Bucknell University Athletics
Richard is the Ultimate Multi-Tasker
10/5/2009 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 5, 2009
By Becky Hart, Bucknell Athletic Communications
Marci Richard is the ultimate multi-tasker. When the sophomore field hockey player arrived at Bucknell last year, she filled her schedule as much as possible, but the heavy workload is hardly a new development. With a long history of sports practices, music lessons and an ambitious course load, Richard is looking for one more item to put on her already very full plate - a Patriot League Championship.
Richard began building her resume at an early age, starting with music lessons at age five and field hockey and other sports by the third grade. Those endeavors have evolved into major aspects of Richard's life and shaped much of the person she has become.
"That was something that my mom felt was very, very important from a young age. She wanted her kids to be involved in both aspects - the music and the sports," says Richard. "I don't want to say that I didn't have a choice, but it was very encouraged and I had an older sister who was already playing two instruments. She's four years older than me, so it was natural to pick up stuff and start being interested and enjoy it."
Richard started by learning the violin and piano and before long, the Oley, Pa., native had added trumpet to her repertoire. With all the time and effort she has invested into her music, it was difficult for her to put it to the side at the beginning of her college career. Unfortunately the decision had to be made.
"I would love to be a part of music at Bucknell because that was a huge part of my life before I came to college. I played three instruments. I was in the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra. I was very involved in jazz band, marching band, the whole nine yards in high school," says Richard. "That part of my life I'm definitely missing being in college, but I feel like I would have to not give my all somewhere to be able to do that. I feel like it's not fair to either of the parties that would be involved. Either I would not be able to give my all to hockey or not my all to the music."
While music has afforded her some unique opportunities such as touring and playing in Italy as a member of the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra, athletics have opened just as many doors for Richard. Again following in her sister Angie's footsteps, Richard took up gymnastics and developed a love for the sport. Richard competed for nine years at an academy, developing skills that have continued to benefit her out of the gym to this day.
"A lot of my work ethic has come from gymnastics and the atmosphere that I was put into. It's not a relaxed atmosphere. You have to budget your time and you have to listen to the coaches, and if you didn't, you got hurt. I think that was a huge, huge part of my life that really shaped my personality," says Richard.
The musician/midfielder also credits her experience with gymnastics for her confidence in other areas.
"The other thing that I got out of that was I could talk to anyone," she says. "I went there and no one from my school was there so you had to meet people. People skills also came out of that."
Richard admits that she was not particularly serious about any sport other than gymnastics initially, although being involved in athletics in college had been a goal from a young age. A torn ACL when she was 12 helped steer her away from gymnastics and in the direction of other athletic pursuits, and her decision to move on to other sports is one she is grateful for today. Now playing right halfback for the Bison, Richard began her field hockey career around age nine in a youth league in her hometown. She since has tackled soccer, softball, track and basketball, but the field hockey turf is where her heart now lies. A strong grade-point average and her athletic prowess combined to earn her a spot in the Bucknell Class of 2012.
The move has worked out for both the University and Richard. The Bison have benefitted from a solid player on the field and an outstanding student in the classroom. Richard was a member of the team that advanced all the way to the Patriot League Championship game last year and, although she saw limited playing time in that final contest, she now has a clear idea of what it will take to make 2009 even better.
"We're definitely in every way possible able to get there again," Richard says of the league title match. "The people on the team have grown so much and stepped up so much that no matter who we lost we can still replace them. We're on the road now to do that. We've been playing really well. The places when we don't play well we're able to still pull it out with a win."
Richard has played an integral role in making sure the Bison pull out those wins. She scored her first career goal against Vermont earlier this season and has since netted two more. That first goal against the Catamounts and her latest score in a 2-1 win over Temple last Sunday both came on tip-ins following the Bison penalty corner.
It is a somewhat new role for Richard to have such scoring opportunities while wearing the Orange and Blue. Although she began her time at Bucknell preparing to play forward, all that changed later in her freshman season. Now Richard combines her experience at forward with her place on defense to help collect wins for the Bison.
"I was put in a position come spring when we lost a lot of our forwards because they were seniors. I was training to be a forward until the day before the Penn State game and I was informed that I was going to be defense," explained Richard. "I was kind of like, `Okay, I don't know what I'm doing.' But I have stayed there throughout the fall and it has worked well. Because I was training to be a forward, I was in tipping drills so I'm now the tipper on corners."
Richard is also attempting to put herself in prime position for success academically. As a freshman, she worked her way to a 4.0 GPA in her first semester. As a sophomore, she is trying to maintain that high level of achievement and gain acceptance into a program that would give her a master's degree in chemistry at the conclusion of her four years at Bucknell. As part of the ambitious program, Richard will take graduate courses along with her undergraduate classes, serve as a teaching assistant and conduct research of her own. She got a jumpstart on the research requirement, remaining on campus last summer and working in the organic chemistry lab for 10 weeks. She has continued that research into the fall semester in order to better prepare herself for her future studies.
Considering her childhood involvement in so many sports, her attraction to field hockey does not come as a surprise. Richard's decision to go into chemistry is less clear, however.
"Honestly, I don't really know where it came from. My parents are not really science in any way. My mom's a teacher and my dad's a businessman," says Richard, who then added that, like many of her choices to get involved in some activity, her interest in chemistry may have stemmed from her sister's career path. "My sister is a food scientist. She's getting her master's right now at Penn State, and I think in a way hearing a lot of the stuff that she was learning in class got me interested and realizing that `Wow, chemistry's a huge part of the world. You can make a difference,' got me more interested in it."
At the end of her Bucknell career, Richard hopes to have a master's degree, a job as research chemist for a pharmaceutical company and a few Patriot League titles under her belt. That's no short order, but if anyone can do it, it's the ultimate multi-tasker.
