The heavy lifting may be over, but Cal field hockey's "Lift While You Climb" mantra rings truer than ever as the Golden Bears begin their latest campaign.

What originally began as a motivational motto meant to inspire the Bears to continue progressing in their sport regardless of the outside obstacles they were facing has transformed into one of the field hockey program's core values.
"It's part of the team culture as far as the understanding that if you're trying to prove yourself but also looking out to bring somebody with you, then overall everybody's going to progress," said head coach Shellie Onstead.

The progress is on full display at Underhill Field, where the team finally has the fresh start it climbed toward after spending the last four seasons in transition from their former home on Maxwell Field to a fully functional Underhill venue.

Though field hockey made its Underhill debut last year, the venue lacked some basic amenities such as permanent seating and team locker room space. In the offseason, structural additions including elevated seating, team locker room space and coaching and medical areas boosted the facility for a more professional ambience.

In addition to the exciting new facility additions, a roster full of underclassmen, including nine freshmen, signaled the new beginnings as the Bears opened their first official day of preseason on Wednesday.

Among the newcomers are two powerful strikers in USA Field Hockey U-19 team member Megan Rodgers and Maddie Cleat, as well as international standouts such as Valen Garrafo and Yvie Locke. The nine-member freshman class joins seasoned Cal vets including junior team captains Janaye Sakkas and Melina Moore, plus a poised leader in the backfield in sophomore Femke Delissen. Teammate Lindsay Mathison is back for her second season after a strong summer of hockey in Australia, and senior Mara Gutierrez has started in every single game of her collegiate career.

Though training camp just started, the Bears' climb to the top started early in the offseason. Most of the spring was spent improving basic skills. Over the summer, captains Moore and Sakkas organized team beach volleyball games to help build chemistry and inspire friendly competition.

Next up is a crucial three weeks of camp where the Bears will begin implementing game strategy alongside their skills.

 "We're going to quickly get into some pretty detailed tactics because I think we did a pretty good job of laying the groundwork in the offseason," Onstead said.

With a talented young roster, highly improved field and a fresh start, the Bears are in prime position to get back to their winning ways atop the conference standings.

"We can really focus on going forward. It was a large class that left last year, and everything just feels really fresh -- from the visuals here at the field to the group, which is completely different than a year ago. I find that really motivating," Onstead said.

Now, the fun part of the climb begins.

The Bears open their season on the new-and-improved Underhill Field beginning on Friday, Aug. 25 at 2 p.m. against Syracuse.