© 2011Greg Fiume
Life Has Been Good To Katie O’Donnell by Stefanie Loh
Life has been good to Katie O’Donnell.
At the age of 16, O’Donnell, a native of Blue Bell, PA, became the youngest player to ever make the U.S. National Team.
Now 22, the University of Maryland senior has won two national championships, and is finishing her career as one of the most decorated players in Terps field hockey history.
She holds multiple school records and this year became the fifth player from Maryland to ever win the Honda Sports Award in field hockey, which goes to the top collegiate player in the country every year.
But all that silverware aside, the award that means the most to O’Donnell – and to the field hockey community in general – is one that puts her in the company of some of the greatest Female athletes in the country.
This October, O’Donnell was named Sportswoman of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation.
Previous award winners include soccer legend Mia Hamm, tennis queens Serena and Venus Williams, ice skater Michelle Kwan, basketball icon Lisa Leslie, and the beach volleyball tandem of Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh.
O’Donnell beat out some big names to win this year too. Softball player Jennie Finch, and ice hockey Olympic gold medalist Meghan Agosta were both nominated for the award.
O’Donnell thought Finch would win, so when her video clip flashed onto the screen at the Waldorf-Astoria ballroom in New York City, and she was ushered onstage to accept the award, she was overwhelmed by surprise.
“I was up against some fantastic other athletes who could easily be recognized as the best in their sport ever,” O’Donnell said. “To beat them out and to be able to say that in 2010 I was the best sportswoman of the year is something not many people can say.
“A lot of my other awards I won over other field hockey athletes. This one was for all sports.” This is the kind of award that can put an athlete, and a sport, on the map.
And O’Donnell’s win is extra special for the field hockey community because she’s the first field hockey player who’s ever won it.
She may be Sportswoman of the Year now, but life hasn’t changed very much for O’Donnell since the big win.
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