Emily Bohatch retrieves the ball during a tournament in Atlanta with the Tennessee Valley Polocrosse Club. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Emily Bohatch is participating in a two-week tour with the American Polocrosse National Team as they host an Australian team in Ocala, Fla.

“To me, Polocrosse is life,” Bohatch said. “I can’t remember ever not spending my Saturdays out at the field galloping after a ball. There’s no rhyme or reason for why I wanted to pursue it, other than I love it and want to be good.”

American Polocrosse officials schedule various tours for player development. “This year, I made the u16 tour to represent our country in two test matches against a team from the state of New South Wales in Australia,” Bohatch said. Bohatch’s team lost by only three points on June 21, “which is fantastic considering the Aussies are the inventors of the sport.”

Bohatch belongs to the Tennessee Valley Polocrosse Club, which practices in Harvest on Saturdays and welcomes new players.

‘Polo’ and ‘Polocrosse’ are completely different. Polo uses mallets, while Polocrosse uses racquets with nets, Bohatch said. Handling the Polocrosse horse is somewhat easier because of fewer, hard stops and spins “and more galloping in a straight line.”

Polocrosse uses “three players in a ‘section.’ One section per team is on the field at a time,” Bohatch said. “Players are numbered according to jobs: 1 — scores goals; 2 — midfielder (my position) who roves for the ball and causes havoc; and 3 — defense.”

After the umpire throws in the ball, “whoever gets the ball runs to their zone and gets the ball” to a goal scorer, she said.

“I’m a really strong midfielder. ‘Two’ is my specialty, and I’ve got a great horse for it,” Bohatch said. Her coach sometimes says she “lacks vision” or “plays without knowing what everyone’s doing on the field at all times.”

A senior at Bob Jones High School, she participates with Spanish Club, Spanish Honors Society, “The Eclectic” literary magazine and “Patriot Pages” as editor.

Her parents are Robby and Carol Bohatch. Her sister Katie is a Bob Jones freshman.