Athlete of the Month: Ava Hauer

Whether she is tuning into a complex lecture in one of her multiple Advanced Placement or honors courses, or sprinting up and down Ed Burke during her field hockey games with her best friends, Ava Hauer (11) is a driven student-athlete. Hauer was the first student named female Athlete of the Month for the 2025-26 school year and was celebrated as one of the chosen September athletes.

Though Hauer began playing field hockey in seventh grade on the Pacific Trails Middle School team, the start of her journey with sports goes farther back; she started skiing on the slopes at the age of 17 months. Growing up, she tested and developed her athletic abilities through multiple sports, including snowboarding, ice hockey, gymnastics and softball. 

“[When] I did field hockey, I felt like I could truly be the best version of myself athletically, even though I’d been playing softball for four years,” Hauer said. “I did a quick switch after freshman year, fully committing to field hockey, and it was a big risk to take. I quit my sport to take on something new, but I’m really glad I did it.”

After her first tryout, Hauer became the only freshman athlete to make the varsity field hockey team. Although Hauer wanted to make a team with her freshman friends, she quickly found a home on the varsity team and made lifelong friends. 

“My freshman year was great,” Hauer said. “I barely played, but it was amazing. We went to Pennsylvania, and we got destroyed. But we went because it was an invitational and the top teams from each state went.”

Later in November, during Hauer’s freshman season, the team won the 2023 girls field hockey California Interscholastic Federation championships. Even though Hauer did not play in that game, she enjoyed cheering on her teammates on the sidelines.

After the 2023 season, Hauer worked diligently to improve her field hockey skills. During her sophomore season, the dedication paid off as she became a top scorer and assister on the team. 

A tremendous accomplishment for the team this season was emerging victorious against Cathedral Catholic High School.

“Last year, we lost against Cathedral in overtime in the first CIF round of the playoffs,” Hauer said.“It was our hardest game. So it was a championship game in itself.”

One of Hauer’s favorite experiences is being able to spend many hours traveling to away games and bonding with her teammates.

“I really enjoy sitting next to my friend, Sophie, on the bus,” Hauer said. “Listening to music on our AirPods, dancing and no one else can hear us. We are cracking up and sweating because we’re dancing. We’re always taking funny Snapchat pictures.”

A monumental moment for Hauer this season occurred when she led the team to beat Bishops on Sept. 2 by scoring three goals, including two in shootouts.

Girls varsity field hockey coach, English 9 Honors teacher and Intro to Journalism I teacher Courtney Kun described the impact Hauer had on the game against Bishops. 

“She played a big role in our win against Bishops,” Kun said. “She was the one who scored the game-winning goal and also shot the goal that tied us up.”

Kun shared the importance of Hauer’s role on the team.

“Everyone seems to gravitate towards her,” Kun said.  “She’s very personable and easy to talk to. She’s a leader of our forward line and gives a lot of feedback to the other players there.”

Kun admires Hauer’s work ethic, tendency to apply feedback quickly and ability to give her full effort.

Even though Hauer has been struggling with a lingering injury of shin splints, she “has been showing up to practices and games, whether it be her just observing and supporting the team or actually playing in a game.”

“She wants herself and everybody around her to become a better player and person and she truly motivates other people,” Sophie Herman (11), a defender on the school’s varsity field hockey team,  said. “She’s a leader on and off the field. I look up to her so much, especially her drive and kindness. She’s so deserving. I don’t know another person who would deserve this honor more than her.”

Nevertheless, Hauer’s busy schedule in and out of school has its negatives when it comes to balancing tests, homework, practices and games. 

“It’s really hard being well-rounded and being good at both school and sports,” Hauer said. “It’s a lot of pressure to be an athlete and a hardcore student because if I do badly on a test, the hardest thing about being an athlete is playing a game after like nothing happened.”

To handle the intensity and pressure of being a student-athlete, Hauer reminds herself of her motivations, such as striving to get recruited for a college field hockey team. She acknowledges the importance of both mental and physical health as an on-the-go student athlete.  

“I normally write down my emotions to make sure school doesn’t flow into my sport and for the [school] season, I have to mentally know that it’s different from my usual club environment and intensity,” Hauer said. “I feel like pressure is a big struggle for me, and I’ve just learned to cope with it by writing it down or telling someone so it leaves my system before a game.”

Outside of the school, Hauer’s field hockey passion follows her to her club team, Hear the Cheers field hockey.

“My club team is the top club in California,” Hauer said. “We are 15th in the nation which is great because California is not a popular area for field hockey, so it brings attention to the club and to a lot of the girls. We’ve been coached by coaches from the national team who have experience coaching high schools in our area.”

Hauer wants to take her admiration for field hockey to the next level. Over the past year, she has been traveling around the country to college camps, fostering connections and learning valuable lessons. 

Hauer is interested in a large school, with a great spirited sporting environment, but also stresses the importance of good academics to further her education.

On the rare occasion that Hauer is not holding a field hockey stick, Hauer can be found surfing, listening to her jams or dancing. 

From Hauer’s countless hours on the field, she comments on some of her lesson takeaways including teamwork, time management and self-confidence. All three of these interpersonal skills have developed due to Hauer’s schedule as a student athlete at this school.  

“You need your own self-confidence and belief in yourself that you can do something,” Hauer said. “A lesson I learned is that you will suck if you believe beforehand that you will suck.”