From small-town roots to the world stage: PSU's Phia Gladieux keeps rising

From Berks County to the world stage, Penn State field hockey star Phia Gladieux has never shied away from pressure-packed moments.

So when she stepped in during the fourth round of Team USA’s shootout against Uruguay in last month’s Pan American Cup semifinals, with a chance to send the women's national field hockey team to its first World Cup since 2018, she knew exactly how to handle it.

“I obviously played at the Olympics, so I've been in a very high-pressure situation before,” Gladieux told Victory Bell Rings.

“But all those games ended in regulation and normal time, and not that they didn't matter, but this game was obviously super important because it was a qualifying game. So I think the pressure was a little bit higher because the stakes were higher.”

The 23-year-old delivered, scoring the team’s fourth shootout goal, and as Uruguay came up short on time with their fourth attempt, having just had their third denied by goalkeeper Kelsey Bing, the United Eagles’ World Cup ticket was punched – as was their ticket to their first Pan-Am Cup final since 2013.

“When I was waiting to go up, that was when I was most nervous,” she said. “And then when it was my turn and I went up, surprisingly enough, I felt pretty calm. And I think it's just because I felt super confident, because that whole week leading up, we were practicing shootouts, in case this were to happen. I just felt very prepared.”

Twelve months from now, the U.S. is set to go for their first World Cup medal since 1994, when they achieved bronze in Ireland.

“A lot of it was just self-talk,” Gladieux continued. “Just being like, ‘I'm going to score this’, almost like a manifestation of, ‘I'm going to score this; I'm not missing this’, I think because I was telling myself that the whole time, it wasn't an option to miss. … I've done this a million times practicing. My body at that point knew what to do.

“It was definitely a top three moment in my field hockey career. It was super, super exciting.”

Over the course of her illustrious field hockey career, Gladieux has thrived when the pressure has been at its highest, from her high school career at Oley Valley to her college career at Penn State and now to the international stage.

Of her record-breaking 94 goals over five seasons at Penn State, 25 were game-winners.

“I've always told my coaches, I tend to do better under pressure; I don't know why,” she admitted. “There's less time to think in those moments. And I think for me, personally, when I think too much, that's when I start to kind of not do as well. … When you overthink, you tend to do worse.

“I feel like in my career, I've learned a lot about myself; think less, because when I think less – I've been playing the sport for so long – my body kind of just tends to know what to do in those moments. I think a lot of it has to do with experience, but also not being able to think as much is definitely helpful.”

But for Gladieux, it wasn’t always that simple.

For Phia, anxiety took its toll

Long before she was thriving under national – and international – pressure, her struggles went much deeper than your average run-of-the-mill nerves during a high-level sporting competition.

“Growing up, I struggled a lot with anxiety,” she said. “I was 11 when I really started to struggle, and unfortunately, the cause was field hockey, specifically a USA Field Hockey event. It was the junior national camp, I want to say 2014. I was 11, and I had been invited to the U17 junior national camp, and I went, and I did it.

“I think for me at that time, feeling such pressure and anxiety for the first time ever was so scary. It was my first time staying at an away camp, and it wasn't like a fun kids camp; it was a junior national camp playing with 17-year-olds, the best players in the country.”

As an 11-year-old, the expectation of being able to compete with some of the best 17-year-olds in the country – and in an unfamiliar place – was a daunting one.

“It was a little bit of a different environment, and that was just really scary for me, and I did it, I went through it, but did not enjoy it. It was really tough, and I think unfortunately, from then on, any sort of USA event or field hockey event really triggered my anxiety, and it just spiraled. It just got worse and worse, and it was really hard because it was so situational.”

It was a cycle she didn’t know how to break.

Contrary to what a large percentage of the public might believe, anxiety and nervousness are not the same. Whereas nerves come and go, anxiety is persistent and can strike when you least expect it.

So when there were instances she felt better – or at least when she thought she felt better – she thought that the anxiety had gone away for good.

But it really hadn’t, and at times, she’d feel trapped.

“I would be fine on a normal day, but then if you told me I had to go to a camp and go here and do this, it would just not go well, and I just really struggled for a long time,” she explained.

“Then it would go away, so then I would think I was fine, and so I wouldn't go and get help and talk to someone about it. It was just this torturous cycle that really continued all the way up into college – and I still struggle, but I think I've learned a lot about myself.”

Dealing with anxiety

Those lessons weren’t learned overnight; it took several years of experiences she hopes not to relive. But now Gladieux, like so many other high-level athletes, has demonstrated an honesty and an openness about the importance of mental health, a topic that wasn’t discussed nearly as much even five or six years ago as it is now.

It’s an openness which has also helped others come to terms with their own struggles, while also giving them ways to move forward in life.

“I think for the longest time, I was very quiet about it and secretive about it, when I was very young, like elementary to middle school,” she said. “I think, one, because it wasn't talked about a lot in general, and two, having anxiety at a young age just wasn't common. I feel like a lot of my friends didn't have it and it wasn't talked about.

“I just felt it was a lot of embarrassment and shame that I was feeling that way. I remember always asking myself and my parents like, ‘Why me? Why me? Why does this happen to me?’

It was a question she couldn’t answer, until she confronted the issue head-on by opening up about it.

“At first, I would just really keep it all bottled in, and then it would just come to a head at some point, and I just wouldn't be able to handle it,” she continued. “As I got older, I realized talking about it as soon as I kind of started to feel it, like talking about it with my parents or my sister or whoever, it made me feel better.

“The more I spoke about it with the people who were really close to me, the better I felt. At first, I felt like, okay, if I just pretend it's not there and just push it to the backburner, it'll go away. But that is never the case. It never works, and so I really got good about opening up early about it to those people and I just noticed how much it's helped.”

The more she opened up about it, the more those around her began to understand what she was dealing with.

And the more they were able to help.

“Eventually I told my club coaches, my high school coaches, Char [Morett-Curtiss] knew before I came [to Penn State], and the more people I told, the better I felt, the more supported I felt, like there was nothing to hide or be ashamed about. It is what it is; I have anxiety.

“As I got older, I realized more people had it. It wasn't some crazy, like, ‘Oh, Phia has anxiety.’ I just realized that it's a normal struggle to have. So I think when I noticed more people understood how I was feeling, the more calm I felt. I felt like, okay, if I have an anxiety attack, they'll know; they know I struggle.

“The more people I opened up to about it, and the more people who understood, the better I felt, more comfortable I felt.”

While she can admittedly still struggle at times, she has learned how to manage the worst of it. And above all, Phia’s openness hasn’t exclusively helped Phia.

A beacon of light for others who struggle

The willingness to make herself vulnerable by opening up on a subject she once felt embarrassed to discuss has already helped countless others, and for her, that too is a massive part of what’s made her own battles worth a fight which once seemed impossible to win.

“I've realized it's helped so many young girls,” she said. “The amount of girls and parents who have DM'd me, thanking me for just opening up about it and talking about it, has just made them feel not alone. I think seeing someone who's been through a lot and who's been very successful, seeing them open up about a struggle, can be so inspiring.”

Even making a positive impact on one life is enough to make Gladieux have no regrets about her decision to open up. 

“I know I see athletes who are at the top level, when they open up, it's like, okay, wow, they are normal people, they have normal struggles. So I think it kind of relates in the field hockey world for me; these girls look up to that, and they're like, ‘Okay, she has it.’

“It's just nice to be able to resonate with a bunch of people and talk about it and just have awareness of it, because yeah, I don't think it's talked about enough. I feel like I've gotten really comfortable talking about it. I'm no longer ashamed or embarrassed. It just kind of is what it is, and I've really learned to manage it and help others.”

Dealing with negativity in the modern world

Gladieux has accrued upwards of 80,000 social media followers across TikTok and Instagram as she’s climbed through the field hockey ranks and become much more visible to the public eye. Like any athlete in any sport who reaches that level, it has come with plenty of online negativity and “haters”.

For Gladieux, that started at a young age, when she wasn’t necessarily sure how to cope with it, and that too did not have a positive impact on her mental health.

“I don't want anyone to not like me,” she admitted. “And so growing up, there were people or parents who have had it out for me because I was good at a young age. So that, for me, was really hard when I was younger, because I just wanted everyone to like me. I didn't understand that, and why people were like that, and how toxic jealousy can be.”

But Gladieux, a self-described “people pleaser” who’s always wanted simply to “make people happy”, says she’s learned over time to laugh it off and block it out.

“I honestly think it was partly motivation,” she admitted. “I was always told just to kill everyone with kindness. And I think that goes for social media. Just be nice, be cool, don't post any things that are going to get you in trouble or any of that stuff.”

That approach has helped her take the inevitable criticism with a grain of salt.

“There are always people in the comments, like, ‘Field hockey’s not a real sport’, blah blah blah blah blah, all those comments,” she laughed. “And it's usually like teenage boys who have a fake profile picture. You can't even see them. So for me, I generally find it funny.

“It doesn't affect me in what I'm doing. I'm still an Olympian and I'm still successful at what I do. So I've learned to just kind of brush it off. It doesn't personally affect me. … I'm not personally offended by it.”

Above all, she just wishes those individuals could see the positive side of what she’s doing. She wishes they, too, could take something positive from the sport with which she fell in love, the sport at which she continues to excel at the highest level.

“Field hockey is a fun sport; I wish you guys loved it,” she said. “It’s cool because I honestly think if more men played field hockey in America, people would realize how cool it is. It is a fun sport. You get to hit a ball around. Like what guy wouldn’t like to do that, you know? It’s just more like, oh, damn – that sucks that they think that.”

How one decision reshaped Phia’s future

Gladieux’s goal was always to make it to the Olympics. But when her anxiety was at its worst, as a budding athlete pushing through school simply looking for answers, she needed to step back indefinitely from any national team commitments and focus on performing at her best at Oley Valley and with her club, X–Calibur.

Amid all the questions and self-doubt that no teenager should have to endure, it’s what allowed her to rediscover what made her fall in love with the sport in the first place.

Without that decision, she readily admits she would not be where she is today.

“I had to do things at my own pace, and so I decided to step back from any USA things, I think freshman year of high school, maybe sophomore year,” she stated.

“It was the best thing I could have done for myself. I was able to focus on club hockey, focus on high school, and eventually college, and just kind of do things at my own pace and enjoy the sport and not feel constant anxiety all the time, because I was just slowly becoming so burnt out.”

Before coming to that conclusion, she did have serious doubts about whether she could play field hockey in college. But talent wasn’t the issue; far from it. Her questions were about whether she could go off to college at all.

“We didn't know if I was going to be able to make it to college, at that rate,” she said. “I’m very grateful that my parents and all my coaches, all the way up until college, were just so supportive of that.”

But in the spring of 2023, she was presented with another Team USA opportunity: the chance to train with the national team in Charlotte, North Carolina.

It was an opportunity she had long dreamt of. By that point, three years into her collegiate career as a Nittany Lion, she knew she had the talent and the ability, and she knew she had put in the work to be able to say confidently that it was an opportunity she had rightfully earned.

And after having spent several years with any and all national team commitments out of sight, out of mind for the sake of her own mental health, she went for it.

To no one’s surprise, she capitalized.

“Toward the end of college, I felt I always knew I wanted to be on the national team,” she recalled. “So I knew that would eventually happen if I continued to grow. And then eventually the stars kind of aligned, and I felt ready for whenever the coach of the U.S. team would ask me to come down – do a little bit, train at a camp here, maybe play in a series here, and just kind of do things slowly.”

After taking part in a December 2023 series in New Zealand, she officially joined the team in February 2024, by which point they had already locked up a spot in the Summer Olympics in Paris, and then in June, she realized a lifelong dream when she was informed that she had been selected as a member of the 16-person Olympic team.

“Leading up to the Olympics, when I got asked, I figured I have always put myself first, and I think this was a great opportunity to go out of my comfort zone and achieve a goal that I've had since I picked up a stick,” she continued. “I knew that I could push past the anxiety and push past the fear, and I'm so glad I did, because now it got me to where I am today.”

Having just recorded her first international cap against Belgium roughly two months prior, Gladieux scored a goal in the team’s 1-1 draw against Spain during the Paris Games.

From start to finish, it was one of the most electric plays she’s ever been a part of, and along with her recent shootout heroics in Montevideo, it was one of the greatest moments, she says, of her career, one she’ll certainly never forget.

“It is such a team sport,” she humbly stated, “and I think the great thing about that goal was it was such a team goal, because it started in our defensive unit on a corner, defensive corner, and we made an insane save on the end line – Ashley Hoffman getting it up to our other teammate, Ashley Sessa, Ashley Sessa getting it to our other forward, Megan [Valzonis], Megan getting it to me.

“It just goes to show how important it is, being a team sport. You rely on so many other people, and I think it's also cool because it takes pressure off of you, right? It's not all up to you. It takes a village, and I think that goal really kind of proved that.”

NBC Sports held the broadcast rights for the Olympics in the United States, as they have since 1988, and it was that dynamic sequence, capped off by Phia’s goal, which really brought field hockey to the attention of the mainstream, modern-day American sports fan last summer when the video was shared on social media.

“I remember when it got posted on NBC, the Olympic Instagram account, and it blew up, went viral, and everyone in the comments was like, ‘Wait, field hockey is actually a cool sport!’, and, ‘If it was like this all the time, I'd watch more!’ – and I’m like – it is though! It is that cool all the time!” she exclaimed.

“It was really cool to be able to get that publicity. I’m obviously wishing that it was like that all the time, not just at the Olympics. That goal was thrilling; again, that's probably also a top three moment in my career, just everyone coming together, celebrating, and to score that in that setting was just surreal.”

From star to superstar

After a high school career in which she tallied 206 goals, good for fourth on the all-time list nationally, and led Oley to two state championship game appearances, she knew she had what it took to succeed at the collegiate level.

But it wasn’t until after overcoming early-season struggles as a college freshman that she truly believed she could become the player she is today, one with Olympic experience – and yes, one with a freshly won silver world championship medal, her first, from the team’s Uruguay trip around her neck.

“I think I always had that confidence, because Char had instilled so much trust and confidence in me from the start,” Gladieux said. “I knew I had so much potential. But I think at the beginning of my college career, I struggled.

“As a forward, I wasn't really scoring a lot, and to me, that was really hard to come to terms with, and I'm realizing like, ‘Okay, this is the big leagues now, I need to kind of step it up.’ … I was just so down on myself, and Char's like, ‘It'll happen; you're good. You're good.’”

It took her until her fourth game to score a goal, that coming in a 3-0 win over Maryland.

Exactly one week later in East Lansing, she scored three goals in a single quarter against Michigan State and added another one later on, bringing her within one goal of the school’s all-time single-game record, a record ironically jointly held by her coach (1977), along with Dawn Lammey (1998).

“In general, scoring four goals at any age, that's amazing, and also as a freshman, I just remember that it completely boosted my confidence,” Gladieux explained. “I think I really set the standard for myself of what I was capable of doing. So I think from that moment on, I was like, ‘Okay, I got this.’ I could do this.

“It’s funny because Char has the Penn State single-game goals record, five goals, and I scored my fourth, and everyone's joking because I got subbed off! Everyone's like, ‘Char's like, I'm not letting you beat my record!’ – jokingly. But it was just really funny to have that full circle moment with her.”

It was a full circle moment indeed, given the fact that it was Morett-Curtiss who played a key role in getting Gladieux to commit to Penn State during her sophomore year at Oley.

All roads lead to Penn State

“My sister went to Penn State, and she was a senior when I was a freshman in high school,” Gladieux stated. “When she went to Penn State, I was able to go up and visit a lot. Not just for athletics, but in general. Obviously Penn State's field hockey program was very successful throughout the years, so it was always on my radar.

“But I think for me, I was a homebody. I loved that my sister was there, and just talking to Char Morett-Curtiss when she was the coach, I couldn't even imagine going anywhere else. She was just so supportive from the start, with my anxiety and what I wanted, and she just trusted me and had so much confidence in me.

“Being on Penn State's campus, it just felt like home. I would always ask, ‘How do you know what school you want to go to? Is it hard to pick?’, all these things. And girls would always say, ‘You'll know; you'll just know where your home's going to be’, and that's how I felt at Penn State. I couldn't even fathom going anywhere else, so that made it a lot easier for me.”

After 36 seasons, Morett-Curtiss retired following Gladieux’s junior year, a year which saw Phia help orchestrate Penn State's first Big Ten championship since 2013 and their first NCAA Final Four appearance since 2007 by setting a new career-high for single-season goals (23) and leading the Big Ten with an average of 1.1 goals per game.

Char left a lasting impact on the program – and of course, on the only five-time first-team All-Big Ten selection in conference history. The fact that Phia could feel that impact so early on made her decision even easier.

“That relationship I created with her really made it so much easier for me to make a decision.”

Gladieux was pursued by plenty of other big-name schools – and from a very young age. But she ultimately decided Happy Valley was by far the best fit.

“Not to say I didn't show other schools interest; definitely did – Duke was another really top option for me,” she noted. “Loved the school, loved the coaches. They were great. It was just, distance-wise, too much for me, and I just couldn't really see myself at a school like that.

“So the decision was pretty easy, and then I committed my sophomore year of high school. Definitely the best decision I could have made for myself; it was a very easy one. Another reason is I wanted a big school, because growing up in a small town, I was ready to venture out.”

She admitted to making another easy decision, too: returning for her fifth year, a season she knew she was eligible for because her college career began during the mid-to-late stages of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

“Pretty easy!” she admitted. “I knew I got an extra year going into my freshman year, and so at the time, I was like, ‘We’ll see – probably.’ And then as the first year went, I was like, ‘Oh, absolutely.’ And talking to a lot of other coaches, they were like, ‘The things I’d do to get a free extra year! … You can't not take it.’

“Hearing other older, wiser people tell me I should absolutely take it, it was kind of no question – and I wanted to myself, anyways. Being in college is fun, and being a college athlete where you're treated like royalty at a D1 program is also really fun.”

That decision gave her the opportunity to break both the all-time Penn State goals record and the all-time Penn State points record, and she took advantage.

She recorded her 90th and 91st career goals in an October 2024 road game in Evanston against Northwestern, breaking Candy Finn’s record of 90 (1978-1981), and she recorded her 92nd and 93rd goals in a road game in Athens against Ohio the following week. Coupled with her 14 career assists, it put her at 200 points, breaking Finn’s record of 196.

She ended her college career with 94 goals and 14 assists, good for 202 points.

“Besides those fun things, obviously there's so much more for me," she continued. "Just being with my teammates and just being able to play college hockey is so fun, and just such an enjoyable time of life.

“You really don't ever get an opportunity like that again. So it was kind of a no-brainer for me to go back and take another year, and it ended up working perfectly because of the Olympic year, that half-year that I took, and then going back.”

Oley-to-Penn State pipeline continues

As Gladieux moves into the next phase of her life and career this fall, for the first time as a former Penn State field hockey star, she is looking forward to watching a fellow Oley Valley graduate keep the Oley-to-Penn State field hockey pipeline intact.

“Skyler Fretz was there before I was there, she went to Oley, and then I got there, and now Morgan [Snyder],” she said. “Being able to play with her for a year was so exciting. She's another one who I knew was going to be such a talent, even from a young age. So athletic, and just smart and composed.”

Snyder started 16 of 17 games and led the team in minutes as a freshman in 2024, fresh off a senior season at Oley during which she helped engineer a comeback from down 3-1 in the state championship game – and ultimately sealed the school’s first state title since 2000 with a penalty stroke in the closing minutes.

For Morgan, her first year in State College was more than just a freshman season. It was a rare opportunity to play with someone she had grown up watching.

“Playing with Phia was such a great experience,” she said. “She’s one of the most hardworking people I know, and to see her work ethic and talent every day was truly inspiring. She was always someone I looked up to growing up, so actually getting to play alongside her was so exciting."

It was an opportunity she did not take for granted.

“She was always there if I needed anything," Snyder continued, "but was also there to push me and help me reach my fullest potential, and that’s something I always appreciated. I’m so excited to continue watching her play and will always be cheering her on.

“She truly is something special, and I am so honored to have played with her.”

Phia is equally as excited to cheer on Morgan this coming fall and in the years to come.

“It was just so fun," Gladieux said. "I'm so excited to continue to watch her flourish, because she's always just been such a simple and smart player."

Snyder's elite defensive skillset, on full display throughout her high school career, was just as evident from the get-go at Penn State.

“She played center back as a freshman," Gladieux continued. "In any sport, that's a tough position to play, and she did so well – and as a freshman, that was just so exciting to see."

“I'm so excited and pumped for her, and I'm so proud of her. Her parents were both my teachers, which I think is also really cool, so they were able to kind of watch me grow up as well. I just think the whole community aspect is so awesome, and being able to cheer each other on.

“She's just such a great player, and again, kudos to Oley. Tiff [Cappellano], specifically, did such a good job with her in developing her and preparing her for Penn State. She's going to absolutely kill it this year, and the next two years that she has after this. I'm super excited to watch her.”

Gladieux spoke at length about what makes Oley Valley, even as one of the smallest school districts in Berks County, so elite at field hockey, year after year after year.

“Berks County in general is such a hot bed for field hockey,” Gladieux explained. “Pennsylvania just breeds so many amazing athletes, but Berks County and Oley specifically, I think it’s just the support from the community."

When she began her high school field hockey career in 2016, Oley Valley had not lost a league game since 2011.

By the time she graduated in 2020, Oley Valley had still not lost a league game since 2011.

And yes, by the time Morgan graduated in 2024, Oley Valley had still not lost a league game since 2011 — just a couple weeks after she had started kindergarten.

“I think the girls who went through it before me and who are now the coaches, like Tiffany Cappellano, Melanie Brill, Kelly Williamson, all three D1 athletes, all three have been on the national team at some point," Gladieux continued.

“Mel went to UNC, Kelly went to Delaware, and Tiff went to Iowa. Those are three powerhouse field hockey schools, obviously, so I think that in itself, they love the sport so much, and were willing to come back to Oley and give back to the sport, and I feel like it's just continued.”

And it starts well before high school.

“Our youth program; we can start so young,” she said. “My sister played at Oley Valley Youth League; she started in third grade. And so naturally being the younger sister, you tend to follow the older sibling and everything that they do. So then I was obviously playing it. And also all my best friends and their sisters were playing it.

“All the parents, and like I said, the support of the community, they just love field hockey, and they show out. I know when I was in youth league, I looked up to those high school girls, and I thought they were superstars, and I would go to all the games and just see how successful they were. I think their drive drove so much inspiration to my class.

“Then you had a bunch of girls in my class in that age group also go D1, D2, so I feel like it continues to feed off of each other. You see these older girls do so well and are so inspiring, and then the younger girls see it, and they want to do that. I've seen it just continue this cycle, and there are girls who were little babies when I was in high school, now committing to D1 schools.”

She doesn’t see that trend stopping anytime soon.

“It's just so cool to see this cycle, and I think the support and our coaching is amazing. It's just top-tier, and I think that's why we've been so successful. I see that continuing for a very long time.”

From humble beginnings to generational talent

Although her attention turned to field hockey as she got older, Gladieux was not a one-sport athlete growing up. In fact, her own journey, even from a young age, is proof that the cycle works.

She recalled her earliest competition experience – and had a good laugh in doing so.

“My first sport that I ever played was soccer – very basic; I was so bad!” she remembered. “But I didn't have that drive because you can start soccer in kindergarten. I was bad, and that was it. 

“I remember I played goalie one time. I got like 12 goals scored on me and I remember bawling my eyes out. My mom bought me an ice cream sandwich, and that was the last time I was ever on a soccer field.”

She also played softball in elementary school and middle school before joining track in high school and then ultimately deciding, heading into her junior year, that field hockey needed her undivided attention.

Suffice it to say it’s a decision that’s worked out pretty well. But she remains grateful she had the opportunity to be a multi-sport athlete growing up.

“You learn a lot about yourself,” she said. “You learn a lot about other people. You meet new people. So yeah, it was definitely a really interesting experience.”

But for Gladieux, field hockey was, as she says, the “thing to do” in Oley.

“It was kind of a no-brainer! I was really bad my first year – like, not good at all. And I hated that. I remember we were competitive even in youth league. In third grade, I was benched for some games if we needed to win.”

Though it was far from the best feeling in the moment, that humbling aspect at such an early age is something Gladieux believes helped her take her game to the next level and go from a star-in-the-making to a superstar.

“I think that's another thing that breeds such talent in Oley; you're there to win at those Oley Youth League tournaments. And I just remember that really humbled me. I remember after that, I was like, ‘I don't want to be bad anymore.’

“So I just went outside every day in my driveway and practiced with an old stick and hit against my dad's garage wall, brick wall. The ball would bounce back to me, and I did that for hours and hours and hours every day leading up, and then I came back my next year and I just loved it. I was like, ‘Oh wow’, when I saw the progress that was being made. I was like, ‘Okay, so this is working; practice does work!’

She quickly ascended from being “really bad” to being the best.

“Then I remember the following year, the camp, I remember doing my first pull around a girl, and I just felt that thrill, the excitement of being in sport and beating someone. I remember that so well, and I think from then on, it was just kind of like a drug. It just kind of became addicting.

“I just continued to grow and grow, and I remember all my friends who were way better than me the year before, they were – I came back and was like, really good – and they're like, ‘What the heck?’ And yeah, so then ever since, the rest is history, honestly, because that just continued.

“Every single year, I did more and more and more, and I have to thank a little bit of my dad's athletic genes; they definitely were on my side for that! But yeah, that's definitely kind of where I fell in love.”

Her father is among the many individuals she credits for her rise to stardom – and for helping her find ways to battle her greatest struggle.

“He has been a huge, huge part of my field hockey career, and just life in general. He's been there since day one, when I first experienced my first anxiety attack. I remember it, sitting in his car, crying to him about how I was feeling.

“He was able to calm me down and just talk to me about anxiety in general. He was always my go-to whenever I was feeling that. He knows me more than anyone. So he was able to spot it as soon as I started feeling it.

“He just really allowed me to grow as a person, and he was always there for me for my anxiety, and in field hockey – always at my games, never missed anything, was a coach in youth league for me. He's just done so much, and he's supported me so, so much.”

She doesn’t take these sacrifices lightly.

“He spent countless hours in the car driving to tournaments, spent a s— ton of money on me for field hockey growing up. So again, he's also someone who I am just so grateful for, and I know he knows it, but I don't think I tell him thank you enough for everything he's done.

“I think he also lived vicariously through me just a little bit, being an athlete himself. I think he really enjoyed watching me succeed and eventually reach my goal of becoming an Olympian. I think that was just a really awesome moment for both of us. So yeah, he's definitely up there on that list.”

She is also particularly grateful for the support she has received over the years from her coaches.

“I talked about Tiff and Char; they both have been just such supportive women in my life who were also role models for me – Char being an Olympian, Tiff was so successful in college and played on the national team as well,” Gladieux said.

“Those two have just done nothing but support me and push me and humble me in the best way possible, and I truly cannot ever thank them enough. I'm indebted to both of them. Field hockey-wise, they've just – yeah, they're just the best.”

Always grateful, and still giving back

All of the support she’s received over the years has made Gladieux eager to give back to the younger generations of girls coming up through the ranks. She has been able to do that in recent years by hosting a number of clinics.

One such clinic was held at Oley before she left for Paris last summer, and another was just held in New Jersey last week.

“It's one of my favorite things to do,” she said. “I truly do love giving back to the field hockey community in any way that I can. I love growing the game. I love spreading my knowledge. I'm still learning so much about the sport.

“Whatever I can learn, I want to be able to give to that younger generation so we can continue to grow the sport, get better at it, make it more popular and just support and fund these future athletes.

“Obviously coming back to Oley, any time I do, I try to do something there, because that's where it all started for me. The Oley community has done nothing but give me so much support. I felt that since day one, and so the least I can do is go back and kind of give back to all of them.

“Seeing all these young little girls show up and cheer me on and make signs and wear shirts and all these things, it's just so cute and sweet, and it is surreal – because it's like, I was literally you a few years ago! I was the one who was looking up to these high school girls and college girls like, ‘I want to be that one day.’

Now she is that girl, and it’s a role she’s fully embraced – not just as a star, but as a role model, knowing that such a position comes with an incredible level of responsibility.

“To think that I am that, sometimes it's hard,” she admitted. “It's hard to realize, in that moment. But after these clinics, getting these messages from these parents, it just makes my heart so happy that I'm actually making a difference, and I can serve as an inspiration to these girls and show them that truly anything is possible, no matter how tiny of a little farm town you come from. It's just about being willing to put the work in and have fun and enjoy it.

“I love doing these clinics. I just want girls to have fun at my clinics, whatever we're doing. Field hockey is such a high-pressure sport, whether with recruiting or the USA field hockey stuff; it's a lot. And when you do a lot at a young age, it can become overwhelming and overbearing, and burnout begins.

“Whenever I do these clinics, I’m always like, let's just have fun. This is your opportunity to learn. There's no pressure here. I'm not a college coach. I'm not trying to recruit you. I'm not going to – this isn't a selection. This is supposed to be fun. And I think for me, when I was that age, that's what I loved. I just wanted to play hockey with no other strings attached. That's what I like to do, and I think it's fun for everyone. So I'm going to continue to do that as long as I can.”

Gladieux graduated from Penn State this past fall with a degree in early childhood education, so she has always had an interest in teaching the next generation. With her having put those career aspirations on hold for the time being to focus on her field hockey career, having the opportunity to set aside time for the clinics is extra special.

“It just wouldn't be feasible for me to become a teacher, just because that requires your full day for a full nine months,” she explained.

“So I unfortunately don’t have that time, as we're traveling constantly and our training is pretty much almost all day. I haven't been able to do that. But I do think coaching these clinics, doing private lessons, I think you're immersed into teaching in a different way. I think there are a lot of similarities to it.

“[Teaching] definitely won't happen until I'm completely retired from field hockey, which I think is fine. I personally don't think I would do well teaching right out of college. I think it's a lot, and it's hard, and definitely not appreciated enough.

“But I think after giving myself a few years to do this, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, teaching will always be there for me. So I'm not really worried about it going anywhere. There's always a need for teachers. That time will come when I'm done playing field hockey.”

That time, however, probably won’t be anytime soon, as she has plenty more she wants to achieve first.

With Olympic dream realized, what’s next?

“That is something that I asked myself post-Paris,” she said of her future goals, after having realized the ultimate Olympic dream which so few ever manage to achieve.

“And I said this to a lot of people: I did achieve this, this was my lifelong dream, now what? This is crazy, but I think even when you accomplish something so great and so big and so successful, you tend to kind of realize where your limit is and how much even further you can go.

“I think for me, yes, I became an Olympian. I scored a goal in the Olympics. But there is just so much more personally and as a team that I want to accomplish. I want to become a world-class player. I want people to know my name internationally, not just in this country. And I think there's just so much work to be done.”

That work is just getting started.

“I think that's what's so exciting about field hockey; it's always growing, and it's so fast-paced that there's so much room to improve. So for me personally, I know I have so much more potential as a player, what I can do on the field.

“And then with qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in a long time, I think that's a great opportunity to kind of show the world what the U.S. is chasing and where we're at. I think it's really exciting with this group. I think we can do really well at the World Cup.”

Though there is a lot on the schedule between now and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, including next year’s World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands, Gladieux has already partially turned some of her attention toward 2028.

The fact that the Games are set for home soil for the first time since 1996 in Atlanta means it’s even more of a special opportunity she is aiming to make the most of.

“Our goal in LA obviously is to medal, and that's something that we always have in our mind, every tournament that we show up to,” she said. “So I think there's a lot. Obviously becoming an Olympian is amazing, and I'm so proud of myself, and I'm not brushing that under the rug, but I do think it's opened so many more doors, and there's just so much more room to succeed.

“The Olympics in general are just such a cool opportunity because it brings the world together, and growing up, I always loved watching the Olympics. So actually being there, it was – I would say – surreal, again. And I wish there was another word, because words don't do it justice. But it was a lot.”

While surrounded by world-class athletes such as LeBron James, Simone Biles, Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Katie Ledecky as she had the opportunity to meet others such as Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, and Suni Lee, Gladieux had to pinch herself multiple times – and remind herself that she also belonged in that category.

“Truthfully, being in that village, there were many times I had to tell myself: I'm also an Olympian!” she said. “I belong here, you know? I'm just as good an athlete as they are.

“We all told ourselves, have that moment, take it in, admire it, and then realize, okay, I'm here to play field hockey, what I've done my whole life. It's just another game, you know? Easier said than done!”

Moving on from Penn State, with a lasting legacy

As for her immediate future, it still hasn’t quite sunk in that this year she’ll be watching Penn State field hockey from afar when their season begins two weeks from now.

But she plans to watch every game – and be the team’s biggest fan.

“I will absolutely be watching every game,” she said. “I cannot accept the fact that I'm done with school!”

Having wrapped up one of the most dominant careers for any Penn State athlete, she now has her eyes on several other younger players ready to step up and lead this year’s team.

“Thinking of the girls who are ready to step up, there are a few names,” she said. “Phia Mannino, she's been there, had a few injury years, but she's definitely a force on that field. She loves to attack. She's strong in general and just on the ball, creates a lot of offense for Penn State.

“I think Ella Jennes; she is a Dutchie girl. She's got a lot of craft, a lot of skill, and I think her finesse will also really help the attack as well, getting corners, scoring some cool goals. I think she'll do really well. Nat Freeman, as well, on the attack. She's also finessey, fast, and creative.

“And then in the back field, Anouk [Knuvers]. She was actually unfortunately out last season. She had a torn ACL. She was our original center back player. She is a beast, a brick wall in the back, and super excited to have her back and be able to watch her and her comeback story.

“Then obviously Morgan Snyder, having experience in the backfield. I think she's going to really thrive, especially having her and Anouk back there, is going to be awesome, as well as Aby [Deverka], our goalkeeper. She's got a year of experience, and playing at the U21 national team, I think she's gotten a lot of great coaching this past summer. She's been dressed and playing a lot of hockey, so I think she'll be ready to go.”

For Phia Gladieux, the countless records and long list of accolades are all a part of a legacy that continues to grow. But it’s the next generation of talent, those who comprise the groups of young girls who once watched her in the same way she watched Oley’s high school stars as a third grader not too long ago, who just might become her greatest achievement.