‘I want to see how far I can go’, UNC commit Ashley Sessa has eyes set on becoming an Olympian

Four-year-old Ashley Sessa begged her parents to let her play football after watching her older brother’s game. It got to the point where Sessa darted onto the football field in the middle of a game because she was tired of sitting on the benches.

Tracey Sessa, Ashley’s mother, knew her daughter needed to get involved in a sport. Tracey, once a field hockey player herself at Bishop Kenrick High School, then found a YMCA field hockey program in the area.

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Tracey Sessa said. “I had bought her munchkins for a treat after the game. She started the game, ran down the field tapping the ball, hit it in the goal, ran off the field and sat next to me asking if she could have a munchkin now that she scored.”

Sessa had a natural talent from the minute she picked up a stick. The now-18-year-old went from playing for a rec league to advancing to a club team, and being selected to play for the USA national team. Though her field hockey journey is just getting started, the University of North Carolina commit wants to see how far she can go. Her eyes are set on becoming an Olympian.

Tracey Sessa needed to find a summer camp for 8-year-old Ashley to go to while Tracey was at work. Searching on Google, Sessa’s mother found the WC Eagles facility in Chester County. The nation’s top-ranked club team was 15 minutes away from their home in Limerick, making it an easy decision to enroll Ashley.

On the first day of practice, WC Eagles coach Jun Kentwell looked down to see a 4-foot Sessa, asking “Will you coach me?” Kentwell responded, “Show me what you can do.” Sessa’s face lit up as she walked onto the turf with a stick in hand.

Kentwell, who is also an assistant coach of the men’s national team and was a player on the Chinese national team for 8 years, quickly noticed Sessa’s speed as an attacker and her eye coordination to see the whole field. Not many 8-year-olds had that skill level. At the end of the first week, Kentwell asked Sessa if she would be interested in joining the U10 team, competing in an older age group.

“That kid is different,” Kentwell said. “In that moment, there was something really naturally different.’”

Sessa then joined the WC Eagles’ indoor U10 team and never looked back. She started training two to three days a week, spending three hours at practice. After practice, Sessa would come home and pick up her stick again to do pulls in her backyard.

She wanted to master her technique. During her first indoor practice, Kentwell noticed Sessa’s stick work had improved. The coach made a comment toward Sessa that stuck with her.

“Our coach looked at me because I think I just stole the ball off of her,” Sessa said. “She said, ‘You’re gonna be an Olympian one day.’ Throughout playing, it was something that impacted my life just hearing her say that.”

Sessa then had a conversation with her mom about wanting to play for the national team. The WC Eagles have a reputation for having players move up to that level. Currently, Sessa is one of 12 former WC Eagles playing on the national team.

“I took her to see the [USA] women’s team play against Argentina,” Tracey Sessa said. “She saw her idol Katie Bam play and that was it. ... She wanted to play for her country, and she set her sights on that goal.”

However, the selection process wasn’t easy. She tried out for the team twice at ages 12 and 13, but was told she was too young. Sessa finally made the junior national team at age 14, playing with girls who were about four years older than her.

Hannah Prince, who was named head coach at St. Joseph’s University last week, was also on the team at the time. Sessa looked at Prince as a mother figure, since the other player was showing her the ropes, checking in and never giving up on her, although Sessa was much younger.

“They have definitely influenced me to become the player I am today,” Sessa said. “Just because of my size [5-foot-3], since I am a little shorter than everyone, that I think it helped me not get pushed around and learn how to use my body in other ways.”

In eighth grade, Sessa had colleges reaching out to her. She committed to North Carolina in the spring of her freshman year at Spring-Ford High School. Sessa then transferred that summer to Episcopal Academy because of the field hockey program and the flexibility to miss school to travel with the national team.

Although she had college figured out, Sessa still knew she had a ton of developing to do. Sophomore year was a critical point for her.

Tracey Sessa was diagnosed with breast cancer that year. Ashley had to help nurse her mom through chemo, surgery, and more chemo. Even when they thought they were in the clear, Tracey was told that the cancer had metastasized and had traveled to her brain. She had to go through a craniotomy with radiation.

Tracey Sessa is stable now, and Ashley was at her mom’s side every step of the way.

“I think Ashley just came into her own then,” Tracey Sessa said. “In a way, she didn’t really have a choice. She had to grow up fast.

“I just remember girls can do hard things ... I believe Ashley poured her feelings into her game and it elevated her to another level. Instead of feeling bitter and sad, she turned those feelings into something strong and beautiful.”

By her senior year at EA, Sessa had traveled to Chile, Holland, and South Africa with the national team, making 11 international appearances. She said it was hard to miss events like birthday parties, dances, and holidays, for field hockey, but she developed special friendships with her teammates along the way.

Building up more recognition in the field hockey world, Sessa signed a sponsorship deal with STX in October 2021, becoming the first athlete in high school with a sponsorship through Name, Image, and Likeness.

At the end of her WC Eagles career, from U10 to U19, Sessa and her teammates combined to win eight national club, eight regional, and 10 national indoor championships.

While Ashley is her own biggest critic, Tracey reminds her daughter to “show them warts and all,” meaning it is important to embrace one’s mistakes.

Sessa hopes to continue her development at UNC under head coach Karen Christina Shelton, a West Chester University graduate, while also playing for the national team. Her next goal is to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, or the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

“I want to see how far I can go,” Sessa said. “I know it’s going to be hard to balance it all out, but I know it’s doable, because there are a lot of college athletes on the national team, and they make it work, and just stay proactive. That’s my biggest thing right now.”