St. Dominic Academy sophomore Ava Martin has scored six goals for the Saints, but her true skill is helping set up goals for her teammates. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

AUBURN — Senior Emily Andrews realized a few years ago how dedicated her cousin and St. Dom’s teammate, Ava Martin, was to field hockey.

“I mean, growing up, she’s always talked about it,” Andrews said. “It’s been talked about in my family. But I guess when she was in seventh grade and I was a freshman, I really became adamant that she was very invested in the sport. She started doing clinics, and it was very important to her.”

Martin also plays club field hockey and said her Maine Styx coaches, Danielle Bishop and Breanna Morrill, have played a big role in her growth on the field and her field hockey IQ.

“I think they really helped me develop my skills and the game IQ in the classroom,” Martin said. “We do a lot of classroom time, so I just watch film, and a lot of stuff during even the weeks prior. If I’m not in practice, I’m often watching film on my games and college games, all the things.”

Watching games allows Martin to see details she might have missed while playing.

“I think it’s really exciting to see what you’re doing well and also how to improve … seeing all aspects of the field, because often when you’re on the field, you don’t know exactly what’s going on and you’re not processing everything, but watching it again is a great thing,” Martin said.

First-year St. Dom’s coach Michelle Cummings said Martin’s high field hockey IQ helps her feed the ball to teammates when they get open.

“She can move the ball around the field — she knows where to pass to the open spaces,” Cummings said. “So, we’re trying to teach them how to find those open spaces for her. She plays in the middle of the field, so she kind of controls play a little bit. And, you know … she has a very high IQ already, only as a sophomore.”

Cummings added that Martin, a midfielder, does a great job communicating with her teammates and telling them what play to run next.

Martin isn’t the primary goal scorer for the Saints (5-2) but often helps set up the forwards’ goals. So far this season she has six goals and an assist in seven games.

“She can stop the ball … and then she can get it up to anybody to get a goal, and she’s very good at setting us up for success,” Andrews said.

Cummings said playing midfield maximizes the impact of Martin’s field awareness.

“You know, she gets the ball out to the wings where the ball needs to be to work its way up the field and passing up to them,” Cummings said.

Martin began playing for St. Dom’s when she was an eighth-grader, and last year she recorded 12 goals and three assists as a freshman. This year, despite only being a sophomore, she is one of the Saints’ team captains. She said she enjoys seeing her teammates succeed.

“I like to see other girls shine and let them be happy and see their faces after they score,” Martin said. “It brings me a lot of joy inside to just see everyone else also succeed, because I know I’m doing my job in my position, and that’s not always getting the goals or the assists. It’s making the plays outside of that to be able to get up the field.”

LOOKING AT COLLEGES

Martin spent most of this past summer playing for Styx and with St. Dom’s summer program and attending college camps, where she made an impression. She was named the best defender at NCAA Division II East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania’s camp.

“I always go with confidence in myself because it’s definitely getting out of your comfort zone because I don’t know any of these girls at these camps,” Martin said. “And a lot of these camps, people bring their whole team. So I’m going into a team that I have no idea (about) and they all know each other. So I’m just going in with confidence in myself and also openness to be able to meet new people and learn from people high (up) in the sport.”

Martin began looking into the college recruiting process in the eighth grade and started talking with different colleges, mostly at the NCAA Division III level, because Division I and II schools can’t contact a player until they finish their sophomore season.

Martin said she’s looking for a college team that is the right fit, no matter which division it is.

“I’m hoping to go as far as I can, but I also want to find my place in a program,” Martin said.

Andrews said Martin has the ability to continue playing field hockey for several more years.

“As far as she wants to; I mean, if she wants to go D-I, if she tried harder than that, she could definitely go D-I,” Andrews said. “If she just wanted to stay at the D-III level, she definitely could. If she doesn’t even want to play in college, I mean, it’s whatever she wants to do.”