By Isaac Howson
For Elise Brady, field hockey and now SUNY Brockport continue to shape her not only as an athlete, but as a person and future nurse.
It is easy to see how important Brady has been to Brockport. Last season, as one of 15 first-year students, she finished tied for the lead in points with 17 and led the team in goals with eight in only 13 games. This season, she is second on the team in both points and goals.
For Clare Devine, a sophomore midfielder/forward, and Alexis Penree, a sophomore forward on Brockport, the reasons for Brady’s athletic success are easy to see.
“On the field, she’s a great worker, gives it her all, sprints to every rep, and is very aggressive in the circle,” said Devine. “She is very disciplined, and I think that is what we look for most, especially as a forward. She takes all the information people give her, and she implements it into our game. She is where she needs to be all the time,” said Penree.
Aggressiveness in the circle is important. For those new to the sport, the circle is a marked area in front of the net where attackers must be for goals to count.
That aggressiveness has always been there for Elise, her mom, Jennifer Brady, noted. “When she was little, and we would go hiking, she had to be in front; she had to be the first one to the top of the mountain. She had to be the first one leading us, the first out there doing everything even though she was the smallest,” said Jennifer Brady.
Her father, Donald Brady, noticed the sport could take her Type A personality and mold it into something that made her a better leader, with better time management and a sharper mind for the sport.
“There are natural athletes that are just great teammates. There are competitive people with minds that might not have the physical abilities but have the brain to be a good athlete. I’d say Elise was more of a good athlete to start with, and with her go get ’em attitude, her brain for the game developed, and that is what made Elise grow,” said Donald Brady.
Elise knew she wanted Division 3 to balance her nursing degree and her time as a student-athlete. She wanted a large campus and a school that places a high emphasis on its sports and community. It came in the form of Brockport, a school with 23 varsity athletics programs and a coaching staff that made her comfortable.
“I chose Brockport because, with the coaching staff, I felt more comfortable with them, and they reminded me of my high school coaches and their coaching style. It just stuck with me when I visited,” said Brady.
Brockport’s emphasis on athletics is clear even to the parents on game day, Jennifer Brady noted.
“They (Brockport) encourage all the teams from all the other sports to attend as many of the sporting events as they can. We see the soccer team in the stands with us, the wrestling team, and the football team. At this point, now most of the students know the other players’ names. You hear your daughter’s name being yelled from a stranger behind you, and you are like Hey, wow, they know her too,” said Jennifer Brady.
However, Elise’s life isn’t just field hockey. She is at Brockport for her degree to become a nurse anesthetist, and that comes with clinicals and long hours at the library. It’s a lot of work, but she’s always had time, thanks to the emphasis Brockport places on ensuring the academic success of its athletes.
“Freshman year, we had to do a certain amount of study hours that our coach mandated. It was three hours in season a week and four hours outside of season. Out of season in spring, we have a team study hall where we will meet as a team for like an hour in the library. Then there’s midterm checkups where our coach checks with us on our midterm grades and how we are doing,” Elise said.
While those worlds feel separate, the training, leadership opportunities, and skills she has learned from her community at Brockport are ones she will be able to apply to her career.
“I see her with her teammates really bonding and encouraging each other, and I think that is a skill. You can teach a person to be a nurse. You have the education, you have the mind, and you have the degree. But how do you really teach a person the soft skills of dealing with another human?” said Jennifer Brady.
When asked about her field hockey career after college, Elise does not see herself stopping anytime soon.
“My high school coach runs a club near where I live. I have helped her coach there a few times in the past; I have definitely considered it. I do not want to give up field hockey ever,” she said.
That drive and passion are evident not only in Elise but in the rest of her teammates who came in this year ready to build off the team’s 8-10 season record and 5-5 record in Empire 8 conference play. The team snuck into the last postseason spot in 2025 and lost to Nazareth University 5-0 in the team’s only postseason game. Fast forward to today, and they are 13-4 with a 6-3 conference record. The top six out of ten qualify for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The Golden Eagles defeated Utica 1-0 in the first round and face Hartwick in the semifinals on November 4.
It’s taken a lot of hard work to get where they are today, and the support and messaging they’ve gotten from coach Krista Archambeau has served not only as inspiration for this season but has left them with a message that Elise can apply for the rest of her life.
“We are very confident in how we play, and we know that if we can play a full 60 minutes focused and working together, we can really do anything. Our coach told us that it is just us against ourselves. It does not matter the opponent, but it is just how we show up and how we play each game, and that will give us the best results,” Elise said.
Show up, focus, and communicate are lessons that not only construct a stellar athlete and teammate but also a future nurse, coach, and leader.
Elise Brady. Photo courtesy of SUNY Brockport.
