to participate in the sport,” Callahan said. “She was always happy when playing field hockey and this influenced me by always trying to remain positive when playing a sport.”