Emma Mueller gets her field hockey skills from a parent — just not the one you would think

BARRINGTON — Watch Emma Mueller play for just a few minutes and its not hard to notice she plays field hockey differently than most.

Her athleticism is obvious and her stick skills are on another level, but that’s not what stands out. Mueller is fearless, plays aggressively and is unafraid of any opponent she’s matched up with. You saw it last fall whenever Barrington went up against one of the state’s best teams.

So, where does it come from? The bloodline certainly helps and Mueller learned the sport from exactly who you think she would have — her dad.

OK, so maybe that wasn’t who you thought. In the United States, field hockey is played primarily by girls and women. Overseas, it’s a much different story. Marian Mueller grew up playing in his native Germany, continues to play the game today and introduced it to his daughters along the way.

“The U.S. is probably the only country without a developed men’s field hockey game,” Marian said. “Field hockey is a pretty big sport in Germany. The German men are the reigning World Cup champions on the senior team.”

Marian Mueller moved to the United States in 1999 and introduced all three of his daughters to the sport at a young age. Victoria, who recently graduated from Columbia, casually played before devoting more time to her primary sport, fencing. Vivienne took to the sport and was an All-Stater at Barrington and currently plays at Cornell.

Emma, who followed Victoria’s footsteps in fencing and is hoping to qualify for the World Cup, doesn’t remember exactly when she started playing field hockey, but has a core memory of one of the first times she touched the stick, playing off a sideline with Marian as Vivienne practiced on the field.

“Not too many,” said the Barrington junior when asked if she knows of any other fathers who play the sport. “It was always weird when I was younger. He would coach, but he would be like, ‘It might be weird that I’m a man, but where I grew up it’s common and male-dominated.’ ”

“I showed up to a meeting in Texas with a wound on my forehead after being hit with a stick in a Masters tournament,” Marian said. “I told them I’ll give you a multiple-choice question — what do you think happened? I was in a tough brawl, I played field hockey and something else I can’t remember.

“Nobody picked the field hockey example.”

Marian continues to play at a high level. Last fall, Marian played for the USA Masters Division team that took part in the World Cup in South Africa.

“I’ve come across men in my life who played, but he’s still phenomenal,” Barrington coach Anne Gasbarro said. “Sometimes at practice, we would throw him on the field as the killer player to mark and, let me tell you, he can still outrun a lot of these girls.”

“It’s really funny,” Emma said about watching her father play. “He likes to yell a lot and direct his teammates. He’s pretty fun to watch play.”

For Marian and his wife, Beatrice Lechner, field hockey wasn’t a priority. Academics were always first, but Marian wanted to introduce his daughters to the sport he loved and gave them whatever they needed if they wanted to pursue it. That included a small patch of turf in the backyard, a space big enough for the girls to refine skills and work on whatever they needed.

“It was never too aggressive. It was fun, a lot of 2-v-1s,” Marian said. “It’s small, so we focus on containing the ball and controlling the ball in confined spaces, which comes in handy in crowded circle situations.”

“It really helps me,” Emma said. “I don’t feel a lot of pressure from him to be amazing, but he helps me a lot.”

Mueller has been amazing in her first two years at Barrington.

As a freshman, she filled a role on a senior-laden team that was led by her sister, Vivienne. She sat back in the shadows, but still had a productive season as the Eagles earned a spot in the state semifinals.

Last fall, Mueller took her game to the next level. Her speed and quickness stands out, but her stick skills and confidence with the ball, whether in open space or surrounded by defenders, made her Barrington’s top offensive threat.

Mueller was at her best matched up against the best and her performances against East Greenwich and four-time All-Stater Alex Mega showed as much. Mueller matched Mega’s physical and aggressive play each time they faced off. Barrington won the first matchup, Mueller scored a goal in a 2-1 loss at EG and, while Mega helped the Avengers beat the Eagles in a shootout in the semifinals, Mueller’s two goals made EG work a little harder.

“I don’t get too caught up in names,” Mueller said. “It doesn’t affect how I’m going to play.”

“Last year, the fearlessness took over,” Gasbarro said. “She is a ruthless player, but in the best sense of the word. She’s so strong, she’s not afraid of any opponent and she has great vision of the field.

“Now it’s nice to see her as an upperclassman and she’s taking more of a leadership role on the field.”

This year, Mueller is going to be that player she’s been challenging the last two years. Every team the Eagles match up with this season will have to know where Mueller is at all times. Barrington has a strong supporting cast around her — Gasbarro is expecting big things from the likes of Chelsea Duncan, Ava DiMatteo, Chloe Moscrop, Lili Hamilton, Addyson Whittet, among others — but Mueller is more than prepared for what teams will throw at her this fall.

“I started getting man-marked a lot more, so I just have to figure out how to deal with it,” Mueller said. “I would rather play like any other player, but it’s fun when you figure it out. It’s fun to have that target on your back.”

Barrington won’t be carrying the same target as a team. With the majority of its young roster back from last season, defending state champ Moses Brown is the favorite to repeat as champ. East Greenwich had its two-year streak snapped last fall and, while it lost Mega to graduation, still has a strong core of returning players that will keep the Avengers in title discussion.

The Eagles would be next in the conversation. Barrington hasn’t made a final since it won the state title in 2018, having lost in the state semifinals each of the last four years. This could be the year that that changes, but that’s not something Mueller wants to think about in the first week of practice.

“We’re definitely taking it one practice at a time and one game at a time, not looking too far ahead in the future,” Mueller said.

“We just need to come to practice knowing what we’re working for. We’re in the mix and we’ll have to see how it plays out.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: One of the best players in RI, field hockey is in Emma Mueller's blood