COOL KAT: Star forward Kat Sharkey controls the ball in action for the U.S. national women’s field hockey team. Sharkey, a 2013 Princeton University grad who was one of the last players cut from the U.S. squad that went to the 2012 London Summer Games, will be making her Olympic debut this week in Rio de Janeiro. She will be joined on the U. S. team in Rio by former Princeton teammates Julia Reinprecht and Katie Reinprecht. (Photo by Mark Palczewski, Courtesy of USA Field Hockey)

Kat Sharkey took a hiatus from the Princeton University field hockey team in 2011-12 to train with the U.S. national program in hopes of playing in the London Summer Games.

But Sharkey ended up being left at home as one of the last players cut from the squad that went to London in 2012.

Returning to Princeton that fall, Sharkey took out her disappointment on the Tigers’ foes. The skilled forward helped Princeton win the 2012 NCAA title, writing the final chapter to a brilliant college career which saw her score a program-record 107 goals and 245 points and earn All-American and All-Ivy honors all four seasons.

Fueled by not achieving her Olympic dream, Sharkey resumed playing with the national team and became a key cog for the squad.

“Of course it was disappointing but I understood that I needed to get more experience in order to have an impact at this level,” said Sharkey.

“I was just very new to the team and new to that environment. Going through that did motivate me these past couple of years. I really wanted to work hard and gain that confidence and comfort level.”

That work paid dividends as Sharkey made the U.S. squad for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“It was just an amazing feeling to finally see my name on that list; we got an e-mail,” said Sharkey, 26, a 5’4 native of Moosic, Pa., who has now made 82 appearances for the national team.

“I immediately called my parents and told them the great news. It was just a really happy moment.”

Making the team along with former Princeton teammates, Julia Reinprecht and Katie Reinprecht, added to the joy for Sharkey.

“It is so special for all three of us to be named to the roster; I have been playing with the Reinprecht sisters for so many years,” said Sharkey.

“We started out on teams in high school in the summer playing together. They are both such great players and such great teammates and we have gone through so much together with our experience at Princeton as well.

The U.S. and Sharkey gained some valuable experience over the years with 2014 standing as a turning point as the team took fourth in the World Cup before winning the Champions Challenge that year.

“I think those wins were confidence builders for me individually and for the team,” said Sharkey.

“We played in a semifinal and we played in the bronze medal game. Those are experiences that are only going to help us in Rio.”

Sharkey kept her confidence level up despite getting sidelined last year by a broken ankle which prevented her from competing for the U.S. as it won the gold medal in the Pan American Games.

“I had been selected to play for the Pan American games,” said Sharkey. “I made that roster and it was less than a week before we were supposed to leave. During practice I took a weird jump and I landed very wrongly on my ankle. I broke a bone in my ankle and tore some ligaments. I had to have surgery about a week later and I was out from pretty much July until the middle of November. The surgery went very well and I put in a lot of months of rehab.”

Keeping things in perspective, Sharkey saw a silver lining in the timing of the injury.

“I was sad because I missed the Pan Am games but at the same time I was happy that it happened in the summer of 2015 and not the summer of 2016,” said Sharkey.

“I had really never had a major injury in my entire career until that point so I had been very lucky. I really took it one day at at a time. I was trying to get back as quickly as possible but as safely as possible. I wanted to be at the physical level that I was before I broke the ankle and I wanted the functionality and mobility in my ankle that I had before.”

Sharkey made it back on the field for the U.S. last fall and it has been full speed ahead ever since for her.

“We had a series against Japan at the end of November so I had a week of training before I played in those games,” said Sharkey.

“My ankle felt fine at that point. I still had a lot to do in terms of just my fitness and getting the strength in my legs that I had before I broke the ankle. It just took some time to get those fitness levels back. Once my ankle healed I never had any problems with that, I was lucky.”

This June, the U.S. showed it could succeed against high-level competition, placing third in the Champions Trophy tournament in London, defeating Australia, 1-0, in a shootout after finishing with a 2-2 draw at the end of regulation in the bronze medal game.

“That was just a great experience, the top six teams in the world were there.” said Sharkey. “Just getting to go through that, we called it a dress rehearsal for Rio.”

In its final preparation for Rio, the squad has kept its nose to the grindstone.

“We train six days out of the week, there has been little time off each year,” said Sharkey.

“We have been training so hard and I think our team is going to peak at the right time. We spend so many hours together and we go through some really tough moments together at training. I think that really unites us and brings us closer together.”

In Sharkey’s view, the U.S. attack needs to focus making things tough for its foes.

“I think that our entire attacking unit is very skillful and fast so our job up front is to create a number of scoring opportunities throughout the game but also to put a lot of heavy pressure on our opponents’ defenders,” said Sharkey.

“Really our defense starts up front with us and that is the attitude that we have up front. We are always trying to turn over the other team’s defenders.”

With her hard-earned experience over the last four years, Sharkey feels she will be better able to capitalize on the opportunities that come her way.

“I think I am able to get my shot off a little quicker at the international level; you really have to earn any scoring opportunities that you get,” said Sharkey.

“No defender is going to let you get an easy shot off so you have to be able to protect the ball really well in the circle and then have that quick release. That is something I have been working on these past couple of years and I have really added that to my game.”

The team’s work ethic and camaraderie should make it hard to beat in Rio. The U.S. opens Pool B play on August 6 against Argentina and hopes to still be in action when the tourney winds up with the semifinals on August 17 and the medal games on August 19.

“Our preparation has been very intense over these past three years so I think we have gained confidence from that, knowing how many hours we have put in on the turf,” said Sharkey.

“I feel like there are a lot of us who have been playing together for a number of years now which only helps with our closeness on and off the field. You can’t look too far ahead, you can’t look past any opponent because every team we are playing is in the Olympics for a reason. They are very good, they are very capable of beating anyone, so we have to take each opponent one game at a time.”

Having taken a circuitous journey to Rio, Sharkey will bring a deep appreciation for the chance to compete against those opponents.

“I am just very excited to be in that atmosphere, be playing in a tournament with so many great athletes throughout the world,” said Sharkey.

“It is so neat. I have been watching the Olympic trials in the other sports, with so many great athletes working hard to make this team. It is a reminder that there are other athletes working just as hard as you in their own sport. For all of us to come together, I think it is going to be really special.”