HIS TALENT IS SIMPLY SWEEPING : VENTURA MAN GREW UP IN WHAT IS OBSCURE SPORT IN AMERICA.Byline: Bill Schlotter Daily News Staff Writer Ben Maruquin Benjamin ("Ben") Maruquin (born February 26, 1970 in Ventura, California) is a former field hockey sweeper from the United States, who finished twelfth with the national team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. , starting sweeper for the American Olympic field hockey field hockey: see hockey, field. field hockey or hockey Game played with curve-ended sticks between two teams of 11 players. It is played on a field 100 yd (91.4 m) by 60 yd (55 m) in size. team, has not - repeat, has not - had a field hockey stick In Field hockey, each player carries a stick and cannot take part in the game without it. The stick is usually between 36" and 38" long and traditionally made of wood but now almost all sticks are 'composite' - made of a number of materials. in his hands since birth. But pretty darn close. Actually, Maruquin, of Ventura, was about 4 when his father, Mogie Maruquin, joined the U.S. national team in 1974. His uncle, John Stockdill, was also a national team player. So a sport that few other Americans can claim even to understand came naturally to the 26-year-old seven-year starter. ``I was just kind of around it my whole life,'' Maruquin said. Maruquin's first sport was soccer, which he took up at the age of 5. He started playing organized field hockey as an eighth-grader, his parents driving him to Moorpark, American headquarters of the sport. Maruquin has been traveling ever since. He spent much of his senior year of high school playing in Australia, completing his studies by mail on the side. By 1986, he had made the U.S. junior national team, where he played with many of his current teammates. ``The majority of this team were together at the Junior World Cup in '89,'' Maruquin said. And in late 1989, at the age of 19, he made the national team. He's been starting almost ever since. Sweeper is a defensive position in field hockey just as it is in soccer. ``You have to be a good tackler and you have to have good man-to-man skills,'' Maruquin said. ``It's a workman WORKMAN. One who labors, one who is employed to do business for another. 2. The obligations of a workman are to perform the work he has undertaken to do; to do it in proper time; to do it well to employ the things furnished him according to his contract. sort of role.'' But in addition to his physical skills, and a sweeper must be an astute as·tute adj. Having or showing shrewdness and discernment, especially with respect to one's own concerns. See Synonyms at shrewd. [Latin ast tactician, Maruquin is in charge of setting his team's defense. ``All your decisions pretty much count for something,'' he said. ``Most of the time if you make a mistake, it will lead to a goal.'' Maruquin said the U.S. will rise or fall on its teamwork. ``Individually, we don't have the best players,'' he said. ``But as a group we have strength. It's a good team unit, a good working unit.'' Though he has been on the team for seven years, this will be Maruquin's first Olympics. ``We didn't qualify for the last Olympics,'' he said, noting that the Americans were narrowly beaten out by Argentina in 1992. The U.S. is in the games this year by virtue of its host-nation status. Still, Maruquin thinks his team will make a good showing. Where will it finish? ``I'm thinking somewhere between fifth through eighth,'' he said. ``Fifth through eighth is very realistic. With a stroke of luck, we could get something better.'' Pakistan, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands will be the medal contenders, Maruquin said. The Olympics are not the pinnacle of Maruquin's sport. ``The World Cup is the ultimate for field hockey,'' he said. But they do give the game its greatest exposure. ``The world stops for the Olympics,'' Maruquin said. ``It doesn't stop for the World Cup.'' PROFILE Age: 26 Schools: Ventura High, Santa Barbara City College As of 2004, total enrollment of full-time and part-time students reached 17,000. It is currently led by President John Romo, who will be retiring at the end of Spring 2008 after seven years with the institution. Highlights: '92 Filed Hockey Association pf America Male Athlete of the Year Athlete of the Year
When to Watch Pool play: July 20 vs. Pakistan; July 22 vs. Argentina; July 24 vs. India; July 26 vs. Spain; July 28 vs. Germany Playoffs: July 31-Aug. 2 Medal games: Aug. 2 FIELD HOCKEY Penalties may be called on a player who does one of the following: Striking the ball with the rounded rather than the flat side of the stick. Taking part in play while not holding a stick. Kicking, throwing or otherwise propelling pro·pel tr.v. pro·pelled, pro·pel·ling, pro·pels To cause to move forward or onward. See Synonyms at push. [Middle English propellen, from Latin the ball without a stick. Wielding wield tr.v. wield·ed, wield·ing, wields 1. To handle (a weapon or tool, for example) with skill and ease. 2. To exercise (authority or influence, for example) effectively. See Synonyms at handle. the stick in a dangerous manner or aiming the ball at an opponent. Interfering with an opponent's stick. Kicking, tripping, shoving or striking an opponent. Obstructing play by running between an opponent and the ball or placing one's body or stick between an opponent and the ball. Infractions are generally penalized pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. by awarding a free hit to the opposing team. CAPTION(S): 4 Photos, 3 boxes Photo: (1) Ben Maruquin made the transition fro m soccer sweeper to field hockey sweeper. Daily News File Photo (2) Ben Marquin (3-4) THROUGH THE YEARS 1975: Ben picks up a field hockey stick at an early age. 1984: Joins field hockey youth league in Moorpark. 1986: Makes U.S. junior national team 1989: Makes U.S. senior national team 1991: Member of bronze-medal U.S. team at Pan American Games Pan American (Sports) Games Quadrennial sports festival. The games, conceived in 1940 as an event for the nations of the Western Hemisphere, were first held in 1951. , where high-tech medical equipment is used to test his conditioning. 1994: Scores nine goals and back-to-back hat tricks hat trick n. Sports 1. Three goals scored by one player in one game, as in ice hockey. 2. Three wickets taken in cricket by a bowler in three consecutive balls. 3. in five-nation tournament in New Jersey. 1995: Member of bronze-medal U.S. team at Pan American Games. Box: (1) PROFILE (see text) (2) When to Watch (see text) (3) FIELD HOCKEY (see text) |
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