Ashbrook named to all-CIF first team

The all-CIF field hockey selection process resulted in first-team honors for Fallbrook High School senior Maddie Ashbrook.

“Really nice to be honored with that, knowing that people actually pay attention to how hard you work,” Ashbrook said.

Ashbrook scored 15 goals and had nine assists for the Warriors in 2013.

“Well-deserved. She worked hard for that,” said Fallbrook coach Kathy Waite.

“I would have been very upset had she not made it,” Waite said. “She definitely deserved it.”

The Warriors were eliminated in the CIF Division I quarterfinals. “Had we won one more game we probably would have had two on there, two to three,” Waite said.

Ashbrook was Fallbrook’s only fall sport athlete to earn all-CIF honors. The fall 2013 all-CIF athletes were recognized Dec. 9 at the San Diego Hall of Champions. “It was a cool experience,” Ashbrook said.

Ashbrook, whose father works for Southern California Edison, was born in Oxnard and was two when her family moved from Long Beach to Fallbrook. She attended Fallbrook Presbyterian Preschool, Fallbrook Street Elementary School, Live Oak Elementary School, Zion Lutheran School, and Potter Junior High School prior to her four years at Fallbrook High School.

Ashbrook attended Zion Lutheran School from fifth through seventh grades. She began playing field hockey in seventh grade. “I didn’t know what field hockey was at all. I was into soccer,” Ashbrook said.

Ashbrook was close friends with Sydney Richelieu, a 2012 Fallbrook High School graduate who also attended Zion Lutheran. Richelieu was on Fallbrook High School’s junior varsity field hockey team when Ashbrook was in seventh grade. Richelieu encouraged Ashbrook to try field hockey. “Sydney gave me a stick and kind of got me going into it,” Ashbrook said.

Ashbrook played on Fallbrook’s junior varsity field hockey team as a freshman and sophomore, so she never played on the Fallbrook High School field hockey varsity at the same time as Richelieu. “I really looked up to her,” Ashbrook said.

Ashbrook also cited 2012 Fallbrook High School graduate Jamie Garcia as a field hockey role model.

Although Ashbrook was at Zion Lutheran in seventh grade, she played on the Potter Junior High School team. Ashbrook was aware that she would be attending public school during her high school years, so she transferred to Potter for eighth grade to obtain that preparation for Fallbrook High School. “I knew the girls on the team and I became close to them,” she said.

Ashbrook and Richelieu, who both played club soccer with the Fallbrook Fury, spent a season together on the Fallbrook High School girls soccer varsity team in 2011-12. Ashbrook was on the Warriors’ varsity soccer team for three years, although she opted not to play as a senior. “I decided it was probably best because I didn’t want to hurt anything in my knee,” she said.

Ironically, Ashbrook tore her meniscus and her anterior cruciate ligament Jan. 3 during a field hockey tournament in Moorpark.

Ashbrook was also on Fallbrook’s track and field team as a freshman and sophomore. She participated in the 200-yard dash, the 4x100 relay, the triple jump, and the long jump. Ashbrook was 4 when she joined the Fallbrook Youth Soccer League and was with the Temecula Hawks for her final three club soccer seasons.

Ashbrook earned all-league honors in both her seasons on the field hockey varsity. She was a forward during her junior year in 2012 when she earned second-team recognition from the Avocado League coaches. She was a first-team Avocado League selection in 2013, when she played center-midfield.

“It wasn’t a super tough transition because I played center-mid my sophomore year, too,” Ashbrook said.

Ashbrook was a forward during her freshman year on the junior varsity team before becoming the JV squad’s center-midfielder as a sophomore. “I kind of like bounced back. I went forward, mid, forward, mid,” she said.

Ashbrook was the Warriors’ junior varsity captain during her sophomore year. She was Fallbrook’s varsity captain as a senior.

Ashbrook had 11 goals and five assists as a junior. Following her junior season she also participated in the Disney Showcase, the National Indoor Tournament, and the National Futures Tournament.

Ashbrook is a member of the Rush field hockey club. The inaugural Moorpark Hockey 5 Christmas Classic Tournament where she was injured took place Jan. 2-5. Rush took two teams, including one with Fallbrook High School sophomore Tatiana Arias, and teams from Ventura and Mexico rounded out the five-on-five tournament field.

Ashbrook was injured in Rush’s third game, but not after she had played against the Mexican team. “That was an awesome experience,” she said of her first international competition.

Rush played four additional games after Ashbrook’s injury. She sat on the bench and served as an assistant coach.

“We actually came out winning the whole thing, so that was super nice,” Ashbrook said.

The Rush team with Arias placed third. Seniors cannot sign collegiate athletic letters of intent until Feb. 5, but Ashbrook has given a verbal commitment to Cal. Bears coach Shellie Onstead has indicated she will honor Cal’s scholarship commitment even after Ashbrook’s injury.

“I’m looking forward to her college career,” Waite said.

“I’m just excited for my future,” Ashbrook said. “It was a fine run in high school, but I can’t wait for the future.”