Field hockey coach Neil MacMillan said his summer skydiving trip was among his life’s most exhilarating experiences. But the free fall was more than an adrenaline rush; it also represented a growing relationship between Ohio Athletics and Army Reserves.
MacMillan’s 15,000-foot jump with the Army Golden Knights was made possible because of a growing partnership between Ohio’s field hockey team and Ohio’s Army ROTC program.
The association began when the two groups shared Pruitt Field for early morning practices last season. The field hockey team would take the field for practice at 6 a.m., and ROTC would enter the field fifteen minutes later for fitness training.
“It started out with us practicing on the same field at the same time and we kind of got to know each other that way,” said ROTC recruiting coordinator John Hansen. “Then we started talking and started doing things together.”
After a season of sharing a field but building different skill sets, the field hockey team and ROTC joined forces for workouts in June. The ROTC put the field hockey team through a traditional workout that included running, pushups, sit-ups and an obstacle course while wearing ROTC gear.
“They were definitely smiley and giggly with us because we were field hockey players, but it still was a much more serious atmosphere,” senior Marissa Higgins said. “It was very, very taxing and made me feel for them during training.”
On the other hand, field hockey wasn’t nearly as easy as it looked for ROTC members.
“It seems easy when you’re watching them play hockey on the ground, but when you get the stick and that big ball, it’s difficult to handle,” Hansen said. “Our respect for them improved immensely.”
Another large part of the growing partnership was made possible when the ROTC organized an opportunity for MacMillan to skydive earlier this summer.
“A couple of years ago, we had the chance to take an OU administrator, coach, teacher or somebody to do a tandem jump,” Hansen said. “At the time, Doug Franklin, the man in charge of Ping Center, ended up doing it. But in the process, Coach MacMillan expressed a great deal of interest, so this time when the opportunity arose, he was the first guy we called.”
MacMillan gladly accepted the offer, and made sure to ask for advice from former players and OU alumni.
Though he could barely bring himself to finish his breakfast — a cup of yogurt — on the day of the jump, MacMillan had no doubts that he would make it through the free fall.
“I had complete trust in the Army Golden Knights,” MacMillan said. “This is one of, if not the best, armies in the world, so there was no question that I was safe in the process.”
And this isn’t the first time the ROTC has had a relationship with Ohio Athletics.
In the past, the Ohio ROTC has had connections with the wrestling team and men’s basketball team. Hansen said former basketball head coach John Groce had his starters take an ROTC class, otherwise known as Military Science 100.
“It’s one of the things that’s ideal for ROTC, as we want to be involved in everything else that’s going on in campus,” Hansen said. “To have the field hockey team open up to us like that was pretty cool.”
Hansen isn’t the only one who values the two parties’ teamwork. MacMillan said he wants to continue to mesh with the ROTC in the future.
“I find it to be a huge privilege to be able to work with these guys,” MacMillan said. “I love the military mindset and find that it teaches young people so many valuable lessons in the long run.”
ch203310@ohiou.edu
