Hoosiers keep it all in the family with recruitment

IU senior midfielder Meg O’Connell and junior midfielder Kelsey Kiper have field hockey ties that extend beyond the team.

The bond flows in their blood.    

Because their sisters, 2008 graduate Kate O’Connell and 2009 graduate Katie Kiper, respectively, played field hockey at IU, it influenced them in different ways.

In the end, they both chose to play for the Hoosiers.


Big sister, big influence

Many schools recruited Meg O’Connell because she won numerous awards, including one for being the nation’s high school career assist leader in her senior season.

“I took official visits to a lot of Big Ten schools,” Meg O’Connell said. “Most of the schools played IU while I took visits, and my sister would ask if I saw that win.”

IU field hockey coach Amy Robertson recruited Meg O’Connell in 2005 when Indiana went 17-5 on the year and placed second in the Big Ten conference.

“I knew Meg the same time I knew Kate because they played a lot of field hockey together,” Robertson said.

Her sister was a major reason why Meg O’Connell chose IU instead of the other Big Ten schools.

“It was a really big factor because she would push my choice for IU,” Meg O’Connell said.

The O’Connell sisters played field hockey with each other for 12 years before coming to IU. They played together for two more at IU once Meg O’Connell came to campus.

“We both knew each other’s styles and would complement each other on the field,” Meg O’Connell said.  

 
A different path

In high school, Kelsey Kiper led her team to a perfect 28-0 record and helped it win the 2006 state championship.

Kelsey Kiper’s path was different than Meg O’Connell’s because she didn’t know if she wanted to play field hockey in the future. She had a resume chock-full of other sports she could possibly compete in at the collegiate level.

“I obviously didn’t know if I wanted to play field hockey in college because of all the SEC schools don’t have field hockey,” said Kelsey Kiper, who lived in Louisville, Ky., and thus was closer to several Southeastern Conference schools.

While in high school, Kelsey Kiper was a four-year letter winner in field hockey, with three letters in track and field and one in basketball.

“I applied to three schools for field hockey and just liked the feel at Indiana better than any other place I visited,” Kelsey Kiper said.

Even though the Kiper sisters would only play together for two years, their parents and Katie Kiper wanted Kelsey Kiper to come to IU because those years would be worthwhile.

“My parents and sister would rather have me come here than anyplace else since it’s more convenient,” Kelsey Kiper said.

Her close relationship with her sister made Kelsey Kiper want to compete side-by-side with her.

“Plus, not many people can say they played with their sister,” Kelsey Kiper said.


The Connection

Getting younger sisters to play field hockey for IU wasn’t difficult for Robertson because of the connection already established from recruiting the
older sister.

“It wasn’t hard for me to recruit Meg and Kelsey because I knew their families and they knew my philosophy of our team,” Robertson said of in-family recruiting.

There were more factors that pushed Meg O’Connell and Kelsey Kiper toward Bloomington than their sisters.

“They were both comfortable with the team, school and the field hockey program here,” Robertson said.

Robertson said she likes to recruit players with younger sisters because talent will usually run in a family.

That showed in the O’Connell and Kiper families.

“It is easier if you have the older sister coming here, then to get the younger one to come here in the future,” Robertson said.