Liberty Field Hockey: Dykemas are sisters on the field and off
When Ashley Dykema, a Liberty field hockey player, wrote her younger sister Bethany a letter of support as Bethany tried to choose a college, she did not know that letter would impact Bethany’s decision to eventually play with her sister at Liberty.
Growing up homeschooled in eastern Virginia, the Dykema sisters played on a club field hockey team at a young age to gain friends and play a sport where they could release their energy.
“Coming from a military family and finally settling down in Virginia when I was young was nice,” Ashley said. “Our mom wanted us to plug in and meet people, and that homeschool field hockey team is what got me interested.”
STARTS — Junior Ashley Dykema started all 19 games in both her freshman and sophomore seasons.
The Dykema sisters participated in the Junior Olympics for a few years, and they both medaled for their age group. In most instances growing up, Ashley and Bethany competed together, adding a unique layer of trust to their relationship, with the sisters playing on the same side of the field this year.
“We have that trust factor that other teammates don’t immediately have,” Ashley said. “It’s cool to see the connections that we make that maybe others couldn’t make.”
When Liberty recruited Ashley, Bethany said that she would never follow in her sister’s footsteps. Now, just a few years later, Bethany is a freshman at Liberty, and she is thrilled to represent her new school on the field this year.
“Ashley had always been a teacher to me, but I didn’t want to follow her,” Bethany said. “At first, I was looking at other big schools, but I kept going back to Liberty and Ashley wrote me a letter that told me she was going to support me no matter what. So I thought ‘Oh gosh, I have to go there.’”
When most siblings imagine playing a sport together, they typically think that their fighting or competitiveness could get in the way. While the Dykema sisters admit they want to outperform each other, they said they leave the sibling rivalry in the locker room.
Since Ashley lives off-campus and Bethany lives on-campus, coordinating times to talk together can be difficult, but they make time for each other no matter what.
“It’s a little different,” Ashley said. “But that just means we have to be more intentional with our time outside of field hockey.”
PATH — While freshman Bethany Dykema is undecided on her major, her place on the team is secure.
The pair has different playing styles, and their Head Coach Nikki Parsley said the uniqueness of the duo is evident.
“Seeing them sharpen one another has been neat to watch,” Parsley said. “They have very different personalities – Ashley is steady and Bethany plays with fire,
and it just works.”
Though Ashley is one of the cogs of the team after three years on the team, Bethany regularly starts as well, something that often does not happen for freshmen.
Two sisters on one team might seem sufficient, but these Virginia natives think they need a trio and hope to add their younger sister Emily to the mix in January.
“The best is yet to come,” Parsley said. “They will certainly add to the program here and they all love Jesus, and it is so evident. It impacts the players, coaches and everyone.”
The Dykema sisters and the field hockey team will play at home Friday, Sep. 27, when they host Villanova at 4 p.m.