Olympic field hockey goalkeeper Kelsey Bing has come a long way in her career since the sport basically fell into her lap in middle school. Bing started her athletic career as a soccer player before transitioning to field hockey — all thanks to her mom. “In middle school, we had a trimester sports system. The options for the fall were cross-country, volleyball, and field hockey. I like playing sports outside, so that ruled out volleyball, and I’m maybe not the best long-distance runner. My mom was like, ‘Field hockey’s a lot like soccer. You should give that a go. You’ll like that,’” Bing tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview.
Bing went on to play as a field hockey goalkeeper throughout high school and into college — she attended Stanford University and graduated in 2019. Of course, being a full-time college student and athlete was not easy, but Bing was determined to balance both, especially since “school and education were super important” to her. “For me, building a relationship with professors was a huge thing,” Bing says. “I found that if I missed a lot of class, going to office hours and having a TA help you out just shows that you care. I genuinely believe that if people see you investing your time into [your work], they’re more likely to help you out in the long term.”
While in college, Bing and the USA Field Hockey team almost competed in the 2019 Tokyo Olympics, but unfortunately lost the qualifier. For Bing and her teammates, it was a “super heart-wrenching experience” — it was the “highest high and the lowest low” they all felt.
When going into the 2024 qualifiers, Bing felt those nerves from 2019 come back, but didn’t let them stop her from giving it her all. “Our first match was against India in 2019, and our first match for [the 2024] qualifier was also against India,’” Bing says. “As the tournament got going and our team was performing well, it became this snowball effect where there was just so much belief. It [was] almost a storybook ending that we ended up back in India four years later and we have qualified for the Olympics. It just felt like such a full-circle moment.”
Now that the USA Field Hockey team is going to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Bing is excited to compete, but that’s not what she’s looking forward to the most. For her, that’s “the opening ceremonies. That’s just something I always watched as a kid and thought it was the coolest thing in the whole world. To me, that’s just the culmination of getting recognized and celebrated that you achieved what you wanted to achieve,” Bing says. “We can go out there and do really well at the Olympics, but the recognition that we will be at the opening ceremonies, and I get to celebrate that with my teammates — it gives me chills right now. I’m so excited.”
With the 2024 Olympics still a few months away, Bing is currently training while working part-time for X-Wing, an autonomous aircraft company. When she’s not training or working, Bing tries to prioritize her mental health and well-being, which happens to be her secret to staying grounded as she prepares for the coveted event in Paris. “I’ve really been focusing on trying to get myself into good head spaces. It’s still a work in progress, but that’s something I value,” she says. “I also try to find something little to do on the side. The New York Times puts out a crossword puzzle every Christmas that’s massive, so I brought that on tours to just have something little to do.”
Bing finds that laughing and having fun with her teammates also puts her in a good headspace. “My teammates and I love to pull pranks on each other, so I always try to find something that makes us laugh and giggle and we can joke about,” she says. “It’s just [about] finding the little things.”
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, visit TeamUSA.com. Watch the Paris Olympics and Paralympics this summer on NBC and Peacock.