With the fall sports season winding down, fans remember their teams wins and losses. But for the players, the camaraderie developed over the course of the season is often more memorable. This may be especially true for international student athletes the team is their family at MSU.

Although players from abroad participate on more than half of the competitive sports teams at MSU, the womens field hockey is a team with one of the highest percentages of international students. Of the 22 students on the MSU team, four are from the Netherlands and one is from Zimbabwe. Head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof is also from the Netherlands.

We share the same background and experience as it relates to [field] hockey because its part of the culture, van de Kerkhof said of his Dutch players.

The team ended their 2006 season with eight wins and 12 losses overall, with two wins and five losses against Big Ten schools. In many parts of the world, field hockey is as popular as basketball or baseball are in the United States, and many children start playing the sport at an early age. The Netherlands is one of the countries with the strongest field hockey traditions. Floor Rijpma, a freshman, and Charlotte van der Laag, a junior (see photo), are two of the Dutch students competing for MSU. They have been playing the sport for most of their lives and are accomplished athletes in their home country. I knew some players at MSU, and they had amazing stories, Rijpma said. I thought it was a great opportunity. Rijpma arrived in Michigan last January, and said the biggest challenges for her were language and cultural differences. My English was bad, so that was a huge challenge, Rijpma said. It was a challenge to come here and be in a different culture with different people.

Having been at MSU for three years, van der Laag feels comfortable in her adopted environment. My teammates say, Charlotte, youre an American already! But she acknowledges the hard work of being an international student athlete dealing with language, culture and academic changes.

It takes about one semester to adapt, but your team is your family, van der Laag said. You can always fall back on your field hockey team. To put in context how surprising it is to have four Dutch players on the team, there are seven undergraduate and five graduate students from the Netherlands among the 45,000-plus students at MSU, according to the Office for International Students and Scholars. Despite having the same country of origin as four of his players, van de Kerkhof said recruiting foreign students is not his main concern. The number one priority is bringing the best American kids to the program, van de Kerkhof said. If American kids dont come, Ill look at other countries to fill holes and add flavor to the team. From the coaching perspective, there are definite benefits to having Dutch players on the team because of their lifelong experience with the sport. Foreign field hockey players are exposed to a high level of competition and have a high level of game skills and awareness, van de Kerkhof said. He perceives another distinction between the approaches of U.S. and Dutch students to the game: Americans see it as a job. The Dutch play more for themselves. Americans play to please other players or for the coach.

----- Field hockey overview:

The modern game of field hockey evolved in England during the 19th century.

The sport was introduced to the United States in 1901.

The Olympics included mens field hockey in 1908 and womens in 1980.

The World Cup of field hockey is held every four years with 12 mens and 12 womens teams competing to be world champion.

About the game itself: Using sticks that are flat on one side and curved on the other, two teams hit and dribble a solid plastic ball down the field and try to shoot it past a goalkeeper into a goal cage. Goals can only be scored when a shot is taken from within the striking circle; a semicircle extending 16 yards from the goal.

There are two 35-minute halves in collegiate play.

There are 11 players per side, including the goalkeeper.

Two umpires on the field officiate the match.

The ball must be passed or dribbled down the field with the flat side of the stick.

Players may not shield the ball using their bodies.

(From the USA Field Hockey Web site)

Article by Kristin V. Johnson, ISP news intern. A slightly modified version was published in the November 2006 issue of MSUToday International at http://international.msutoday.msu.edu