studied the rules and tactics of hockey, and gradually became kind of an unofficial manager or mascot.
"He was so committed to our success that he would often 'hex' the other teams for us," remembers Ybarra. "He'd have a field hockey stick and twirl, pose, and cheer for us. He became a fixture at our games and we could count on him to give us that extra oomph. He'd stand outside our huddles to listen to the strategic direction Coach Fong would provide."
Wollbrinck jumped into the spirit of the team immediately. Fong would bring him on the bus for local games, demonstrating a level of trust that an outsider might have found peculiar. But this non-judgmental attitude was a part of Berkeley and the Golden Bears spirit.
His "X-Chromosome" phase dovetailed effortlessly with his embracing field hockey. There was no better way to reflect feminist beliefs than steadfast support of the Cal team: a squad steeped in the power, strength and teamwork of hardworking, intelligent women.
Says Onstead, "He went on a really big kick about why women should rule the world and why they're superior beings."
His entrance into the program marked a cusp of great
success and disappointment for the Golden Bears. In 1980, during Onstead and Ybarra's first season, Cal lost to Penn State in the National Championship. Ybarra still remembers the Penn State team blasting Queen's "We Are the Champions" on a boom-box after the 2-1 loss, leaving the Golden Bears with their heads down. This disappointment on the national stage knitted the team tight, and Wollbrinck became a part of this trust.
His dedication was steadfast for thirteen seasons: longer than the combined middle school, high school, and collegiate field hockey careers of most American women. In the mid-90's, Wollbrinck fell out of his constant support of the Golden Bears, partially because of a rift with the athletic department and partially because the pressure of participation proved too much. "If we weren't doing well, he felt responsible," says Onstead.
After an extended break, Wollbrinck's relationship to Onstead and the team was mended, abate in a much more limited capacity. He still shows up randomly to a few games or practices every season. Onstead wants her girls to recognize this eccentric man, especially considering he occasionally wears a Cal Field Hockey practice jersey over his scrubs. As Onstead puts it, "He's one of us."
He was so committed to our success that he would often 'hex' the other teams for us…He'd have a field hockey stick and twirl, pose, and cheer for us.
On a random fall day in Berkeley, a young Golden Bears squad gathers around the sixty-year old man in painted scrubs. He's been watching hockey for longer than they've been alive, but many of the girls don't know this. Some lean away with reticence as he extends his arm towards the team. He dramat- ically closes his pinky into his palm. “Goalkeeping,” he says. Closing his ring finger, “defense.” He continues with his middle finger: “midfield.” His index finger, “forwards.” Finally, he closes his thumb, “coaching.”
"Now he's made a fist," remembers Onstead. "Then he shakes his fist. And then he walks away. It was awesome."
"When you talk with him, you realize there's a thin line between crazy and brilliant," says Onstead of the man she's considered a friend for over thirty years. "I'm pretty sure he's a little of both."
They've grown up together, inhabiting the same few square miles around Sproul Plaza and its rich history of diversity and progress. To the casual observer, William Wollbrinck and Onstead's Cal Field Hockey couldn't seem more different: the schizophrenic street performer and the disciplined athletes. However, it's clear that in some ways Wollbrinck encapsulates a bit of Onstead's, and the Golden Bears, philosophies on life.
As Ybarra says so eloquently, "Field hockey is a team sport and the team becomes a family. It just works that way with this particular sport. People get it. They are committed to it. We play our best so that those around us can play better. The Cal Field Hockey Team welcomed William into our team environment because he got it, too. His work ethic matched ours. It takes effort to support a team and he was 'all in'.
"It is always a part of you. Whatever It is: whether it's a combination of field hockey the sport, the team experience, the practices, the injuries, the successes, the losses, or the stories. William is a part of It."
fhlife@usafieldhockey.com 33
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