Deacon Sports Xtra: Lanckohr’s Success Manufactured from Steady Improvement as Player and Leader
10/5/2021 11:16:00 AM | Field Hockey, Les Johns
The Voerendaal, Netherlands native is having her best season in the Old Gold and Black, tallying career highs in goals and points just 10 matches into the 2021 campaign.
Wake Forest junior Meike Lanckohr earned ACC Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 21, scoring three goals during an undefeated weekend as the Deacs posted a pair of ranked wins over Duke on Sept. 17 and James Madison on Sept. 19.
"Of course, I'm really honored, but we did really well as a team," Lanckohr said. "We did better on our press. Everything is just working out. For me, it makes it easy because I can just go with the ball because of their hard work (on the press)."
The Demon Deacons have won five of their last eight games and have climbed to No. 15 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Poll, the 32nd-straight poll the Deacs have been ranked. This season, Wake Forest has outshot their opponents by a margin of 150-87. Lanckohr leads Wake Forest this season in shots (35), shots on goal (19), points (17) and goals (8).
"She is sensational," Wake Forest coach Jennifer Averill said. "During her freshman year (at Wake Forest), she was starting to get discovered. Then last year, she became one of the best tacklers and distributors in the ACC.
"She most certainly has a lot of head coaches scouting her on how she breaks lines with her poise in the pocket and her ability to generate scoring opportunities at the top of the circle."
"Meike is somebody who carries the ball and cuts people open from the 25'. That's her effectiveness. Certainly within the corner, but without a doubt, she has the ability to hurt you off the dribble and in open play. She has poise under pressure and creates assists and scoring opportunities."
Lanckohr competed for the HC Oranje-Zwart hockey academy in The Netherlands, and was spotted by Averill during a tournament in Holland.
"We watch the showcase, and there's usually 50-60 kids playing," Averill said. "I saw her play and knew right away. To me, she was one of the most athletic kids on the field. I knew she could do some great things for us. Almost every ACC school was at the camp recruiting her, and she chose us."
It was Averill's sincerity and interest in Lanckohr as a person that swayed her to Winston-Salem.
"A lot of us interested in playing in the US were at a tournament over there," Lanckohr said. "A ton of coaches came to watch us play, and Jen was there. She came up afterward and told me she was interested. She was honest.
"She wasn't even focused on hockey, but on me as a person. Whenever she sees me play, she notices how much fun I'm having. I really liked Wake Forest as a small school and the team seemed really close. I'm really happy I made this decision."
Although Lanckohr took English in high school, the primary language in The Netherlands is Dutch, so the language barrier threw her off in the classroom and on the field.
"I remember coming in as a freshman, struggling with the language and playing with a completely new team," she said. "The first couple of weeks were really hard, and even on the field, some hockey words were different. I had no idea what they meant.
"It was nice to see the coaches trust me right away. But it was hard for me just figuring things out."
But she's no longer the true freshman getting her feet wet, even though she started 16 of 17 games that season. As a junior, she's not just being counted on for production, but also for valuable leadership.
"My teammates have seen that I've grown a lot as a player and as a person," Lanckohr said. "I'm becoming more of a leader. I had a good spring and it put a lot of pressure on this season. I want to perform well, not just for myself, but to also support others and help them become better."
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