Julia Croddick, Class of 2001
Years after Julia Croddick ’01 left her mark on Peddie Field Hockey, she still has rivals.
“I played with a lot of these girls from other schools, such as The Lawrenceville School and Princeton Day School, in Olympic Development , or with or against them in club sports. Any time we went head-to-head, there was not one rival that we didn’t really have my junior year at Peddie.”
“Years later, everyone goes their separate ways, and you have these moments where you say your name, and they say: ‘Wait, you’re not the girl with the pigtails? I hated you.’ I found out years later that The Lawrenceville School made a dummy of me and stole my jersey and made blonde pigtails.”
Croddick enrolled at Peddie in eighth grade and the center-forward was a four-year varsity starter on the field hockey team, starting in ninth grade. Opponents often double-teamed her inside the striking circle. Her exceptional speed, strength and movement without the ball separated her from the rest of the pack.
“She has an incredible spirit that comes from concentration and hard work,” said Head Coach Leigh Wood at the time. “It’s important to her to become a great leader. Her toughness and pure athleticism have been something special to witness.”
In her senior year, the team recorded the program’s best season, compiling a 16-1 record, won the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) crown, the Mercer Country Tournament and made it to the New Jersey Prep A State Semifinals. Co-captain Croddick became the career and single-season scoring leader at Peddie, tallying 31 goals and 13 assists, as the Falcons were known throughout the state. Over her four-year career, she notched 85 goals and 31 assists.
“She was fun, energetic, always laughing and engaging people, loved the social life at boarding school and was perfectly made for it,” George Maley, her Peddie advisor said. “Anybody else who was with us in that era would say the same thing. But the first time I watched her play field hockey, I saw a different person. The whistle got blown, and the fun was over. It was all business. I learned that some kids can turn it on and off when it’s time to get to work. I love that part of Julia’s game, no matter what sport she was playing.”
Croddick played golf in her junior and senior years at Peddie and was a dual spring-sport athlete in her junior year. She also played lacrosse up until junior year. She had 12 varsity letters and went into full training mode for the Olympic Development Team her senior year.
Among her numerous accolades, she was named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Mid-Atlantic High School Regional All-American Team her senior year. She was one of just 16 players chosen.
“This selection capped off a great season for Peddie field hockey’s ‘dream team,'” she said at the time.
At The Peddie School Athletic Banquet, she was awarded a special Outstanding Achievement Award.
After Peddie, she attended the University of Virginia and decided to continue to train with the Olympic Development team in her sophomore year. Then the training was moved from Virginia Beach, two hours away from the university, to Colorado. After she graduated, she decided to use everything she learned about sports about being a team player and a leader, and went into the business field.
“I loved every minute of it,” she said of her time at Peddie.