It’s hard to imagine the celebrity-like Olympians coming from a similar background as a regular young athlete like yourself, right?

But when you think about it, every elite athlete probably kicked a soccer ball in the backyard with their siblings or created makeshift goals out of wheelie bins or trash cans once-upon-a-time, just like you.

With the excitement of the current 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the US women’s recent defeat of the Australian Hockeyroos, we thought we would have a look at the backgrounds and successes of the US women’s field hockey team. Could it be that the US had the edge over Australia due to their experience as elite college athletes…?

With a fair proportion of these talented women having gone to college, this also suppresses the perception that Olympic athletes must give up education for full-time Olympic training at an early age, in order to compete at the highest level.

These women went to prestigious colleges across the US with exclusive sport and study programs, schools where education is of the highest importance and places would not be offered to students without an impressive academic record.

Check out where these talented women started their Olympic careers !

Athlete College background
Katie Bam

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 University of Maryland. Youngest player to ever earn an international appearance with the U.S. national team at 16 years old.
Jackie Briggs

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 Won two NCAA titles at the University of North Carolina
Lauren Crandall

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 Won two NCAA championships with Wake Forest University
Stefanie Fee

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 Started in every game she played in during her four years at Duke University
Melissa Gonzalez

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 Played at UConn where she was a two-time Big-east defensive player of the year and also volunteered as an assistant coach at Yale University, UConn and the University of Massachusetts
Michelle Kasold

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 Three-time all ACC player at Wake Forest University
Kelsey Kolojejchick

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 First team all-American all four years at the University of North Carolina
Alyssa Manley

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 Syracuse University
Katie Reinpretch

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 Played with her sister at Princeton University
Julia Reinpretch

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 Played with her sister at Princeton University
Kathleen Sharkey

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 Princeton University, led the NCAA in goals in 2010 and 2012
Caitlin Van Sickle

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 Won a national championship at the University of North Carolina
Michelle Vitesse

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 Redshirted a year at University of Virginia to play in the 2012 Olympics

 
Alesha Widdall

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 University of Massachusetts
Jill Witmer

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 Four-time all ACC player at the University of Maryland

 

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