Just at the mention of Tayla-Jade Weiss’ name, her coach’s face lights up. Weiss, or TJ as her friends call her, has a positive energy so contagious it’s present even when she isn’t.
“Whenever I see TJ, I feel like smiling. My heart feels happy,” American University field hockey head coach Steve Jennings said. “It's because of how she acknowledges and approaches everybody. It's how she looks at life, and that rubs off on you.”
After speaking with her parents, it’s clear that attitude has been part of her long before the senior came to AU. Weiss’ positivity originates across the Atlantic Ocean in Hillcrest, South Africa.
Weiss said she wasn’t set on coming to the United States for field hockey — she wanted to pursue the sport past high school, but was considering playing in Europe. All of those plans changed when a friend from home playing at American suggested she reach out. That friend was 2023 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Charllene Boshoff.
“My friend, Charllene, she put in a really nice word for me, which she didn't have to do, she didn't really know me,” Weiss said. “It was really special that she, for lack of a better word, risked her rep[utation], on me.”
Boshoff’s risk paid off, and the South African duo dominated American’s backend together for three seasons.
“There's just an inherent trust you have with people on this team when they tell you that somebody is like [AU field hockey] material, at least culturally, you know that they would be able to come in and enhance what we already have, and it would sort of really resonate with them,” Jennings said. “So I always can trust Char with everything.”
Weiss came to American playing midfield, and this past season after Boshoff’s graduation switched to defense. The midfielder-turned-defender averaged 62.25 minutes over 20 games this season, propelling the Eagles to 8 shutouts. The positional change allowed American to still benefit from her skill with the ball without expending too much of her energy as midfielders constantly run up and down the field.
“We look at our defenders as midfielders. You have to be able to create passes, you have to be able to handle the ball under pressure, and TJ is phenomenal at that,” Jennings said. “So it was a really critical decision for us, but that was born out of her skill, mostly, and the fact that we thought that she would help us really be a lockdown, deep defense.”
The 2024 team benefited from her skills at defense, as will future teams thanks to her mentorship of defender Olivia Morraye. The freshman started every game this year, and averaged more than 60 minutes per game, just like Weiss. Morraye earned Patriot League Rookie of the Year and certainly benefited from having a veteran at her side.
“I think that's just a wonderful connection that really ultimately, people like Liv are connected to TJ, connected to Noor [Coenen], connected to Moei [Maureen Daniel, connected to Denise [Infante], to connected to this great, rich legacy all the way back. And some of those names won't mean anything to other people, but they do mean a lot to us,” Jennings said.
Weiss’ name flows naturally in a line with Boshoff, two-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Coenen and Cassell Hall of Famers Daniel and Infante. The American field hockey family is massive with dozens of alumni returning for games, and parents of current players cheering wildly every match.
After almost four full seasons without attending her games in person, Weiss’ parents finally made it to D.C. for a few games this year. They stood proudly on the sideline wearing shirts with their last name on the back and their daughter’s number on the sleeve.
“We'd practically never missed a match. And then for three and a half years, we had to watch remotely on TV so that was hard,” Weiss’ dad Mike said.
“We did learn that she has a massive support structure, which we really appreciate, both from the staff, families, her family of hockey players. So that's been really, really, really great to see,” Weiss’ mom Leanne said. “I don't think we could have stayed so far away knowing that she wasn't looked after and supported so well.”
The Weiss family meshed seamlessly on American’s benches, perfectly blending with the other parents all decked out in red, white and blue.
“I love our program. Obviously, it's the coaches and the staff here and the team, but it's also like the parents, who are just always supporting, always on the sideline, and it's like I've got a second home, a family and everything,” Weiss said. “It's like, having, I don't know, multiple parents who are just there for everyone, and having my parents come over and meet them, in a weird way of saying it, it was like having my parents meet my in-laws.”
In the Patriot League Tournament, with her parents watching, Weiss exudes confidence. But she doesn’t always feel that way inside. During her freshman year, the transition to both AU field hockey and field hockey in America as a whole took some adjustment. In South Africa she’d practiced a few times a week for a couple hours at a time, while American practices are almost every day for hours. Not to mention, he then had to make the transition to a new position.
“It was stressful, I was never really a defender,” Weiss said. “But having Char to my right and Bryn [Underwood] behind me was amazing, because I had two people that really knew what they were doing.”
With Boshoff graduating last year, and Weiss and goalkeeper Underwood graduating in the spring, American’s back end is in a serious transitional period. However, even though athletes have graduated from the school, they have not really graduated from the program.
“Hopefully I can get a job and stick around for at least a year, just still come and support the girls next year,” Weiss said. “It'd be amazing to watch them go further than we did. I believe in them.”
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Delaney Hoke and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Emma Brown, Sabine Kanter-Huchting and Nicole Kariuki.
