Alli Helwig: Keeping Consistent
12/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
By Alex Greer, MSU Athletic Communications Student Assistant
EAST LANSING, Mich.- After an illustrious high school career filled with accolades, it became time for dual-sport athlete Alli Helwig to choose the sport she wanted to pursue at the collegiate level. Having won letters for three consecutive years in each field hockey and lacrosse, Helwig found choosing between the two extremely difficult.
A gifted athlete, college recruiters envisioned Helwig playing a vital role in their program's success.
Helwig led Madison High School (N.J.) to a state championship in field hockey during her junior season. She was named second-team All-State as both a junior and senior, and was a member of New Jersey's Future's Elite program. In addition, she garnered awards such as First Team North Jersey in 2009 and Offensive Player of the Game in the 2010 county championship.
Helwig also captained the lacrosse team and received All-Conference honors as a senior.
Coming from a family of collegiate and professional athletes, Helwig was torn when it came time to make a decision between the two sports that had given her so much glory.
Helwig's older sisters, Meghan and Rebecca, both played field hockey and influenced her all throughout her life. Meghan, the eldest, was a goalkeeper at Villanova from 1999-2002, and Rebecca played at the University of Connecticut from 2002-2005. Her father, Russell, has been professional golfer on the PGA Tour since 1970, and her sister, Elizabeth, was a swimmer at Lafayette College.
Helwig, who hails from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, ultimately chose to follow in her sisters' footsteps, electing to play field hockey for the Michigan State Spartans.
"I feel like it was just a family thing. That's what we always did," she confided. "I was just as good at lacrosse as I was at field hockey, but my high school coaches helped me develop more, so I wanted to stick with it and continue to get better."
As it would turn out, Helwig would benefit greatly from the decision. She was given an opportunity to get involved early on during her freshman year due to injuries. By the end of the season, she had appeared in 17 games for the Spartans, making 12 starts, and netting her first career goal in a 2-1 victory over the University of Miami.
Helwig saw this as a chance to improve her game and cement a role in the starting lineup for years to come. She improved her marking skills and pressed herself to gain a thorough understanding of head coach Helen Knull's system.
"Freshmen almost never start right off the bat because you have to learn a whole new system," she explained. "I think I just became a Spartan field hockey player by learning the system. The speed of the game is a lot faster here than anywhere else."
Helwig continued to develop the following season as well. As a sophomore, she played in all 20 games and made nine starts, contributing two assists on offense and three defensive saves.
Aside from winning the Big Ten Tournament in 2013, Helwig says she'll never forget taking a private jet to New York and beating Syracuse in a redemption game during the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Helwig also enjoyed taking strokes and scoring goals in the latter half of this past season. She finished out her playing career on offense, contributing six goals and six assists for a total of 18 points after having spent her entire college career as a back.
Above all, Helwig values the friendships she has molded with her beloved teammates. "You form connections with teammates that you can't form with other people," she said. "They will probably be some of my best friends for the rest of my life."
As for her time as an athlete, Helwig described the feeling of playing her final game as bittersweet.
"It's exciting to move on to the next chapter, but I've been an athlete my whole life and there's something about competing that I will always miss."
Helwig is a packaging major and will return to New Jersey in the spring to complete an internship. She plans to return to Michigan State to complete her degree in fall 2015.
