Notes From the Field: Green Gatorade Bottle

 

 

Erin Matson is a Tar Heel, world-class athlete, team player and champion. Here, in “Notes From the Field,” she’ll be sharing some of her thoughts in an ongoing series set to cover anything and everything on her mind. You can find the full series so far here, on Chapelboro.

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As I’m sitting on one of the tiniest planes I’ve ever been on, departing one of the most random small towns I’ve been to in America, I realize something: I have absolutely no idea when I last washed my Green Gatorade Bottle.

Okay, don’t judge. It mayyyybe has been a week and a half, and the water bottle’s only ever filled with water. Also, it has been through it all, people, so it has some thick skin. If I had to guess, this would be GGB #8 when it comes to how many have been on adventures with me throughout my hockey career. Where is this going, Erin?

The more I think about needing to wash it, the more I think about how ridiculous I probably look carrying around a scraped up, faded GGB with an obnoxious “MATSON” label peeling up by the edges. But then again, it’s been many years with one in my hand, hopping across oceans for international competition, winning matches and numerous championships with my UNC teammates and coaches, or just walking out to practice in Karen Shelton Stadium — always in awe that we get to call it home.

So naturally, my unwashed, well-used, well-traveled GGB and all of the memories it has been a part of created the perfect introduction for “Notes From the Field with Erin Matson.”

Some of you may have been reading about my experiences, lessons learned, and thoughts of mine through “Simply Erin”  — my personal blog I started this past year. Now, here I am, fortunate enough to be writing to all of you as well. My name is Erin Matson, and this upcoming Fall Semester will be the start of my fifth year at UNC. If you Google me, you’ll quickly find out that field hockey and the University of North Carolina are both huge parts of my life.

When I was six years old, I picked up a stick, and I haven’t looked back since. I began playing for the best club team in the country, WC Eagles, when I was nine years old, made the USA Women’s National Indoor Team at 13, and played in my first international match with the USA Women’s National Field Hockey Team at 17. It’s been six years since then, but life has only become more beautiful.

While all of that craziness was happening, there was also plenty of time to commit to the school that felt — and still feels like — home but also makes you think, “This is too perfect to be true,” every day. And by ‘plenty’ I mean, “There is ALWAYS time for that!”  My team and I have been fortunate to win three back-to-back-to-back National Championships, hold four ACC Championship trophies high, and be a part of multiple record-breaking experiences. And while that’s all amazing, we are student-athletes at Carolina. The lessons I’ve learned and relationships I’ve made in the classroom have been remarkable. The opportunities the school has given all of us are priceless.

Oh yeah… and the thing about “being a part of the Carolina family”? It’s no joke. It takes a special person to be a Tar Heel, and being a Tar Heel is something we all take pride in. It’s something we are thankful for each and every day. We know what we do wouldn’t be possible without those who came before us and those who stand beside us. And we all want to leave what & who we find better off than when we found it & them. You won’t truly understand it unless you are part of it, and there is just simply nothing that compares. Sorry-not-sorry to any Dookie reading this. But deep down, you know us Tar Heels are right! 

Even though I spoke briefly, I’m sure you think I wouldn’t be ‘me’ if it weren’t for field hockey. But in fact, I wouldn’t be ‘me’ if it weren’t for the opportunities, experiences, and lessons of my last 22 years on this Earth. Field hockey has just been the way for a lot of them to find me.

Heading into my last season at Carolina, there are a lot of bittersweet moments. Yes, it’s the last time I’ll take the field with my best friends with “Carolina” across our chests. And, come November, I will never sing “Hark the Sound” with my teammates in uniform after a home victory ever again. But it also means I have another season with amazing teammates who play for the person next to them, our legendary coach and our university. It also means there is another chance for us to bring a National Championship trophy home to Chapel Hill — an indescribable feeling, but one I most likely will attempt to explain to you at a later date.

So, for at least the next five months, I’ll do my best to give you an inside look on (almost) everything going on in my head. C’mon, can’t give you too much intel!

The goods, the bads, the areas for improvement, what the team’s favorite flavor of Gatorade is… I’m kidding, but it’s Glacier Freeze if you were actually curious. What it’s like being a student-athlete at Carolina, life on the road traveling to away games, who the best dancer on the team is… It’s definitely not Kelly.

The possibilities are endless, and trust me, there are and will be plenty of topics for us to dive into. I’m looking forward to sharing the experiences I’ve been through, as well as the ones yet to come, and learning together along the way. Because we should all strive to do as Anson Dorance says: “Live on a path of never-ending ascension.”

Now excuse me, my GGB deserves a dishwasher run.

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