When I first learned that I was going to be inducted into the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame, I was thrilled – not as much for me, but for the two people who have been my biggest and loyal fans throughout my life: my parents, bob and Ellen Martin. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had them at almost every game that I played at Harvard in three sports (field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse), over four years. It was such a nice feeling to look up into the stands and see two familiar faces all the time. There often was a third face – that of my youngest brother, Ted – who became the ball boy for our basketball team from 1978 to 1983 and who knew more about field hockey than most boys in the United States.

I came to Harvard to get a solid education, to meet new and interesting people, and to play basketball. As a walk-on in field hockey, I never anticipated plying the sport at Harvard, let alone end up being inducted into the Hall of Fame for it. Lacrosse was a pleasant surprise, since I never had seen a women’s lacrosse game before I arrived on campus.

I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to my field hockey coach at Harvard, Edie Mabrey. When I entered Harvard in the fall of 1979, Edie was a young, first-year coach who was considered one of the best field hockey players in the country. I certainly give her a lot of credit for seeing some potential in a freshmen who only had been playing field hockey for two years, did not know all the rules yet, and had very limited stickwork, but could run pretty fast and had a tendency to score goals. Edie had the patience and ability to help me develop both as a player both at Harvard and on the national level, resulting in many of my most memorable athletic experiences.

I must admit that my induction into the Hall of Fame never would have been possible if my father had not gone on a business trip back in 1979. I remember that it rained for the entire first week of field hockey tryouts. Since we had to move inside, we only could do stickwork drills and small game situations. Because my game at the time consisted mainly of speed and scoring goals, I was hoping we eventually would have the opportunity to play a full-field game. Since this was not the case, due to weather, none of the coaches ever asked me my name, so I thought my days were numbered.

I was preparing myself to go back to basketball and start getting ready for that season, when I telephoned my father. He asked me to stay with field hockey until he came back from his trip in one week. I agreed to stay, and finally the sun came out, so tryouts moved back outside onto the field. We began to play games and run windsprints, and soon the coaches knew my name. I ended up making the varsity team and was fortunate enough to enjoy four years of field hockey at Harvard. Thank goodness for my father’s business trip and his sound advice!

Another exciting aspect of my induction is the fact that two of my fellow inductees, Maureen Finn Austin and Francesca Den Hartog McClellan, also are becoming Hall-of_Famers for their incredible lacrosse careers. They not only were my teammates, but are my good friends. Maureen and I met during the first week of field hockey and continue to keep in touch today. Francesca and I happened to meet in Coach Carole Kleinfelder’s office as lacrosse and basketball recruits, respectively.

I am extremely proud of this induction honor, but I also realize that you do not get into the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame on your own. I always preferred to play team sports because I value spirit and the camaraderie of teammates.

I never won a field hockey game – my team did. I may have scored goals and made assists, but my teammates passed me the ball, scored goals, and made saves. In addition, my coaches put it all together so that out team worked in unison, and we either won, lost, or tied as a team. I accept this induction honor on behalf of all my teammates, coaches, managers, and trainers who made the whole thing work.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Harvard Varsity Club – in particular, its staff and the Hall of Fame committee. As president of the Varsity Club, I have come to know firsthand what an enormous amount of work it takes to organize and coordinate this event. I am proud to be a member of the Varsity Club, especially when I see what a fine job they do with such events such as the Hall of Fame Dinner.

I am very grateful for this honor and pleased that I can share it with my parents, my family, friends, teammates, and coaches. I have been extremely fortunate – not for the wins, records, or awards, but for the friendships, experiences, and memories. Field Hockey is a game, and by definition, a game should be fun. I had a blast!