Sisters enjoy season together as field hockey teammates

Lena Grote and her younger sister, Mariella, each began their field hockey careers as freshmen at Saint Ursula Academy in Cincinnati. While in high school, the sisters had an opportunity to play together for one year before Lena graduated and moved on to IU.

Now, the Grote sisters have an opportunity to play together one more year — this time as Hoosiers.

Lena — now a senior forward for the Hoosiers — has been a staple in the team’s attack as a key reserve since last season and is now a starter in 2010.

Meanwhile, Mariella has seen reserve minutes as a freshman.

Lena said their mother instilled in her daughters the love of the sport.

“My mom played field hockey for a year in college,” Lena said. “So that’s how she talked my older sister into playing. Then I started and it kind of continued down on to Mariella.”

Despite all three sisters playing, Lena downplayed the thought of sibling rivalry.
“It was never a rivalry. I was the one in between both of them,” she said. “There was never really true rivalry between the two of us.”

The eldest Grote sister briefly pursued playing field hockey as a walk-on in college, but opted not to play. However, she did lead her younger sisters to IU coach Amy Robertson.

“She recruited me and I came on board,” Lena said. “I loved it. She’s the one who got me into it so I stuck with it. Once I came here, Mariella followed in my
footsteps.”

* * *

With limited in-state recruiting options, Robertson always looks for recruits elsewhere. That’s how she found the Grote sisters.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association does not sponsor field hockey as a varsity high school sport. Additionally, only two universities, IU and Ball State, have teams.

This presents Robertson with a unique recruiting challenge. The closest place to watch recruits is Louisville and Cincinnati, Robertson said.

“They’re a couple hours away. After that, it’s many hours away,” Robertson said. “You’re not doing any in-state travel. You have to really teach the players that come here how important it is to have pride in Indiana and what it means to be a Hoosier.”

And, Lena said, the Grotes are an IU family.

“We all have a lot of pride in IU. It’s been a big part of our blood ever since my older sister came here. My dad is a Hoosier as well,” she said.

* * *

When Robertson heard the elder Grote sister thought highly of IU, she was delighted.
“As soon as I found out that their sister was here and she loved it, I knew it was going to be a much easier sell to get them to buy into what Indiana was all about,” Robertson said.

The Grote family’s ties to IU convinced Mariella to follow in her sisters’ footsteps.

“It’s what made my decision,” Mariella said. “I was between Ohio State and IU. It came down to the last day where I had to make my final decision. I weighed between family and strangers. I had to go with family.”

Robertson said she could tell there was a bond with the sisters.

“I pretty much knew once Lena came here, I almost would have had to chase Mariella away because they’re very close with one another,” she said.

For Mariella, choosing to play field hockey at IU meant one more year of playing with her older sister.

“The thought of playing with her in college was more than I could ask for,” she said.