When Avonda Cannon joined the Milford High School field hockey team as a junior, she didn’t really know what to expect.

She had never played the sport before, but she thought she’d enjoy it.

“I just wanted to try something new,” said Cannon, who played girls’ basketball as a freshman.

Cannon started all season on junior varsity.

“It was fun,” she said. “The coaches thought I did well for my first time.

“I picked it up pretty easy, and over the season I got better.”

But playing a sport for the first time wasn’t totally easy.

“I didn’t really know the calls or my position or the rules at first,” Cannon said.

She didn’t let that deter her, and learned the ins and outs of the game and was determined to make varsity as a senior.

“I definitely wanted to come back and play again,” Cannon said. “Over the summer I practiced and tried to get myself better.”

Mission accomplished. Cannon made the varsity roster as one of just two seniors, and started much of the season on the forward line. She even became a team captain with fellow senior Beth Swadley.

“I was excited and really surprised,” Cannon said.

But head coach Amanda Jacona, who was an assistant coach for Cannon’s junior season, viewed Cannon’s play as a pleasant surprise.

“She was so eager, so willing and so ready to learn,” Jacona said. “And she was so coachable.”

Even in just two short seasons, Jacona can pinpoint where Cannon has made the most improvement.

“She improved on her stick skills, shooting – she became stronger with her shots and her drive, and her leadership,” Jacona said. “She was pretty aggressive. She took the ball to the outside and finished plays.”

Cannon contributed to the team by starting 12 of the 16 games, and scoring once on eight shots. She said she felt she made a lot of improvement.

“I was comfortable,” Cannon said. “I felt like I had grown closer to the girls.”

At the end of the season, Cannon’s improvements were noticed by the rest of the coaches in the Henlopen Conference when she was named Second Team All-Henlopen Conference offense.

“It was kind of refreshing that they picked her out,” said Jacona, who is allowed to nominate her players, but not allowed to vote for them.

Cannon may have come a long way in just two seasons, but Jacona can’t help but wonder what type of player she would be if she had four seasons under her belt.

“If she had those two extra years, she would be incredible,” Jacona said.

While she tried another sport in the past, Cannon isn’t planning on taking up another new sport before she graduates this spring.

“I’m just focusing on school and scholarships for now,” Cannon said.

She isn’t sure where she is going to college, but she knows she wants to become an interior designer. And if she finds the right school, she might try to play field hockey at the next level as well.

But if she doesn’t, she will at least have two seasons at Milford High School to look back on.

“I’ll remember everything,” Cannon said. “It was a new experience, and a great one.”