Barber, Hindy, Women’s Pan Am Cup Team Earn USA Field Hockey Honors for 2004

Colorado Springs -- Two unwavering veteran players and a persevering team have earned USA Field Hockey honors for 2004.

      U.S. women's team forward Kate Barber (West Chester, Pa.) and men's midfielder Shawn Hindy (Westlake Village, Calif.) earned USA Field Hockey Athlete of the Year honors, while the 2004 U.S. Women's Pan Am Cup team was selected as the Association's Team of the Year.

      “In 2004, USA Field Hockey enjoyed some great moments and many of them were supplied by athletes like Kate and Shawn and the members of our Pan Am Cup team,” said USA Field Hockey Executive Director Sheila Walker. “As our teams continue to excel and improve, we can look forward to many more of these great performances from our field hockey athletes at all levels.”

      The individual awards were the second such accolades for both Barber and Hindy who earned the Athlete of the Year honors in 2002.

      The USA Field Hockey honorees are now eligible for the United States Olympic Committee’s SportsMan, SportsWoman and Team of the Year awards. Members of the USOC Board of Directors along with representatives of the national media participate in the voting to select the USOC award winners from the nominees representing Olympic, Pan American and Affiliated Sport Organizations within the U.S. Olympic Movement.

 

Kate Barber

Epitomizing the toughness, determination and resolve of the Olympic spirit, Kate Barber overcame a broken jaw just prior to the team’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament to return to the lineup and lead her team to the brink of the Olympic Games. Suffering the injury in training just weeks before the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Barber miraculously returned to the lineup for the Qualifier and scored a pair of goals in the tournament to help the U.S. to victories over Spain and Russia.  Barber’s inspirational return and leadership were not enough however as the USA narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympic Games by one spot in the final standings.

 

"Kate is the toughest and most selfless athlete in the business, as exemplified by her broken jaw injury and amazing recovery prior to the Olympic Qualifier,” said women’s acting coach Nick Conway. “She is a true leader with an amazing work ethic. Kate was our most consistent and quality player all year. She has a world class hockey understanding, skills and performance credibility. Without hesitation, Kate is one of the finest players in the world and a credit to our team in every respect."

            One of the team’s most proficient scorers, Barber scored six goals in international play in 2004 and helped the team to a second place finish at the 2004 Pan American Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados.

      Concluding her seventh year with the U.S. team, Barber earned silver medals at the 1999 and 2003 Pan American Games and played on the U.S. World Cup teams in 1998 and 2002.

                       

Shawn Hindy

            Providing veteran experience to a young U.S. men’s team at the 2004 Pan American Cup, Shawn Hindy exhibited selflessness and leadership while helping the development of young players.

            The USA placed 7th at the Pan Am Cup with a team whose members averaged just over 21 years of age. A 10-year national team veteran, Hindy moved from his traditional forward position to midfield in 2004 where he helped stabilize the young USA defense.

      “Shawn Hindy is a very brave and courageous athlete,” said U.S. coach Shiv Jagday. “He is very passionate about the game, and a champion of the sport both on and off the playing field.”

      In addition to his performance on the pitch, Hindy assisted in the development of the game through participation in field hockey clinics and through the role of umpire at USA Field Hockey events.

      The senior member of the U.S. squad, Hindy has appeared in 47 international matches for the United States while scoring 26 goals. He has been a member of the U.S. national squad since 1995 and has appeared in two Pan American Games as well as the Indoor World Cup.

            He played as a member of the U.S. indoor team at the 2nd Pan American Indoor Cup in 2004 where he scored two goals in helping the USA to a second place finish. A graduate of San Diego State Univ., Hindy also serves as an assistant field hockey coach at Radford Univ.

www.usfieldhockey.com

 

 

Howard Thomas

USA Field Hockey

usfha@usfieldhockey.com