Through New York, D1 and the Pandemic, Fifth-Year Spindel Finds a Home at Westfield State

Westfield State University senior field hockey player Lindsey Spindel has traversed across the NCAA during the midst of a global pandemic. From Mendon, Massachusetts, to Long Island University - Post Campus in 2018, to finally transferring to Westfield State University in 2021, Spindel has finally found a home at Westfield State University, after her journey through collegiate athletics.

"It's definitely been a journey, from freshman year to now my fifth year, but I wouldn't change anything about it, I've learned a lot from my time at LIU, and through transferring." said Spindel.

As a fifth-year senior, Spindel is amid a whirlwind year as she finishes her double major, competes for her team, and applies for graduate school - all while in season.

Spindel is a top-mark student. In 2021 and 2020 she earned Division III National Academic Squad and Division III Scholar of Distinction honors in 2021. She is a double-major studying movement and exercise science, with goals of becoming a physical therapist for professional teams in the New England area.

"I added movement science last year in the fall because I started taking those classes and loved it . . . the first time I have fallen in love with my education. I didn't think it was possible," she admits.

"Dr. Sal [Dr. Amanda Salacinski] got me into the major, and she's my advisor now she's been my biggest support through all of this, so I thank her for all my education… She's been a supper supportive person through everything," said Spindel, when attributing to her academic success.

Dr. Salacinski is a Movement Science professor at Westfield State, and is heavily impacted by Lindsey's presence in the classroom stating:
"[She was] an absolute pleasure to have in the classroom," said Salacinski. "I'm not even sure, maybe all semester she got maybe six things wrong on all her exams. It was a pleasure . . . She is our dream student."

"At my previous school, I felt like with my education I was kind of going through the motions. I was learning about it, but I didn't really feel how it connected to my career," said Spindel.

Spindel started off her collegiate career at LIU-Post. Spindel initially played NCAA Division II field hockey for LIU-Post before the merger that saw Division I LIU-Brooklyn and LIU-Post athletic programs combine. Spindel suddenly found herself playing in NCAA Division I. In the long run, this would eventually result in Spindel transferring away from LIU in the fall of 2020 amidst the challenging times of the global Coronavirus Pandemic.
At Westfield State, "the biggest difference is I have found the love for my sport again that I lost years ago…being with my team, excited to step on the field, I'm so excited about my sport again, and that was lost for me a long time ago," added Spindel.

"I didn't ever think it'd be possible. If you had told sophomore year me, I would be taking a fifth year just to play field hockey again, I would've been like you're crazy,"

Spindel arrived on campus at Westfield State University in the fall of 2020. Westfield State, along with many other schools in the country, were faced with the challenge of continuing operations amidst the pandemic. The NCAA's solution was to cancel all athletic meetings, conduct remote classes, and practices were to be held in athletic "pods" consisting of a limited amount of masked athletes during a single practice.

"With covid, it was so weird to be barely playing, and with no in-person classes, it was hard… I was trying to adjust and adapt but getting close to the team was hard because all the freshmen had each other and at this point, I was a junior, but I was new…it was a weird dynamic... We were in pods too, with masks" she noted when recounting the hard times she had to adjust to during the transfer process.

"But as things started getting lighter, and then last year was when I really started to feel like wow this is a good community [and] I'm a part of this community," said Spindel.

"She came in really shy. Almost uncomfortable, and anxious about hockey… She was afraid to make a mistake" Field hockey head coach Jess Bergen spoke about her arrival at Westfield State University.

"We have embraced the culture of 'growth only happens through mistakes and failures' so she has come a long way in terms of making that switch from being – I think a bit of a perfectionist- to recognizing that failure is part of growth, and growth and perfection can't live together in the same space." said Coach Bergen.

Spindel's sister Ashley Spindel played lacrosse and field hockey for Westfield State University from 2011 through 2015. Growing up, Lindsey attended games at Alumni Field watching her sister play on the same field she plays now. For hours, Ashley and Lindsey would alternate reps in their backyard as they would work to better one another.

"She's kind of handed the torch over to me but she really laid down the foundation for me becoming the athlete that I am today." Lindsey said proudly.

Aside from her own family, her teammates' families show her their support for her as well.

"When I come off the field there are like a million smiling faces saying: 'oh good job! You killed in this play or that play' or 'here's a piece of pizza! Take some Oreo cookie balls. . . they are so awesome and just the team in general. Everybody has each other's back. We really are just a group of friends playing field hockey together," said Spindel.

"Now the biggest hurdles I'm facing are exciting hurdles such as getting into grad school or fighting through when I'm feeling tired at practice... those are exciting hurdles and challenges that are good. The bad obstacles are over with and I'm finally taking on things I'm excited about." she added.

On the field, Spindel is not your typical vocal leader. Spindel plays the role of the screen or defensive midfielder. As a screen, she won't be scoring goals every single game, or pulling off flashy plays, but is consistently a key part of the defense and midfield for the Owls. As the oldest on the team, Spindel is a supportive anchor for her teammates off the field.

"If people have questions . . . I'm the one where if they need something or have a question or just need support in general and they feel like they aren't comfortable getting that from someone . . . they come to me. So I'm more of a supportive anchor person."

"On the field, I would say I'm not the flashy player that's going to be doing all these crazy things. I'm going to be a more subtle player . . . in the background setting up the plays."

"Everything she does on and off the field is what you would expect from one of your top players,right" said Bergen. "And so she sets that awesome example to strive to be."

Westfield State has hit a rough patch in the season, dropping four straight games after a 5-2 start to the year. But the Owls' final seven games are against Little East Conference foes, so the story of Westfield's season has much left to be written.

Spindel holds high expectations for her squad.

"For the team in general for all of us, I think we have a really good team. We have so much potential. We could go really far in the conference… because I don't think a lot of people view us as a threat yet… we are on more and more people's radars, but I want us to be firmly in that competitive threatening mindset."