Camden Catholic senior Emily Gallagher moved from offense to defense to help her team fill a void this season. (Mark Zimmaro)
During the preseason, Emily Gallagher was hoping to showcase her offensive skills for college coaches.
But just before taking the field for a scrimmage, the Camden Catholic High School field hockey player was told by Irish coach Mark Vittese that she would be playing defense – a position she had never played in high school.
“I had all these colleges here to see me, and I thought, ‘Did I do something wrong on offense? Is there something I can do better?’” Gallagher said. “But he said he put me there because he knew I could adapt and work hard to learn the position better to benefit the team.”
It’s one thing to experiment at practice, but Gallagher was thrown into the fire at her new position in a scrimmage against West Essex, which is revered as arguably the best team in the state. She passed her entry test with flying colors.
“If you’re going to start at a new position, you might as well start with a bang,” Vittese said.
Camden Catholic’s field hockey team lives on a minefield, which will keep Gallagher quite busy all season. The Irish have high hopes of competing for a state championship again this year so they stacked their schedule with the best competition they can find, including Eastern, Moorestown and Oak Knoll.
Gallagher’s move to the backend unselfishly filled a huge void on the team. The Irish had lost several key defensive players to graduation last year and someone had to make a sacrifice and start preventing goals instead of scoring them. Gallagher didn’t know it at the time, but her leadership and willingness to be a team player answered the call in a big way.
“We lost one back and two defensive [midfielders], who all graduated and are all playing Division 1 this year,” Vittese said. “Somebody had to step in and fill the hole. She’s done a really good job as a senior with a big change. But you do what you can to help the team, and she’s happy playing big minutes on the field.”
The Irish opened their season with a 4-0 shutout over rival Bishop Eustace and a 7-2 win over Lenape. No one was more thankful for the defensive help than goaltender Leah DiRenzo, a Saint Joseph’s University commit.
“I think she is the senior that most of the underclassmen look up to because she’s amazing,” DiRenzo said. “Accepting the fact of moving from offense to defense is a big deal, and she’s killing it. No one does that.”
Gallagher’s work ethic was key to her change in position, and that quick-to-adapt attitude could come in handy as Gallagher hopes to pursue the family tradition of working in criminal justice. Three of her grandparents worked in law enforcement and her father previously worked in security.
“It’s been passed down,” Gallagher said with a laugh. “It’s something I definitely want to do. I’d love to be able to work on a crime scene.”
With Gallagher hot on the trail of incorporating criminal justice into her future, she hopes to align that goal with a college where she can also play field hockey – though that would just be an added bonus.
“Finding the right college for me is the most important thing,” Gallagher said. “My mom always tells me grades come before field hockey, and I’ve always followed that advice.”
It’s not that she can’t handle the workload. Gallagher is heavily involved at her school and parish. Along with student government, she was selected to the Green & White Society, which focuses on leadership skills that help members become student ambassadors at high school nights, guest days and open houses. Gallagher also takes part in Lemon Club, which raises money for childhood cancer research; Link Crew, which helps mentor and welcome freshmen to the school; and REBEL, which is a tobacco prevention club that sponsors activities to educate students about the effects of tobacco usage.
She also serves as a reader and altar server at her parish, Our Lady of Hope in Blackwood.
“All of the activities really taught me time management,” Gallagher said. “That really helps me get everything done.”