Field hockey player now coaching
Editor's note: This is part of a recurring series about some of CMU's most established former student-athletes.
Tarah Trottier Christenson thought she was done.
Her 2003 senior season on the field hockey team concluded with a Mid-American Conference first-team selection, West-Region second-team selection and a team-high 36 points.
"When I finished my senior year I was like, I'm done," she said. "I knew I wanted to get my master's and (CMU head coach) Cristy (Freese) was like, 'Why don't you get a graduate assistant job and become an assistant somewhere,' and that's how I ended up here at Utica."
Now, Christenson is the head field hockey coach at Division III Utica College in Utica, N.Y. While Christenson excelled on the field for the Chippewas, she just finished her first year at Utica and admits she still is learning about coaching.
She said her time under Freese has given her the confidence to know she can do the job.
"I played for Cristy Freese for four years at Central - I can get through anything," she said. "I can put myself in my players' shoes, because I was just there."
Freese recalls a time when Christenson approached her after the 2001 season, upset about her playing time.
"I remember sitting down with her after her sophomore year - she really wanted to play," Freese said. "We used a three-forward system and I asked her to rank the top four, she put herself fourth and I said, 'Well then, what are you doing in here?' She always had a lot of confidence and I think that was an enlightening moment for her."
Freese is not the only person from CMU who Christenson remains close with. While Christenson is busy in Utica, she still takes time to get updates from many of her friends in Mount Pleasant.
"Two years ago, I went to the (USA) Field Hockey (National Hockey) Festival in West Palm Beach, Fla. on a recruiting trip and I ran into some of my teammates," Christenson said. ". We definitely stay in touch and make every effort."
Christenson even brought someone familiar with her to Utica. Laura Glaza came to CMU in 2002 as a freshman during Christenson's junior season. After graduating from CMU in 2005, Glaza went home to East Rochester, N.Y., and coached in the area before joining Christenson's staff .
Glaza said Christenson has always had coaching traits.
"When I came in she was a leader and that just stood out to me," Glaza said. "If things weren't going her way, she just kept working very hard. She's just continued to learn the game ... that this is a different level."
For Christenson, adapting has been part of her life since she left CMU. From changing her plans to include coaching to altering her coaching style, Christenson said being willing to embrace change is one trait all collegians should have upon graduation.
"Nothing really happens the way you plan it - you have to just go with it and make the best of it," Christenson said. "Everything happens for a reason. If it doesn't work out today, someday down the road it's going to work out and it's going to pay off."
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