From Brooks to the World Stage

For Lucy Adams ’22, putting on a USA jersey and stepping onto the field last month at the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup in Belgium was the culmination of years of work, sacrifice and the willingness to dream a little bigger.

“It was an apex mountain for me,” Adams said, reflecting on the experience at the Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre. “It felt like everything was encapsulated in that moment.”

The moment carried even more weight after Adams took off the spring semester from Brown University to train full-time with the U.S. national team. Years of practices, games, setbacks and small improvements had led to an opportunity that once felt far beyond her reach.

Adams made her mark on the World Cup in memorable fashion, scoring her first international goal against Ireland. As a midfielder, scoring had never been a defining part of her game, making the moment something of a surprise.

“Scoring my first international goal at a World Cup is a moment I will remember forever,” Adams said. But what she remembers most isn't the goal itself. It is what happened immediately afterward.

“I remember looking around and seeing my teammates surrounding me and celebrating with me,” she said. “One of my favorite things about sports at every level is that even individual moments of success never really feel individual. You get to share them with the people who have worked alongside you, and that made the moment even more special.”

That sense of shared accomplishment extends far beyond the World Cup for Adams. Her path to the international stage began years earlier at Brooks, where she competed in three sports — field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse — and found an environment that allowed her to grow as both an athlete and a person.

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At the time, playing for the U.S. national team was a dream that Adams could barely allow herself to say out loud.

“I never imagined myself competing in a World Cup because for most of my career I felt nowhere near good enough to even dare to dream that big,” she said. “But in the back of my mind, there was always an occasional ‘what if?’” That “what if” became more realistic during her years at Brooks.

“Brooks created this safety net for me where the worst-case scenario was: I try as hard as I possibly can to get better at the sport I love, and if I fall short, I still have all of these amazing people around me who will help pick me back up,” Adams said.

By the time she graduated, playing for the national team and competing in a World Cup still did not necessarily feel possible. But, she said, “it no longer felt impossible.”

FINDING BALANCE AT BROOKS

Adams credits Brooks with preparing her for elite athletics in ways that extended well beyond the traditional lessons of discipline, time management and work ethic. Most importantly, she said, Brooks gave her balance.

“I was able to dive into academics, compete hard in sports, build really meaningful friendships, and explore things completely outside of athletics,” Adams said. “No one part of my life was allowed to become my entire identity.”

That balance became increasingly important as she moved into college athletics and eventually the demands of the national team. At Brooks, Adams also explored the arts, served as a school prefect and ran school meetings. Those experiences helped her understand that her identity and her self-worth extended well beyond athletic performance. “Even in moments of adversity or self-doubt, I had learned how to step back and remember that I am so much more than one bad practice or one bad performance,” she said.

Adams believes that experience is particularly valuable in an era when young athletes are increasingly encouraged to specialize early. “Brooks gave me the invaluable experience of discovering who I was by pushing me, supportively, in so many different directions,” she said.

Her three-sport experience also shaped the way she approached field hockey. In ice hockey, Adams described herself as “the definition of a third-line grinder.” Without the skill or physicality to rely on, she learned to rely on effort. The experience also taught her how to handle sitting shifts, making mistakes and dealing with the feeling that she had let teammates down.

Then came lacrosse, where Adams played goalie. “There was nowhere to run after letting in two goals,” she said. “I had to stand there, sit with the frustration and insecurity, and face the next shot.”

Those experiences taught her lessons she would eventually carry into field hockey and the highest levels of competition. “Being a lacrosse goalie taught me bravery, improved my reflexes and hand-eye coordination, and gave me a completely different kind of mental toughness,” Adams said.

More than anything, though, playing multiple sports gave Adams the opportunity to experience different teams, coaches and cultures. “I think being a great teammate is every bit as important to long-term team success as technical ability,” she said. “Skill might win games, but culture is what holds a team together through hard losses, adversity and difficult conversations.”

THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED HER GET THERE

Adams is quick to point out that her journey was never a solo effort. She remembers her third-form-year field hockey and lacrosse coaches for showing her the joy in sport and the value of being a great teammate. Her advisor, Associate Director of Admission, Financial Aid Counselor Jenelle Ries ’99, became a constant source of support. Associate Director of Admission Lori Charpentier taught her the value of hard work, while Adams’ statistics teacher and mentor, Mathematics Teacher Tote Smith, taught her to show up every day willing to learn — and not to shy away from opportunities simply because she was afraid she might fail. Through countless prefect meetings, Head of School John Packard helped her learn how to speak to a group in a way that creates space for meaningful discussion, a skill that later became valuable when Adams became a captain.

“The list of teachers, coaches, teammates and friends who impacted me is painfully long,” she said. “And I think that is one of the greatest testaments to Brooks and why it remains one of the most meaningful educational experiences of my life.”

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Adams even sees a connection between those early Brooks experiences and the nerves of stepping onto a World Cup field. “In a strange way, walking into Tote Smith’s stats classroom sometimes felt a lot like asking for the ball in our opening World Cup game against Argentina,” she said. “The questions in my head were similar. ‘Am I good enough? Do I have the answers? Do I belong here?’”

With time, she said she learned those questions didn't have to slow her down: “Sometimes you just show up anyway, raise your hand, ask for the ball and trust that you have done enough work to be ready for whatever comes next.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Adams is not finished chasing big dreams. She plans to head to Charlotte, North Carolina in December for the Los Angeles trials, with the goal of earning an opportunity to centralize with the national team as the U.S. builds toward the 2028 Olympics.

“Ultimately, competing in the Olympics is one of my biggest dreams,” Adams said. “So right now my focus is on continuing to improve and doing everything I can to put myself in a position to earn that opportunity.”

She also has advice for the current generation of Brooks student-athletes as they pursue their dreams. “The distance between who you are today and who you want to become someday is largely made up of thousands of small decisions that nobody else will ever see,” she said. Ordinary days, when motivation is low, when practice is difficult, or when taking one more step feels like the last thing you want to do, are "often the days people think matter the least," she added. "But I think one of the most special things about dreaming big is that it gives even the most ordinary days a sense of purpose, and that is as hard as it is beautiful.”

She also emphasizes that pursuing a dream should not come at the expense of everything else: “Have fun, spend time with your friends and family, invest in your academics and develop parts of yourself that have nothing to do with your sport.”

A FAMILY DREAM

There is one more dream Adams shares with someone close to her: her younger sister, Mary Adams ’25. Mary is also an accomplished field hockey player, competing at the University of Virginia and representing the United States at the U21 level. The sisters have pushed one another throughout their careers while celebrating each other's successes.

“I think Mary and I are really lucky in that we continue to push and inspire each other while also being genuinely excited for each other’s success,” Adams said. “There is something incredibly special about watching your sister succeed at something she loves, especially when that thing is something you have loved and shared together for so much of your lives.”

The sisters never had the chance to play together in college. But they still hope another team-up might become reality. “It is definitely a dream for both of us to wear the USA jersey together one day,” Adams said. “I would absolutely love to have that opportunity.”