The first time Katie Grant ever picked up a field hockey stick was at a local clinic when she was in the sixth grade.
Having never enjoyed playing sports consistently when she was younger, Grant viewed field hockey in the same manner-it was the "least fun sport" she had ever played, her mother, Peggy recalled Katie saying.
"It was really hot the first time I ever really played a sport and was not the most fun thing," Grant said. "It was a lot of running and kind of miserable. I had to learn a lot of new rules."
But by the time she began seventh grade, friends at her new public school had convinced her to join the field hockey team. Although reluctant at first, Grant had athletic abilities that made her excel on the field.
"She's been pretty naturally gifted as an athlete," her mother said. "Speed has been her greatest asset in hockey over the years. She has the drive to be better. She loves the game."Ten years later, Grant has become a star in the collegiate sport as one of the nation's most prolific scorers for the No. 4 Blue Devils.
She garnered the 2005 Offensive Player of the Year award for the ACC, the nation's toughest conference with four teams ranked in the nation's top five. And Oct. 28, Grant became Duke's all-time points leader, passing Melissa Panasci, who had held the record since 1997.
"I think every year she's kind of grown as a player and as a person," head coach Beth Bozman said. "She's really matured. This year more than any other, she's just kind of taken her game to a whole new level."
When Grant arrived at Duke in 2002, the Blue Devils were coming off of a 9-9 season and had not made an NCAA Tournament since 1999. But she and high school teammate Christy Morgan, now a senior, shared a similar vision of their collegiate futures, and both decided to attend Duke.
"We wanted to go to a team that was average and had a goal to make the team better and turn it into a National Championship winning team," Grant said. "That's what's motivated me the past four years. We've been so close to winning a national title, the biggest motivation of all."
The Blue Devils advanced to the NCAA finals in Grant's sophomore and junior seasons, losing to Wake Forest both times.
In her time at Duke, Grant has become one of the program's best players and strongest leaders. She has scored at least 20 goals in each of the past two seasons and has already netted 21 scores this season, despite missing four games while representing the United States at the Junior World Cup in September.
"Coming down here and adjusting to the college environment, having a group of girls so close-that just makes it so much easier to play because we play for each other," Grant said. "It makes it all worthwhile."
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