Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s Defensive Player of The Year, Angela Keomahavong, announced her verbal commitment to Wilson College Field Hockey on Sept. 28, 2022. 

Over four years in the making, Keomahavong has dedicated an immense amount of time and money to field hockey. In the fall, she practiced with the CHS team for an hour and a half daily. She also played for her club team, Lightning Field Hockey, in the off-season, making the senior an asset to Cupertino High School’s defense, leading them through the 2023 season.

“I started playing field hockey when I was in eighth grade, and I fell out of it because I didn’t know anyone in the club I was playing with,” Keomahavong said. “I started playing again my freshman year at Tino and also back in club. It just made me fall back in love with the sport.”

Keomahavong understood her potential to become a college athlete after years of training with CHS in the fall, and her club team, Lightning Field Hockey, in the spring. 

In her junior and senior years, Keomahavong received 12 offers to play collegiate field hockey, four from Division I schools. Ultimately, she selected Wilson College for its location and long-term financial benefits, given that it provides 98 percent of students with financial aid. The field hockey team also had successful tournaments and conference games. Said Keomahavong, “I had to pick wisely to make sure that [Wilson] was the right choice for me.” 

Keomahavong works as a boba barista to support her field hockey career — balancing schoolwork, athletics and her job. 

Juggling her priorities became increasingly challenging when college coaches began reaching out. 

“The most difficult [period] was probably going around and flying out to the campuses to do campus tours and playing with the team to see if I get along with [them],” Keomahavong said. “I did feel a lot of stress because I would be missing out on a lot of school. I had to make up a lot so I took it during tutorial to do it. It also got me off task during practices.” 

“My biggest supporters were teammates, coaches and family members,” said Keomahavong while reflecting on the path to commitment. “I wouldn’t know where I would be at this point without their encouragement.”

She shared that her immigrant family initially did not understand her passion for the sport. 

“Since they never grew up knowing the sport nor [understanding] the playing rules because they assumed it was like soccer. I then explained to them about my games. My parents realized I started to love field hockey even more when playing and at practices when they watched [me] play,” Keomahavong said in her NCSA College Recruiting website statement.

She intends to study journalism and business after graduating from CHS and moving to Pennsylvania. Said Keomahavong, “I was shy to come out that I did commit, and I didn’t want to brag, but I was also proud of myself that I made a big jump into the future.”

For coverage on other recent athletic recruits: https://issuu.com/prospector/docs/issuu_issue_4_2022-2023/26

Interview contributions by Joyce Lee and Katie Kim