Kerrie Burns鈥� international roots have created a unique path at Rutgers
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (BVM) 鈥� It has been a long and exciting journey for Rutgers field hockey senior Kerrie Burns, the 2021 Big Ten Tournament MVP, who four years earlier, arrived from Portadown, Northern Ireland, to follow her dream of playing collegiately in the United States.
Burns began her introduction to field hockey, an extremely popular sport in Ireland, when she was 7-years-old. At the time, she was involved with many activities, like the popular European sport netball. Her time with the other games made her realize that she was a natural with a field hockey stick. Her one-time gym teacher took notice of her skills and recommended she try out for her school鈥檚 team. After joining both her school team and a local club team, it became another sport she added to her repertoire.
Despite her ability on the field, Burns did not develop a serious passion for field hockey until she reached her teenage years, which was also the time that she was exposed to the opportunity of going to the United States to play collegiately.
When Burns turned 16-years-old, the Northern Ireland native was set on finding a university to attend once she graduated from school. Through being a member of the highly competitive Ulster club teams, Lurgan Ladies Hockey Club, and representing Ireland at the U-18 European Championships, Burns would build an impressive resume that ultimately provided her the necessary exposure to find one.
For Rutgers head coach Meredith Civico, Burns wouldn鈥檛 be the first Northern Ireland recruit she鈥檚 had in her 10 seasons. Current graduate student and midfielder Katie Larmour was the one to plant the idea of going to Rutgers into Burns鈥� mind.
Larmour entered the program in 2016, after having a well-decorated field hockey career in Northern Ireland, like Burns. The two had played with one another at the U-18 interprovincial tournament. When word of Burns鈥� desire to play collegiately in the United States made way to Larmour, she jumped on the opportunity to make her a Scarlet Knight.
鈥淪he (Larmour) reached out and was like, 鈥業 heard you want to come to America, and I鈥檓 currently at Rutgers,鈥欌�� Burns said. 鈥淲hen she said this, I was like, 鈥榃ho the heck is Rutgers?鈥� Katie told me that it was a school in New Jersey with a really good location, and she would love to set me up on a call with the head coach. We set up a Skype call, and it all just fell into place from there.鈥�
After their Skype call, Civico invited Burns to fly overseas and take an official tour. Not only did she fall in love with the Rutgers campus, but she felt at home with the team and its staff. Ultimately, it made an easy decision for Burns.
Burns鈥� journey to Piscataway is unique, as the U.S. recruiting process isn鈥檛 usually done across an ocean. It hasn鈥檛 always been a common goal of young field hockey players in Northern Ireland to want to go overseas to play collegiate careers in America. Yet, in recent years, this is starting to change. More girls are aspiring to follow down the same road as Burns, and have an opportunity to play and study at an American university.
Incredible week for these two!
Congratulations to Kerrie Burns and Gianna Glatz for being named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team!
And your Tournament MVP… Kerrie Burns!
— Rutgers Field Hockey (@RUFieldHockey)
The midfielder/defender has enjoyed an extremely successful career at Rutgers. She has led the Scarlet Knights to a record of .500 or better in each of her four seasons. This past fall, she helped them secure the first Big Ten Tournament title in school history, and Burns played a huge role in this. On top of that, she has been previously named First Team All-Region, Big Ten All-Tournament Team, Second Team All-Big Ten, and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.
Although she came from another country, there weren鈥檛 many adjustments that she needed to make on the field. Field hockey is fairly similar in both countries, with the Northern Irish game being only slightly more skills-based than it is in the United States. However, Burns found the adjustment she had to make fitness-wise to be challenging.
鈥淚 remember my first semester coming in, and thinking, 鈥極h my gosh, they run so much,鈥欌�� Burns said. 鈥淏ut, it鈥檚 also the fact that this is your job. Whenever you鈥檙e here, you鈥檙e training four to five days a week, going to 2 p.m. practices on the weekends, and it鈥檚 definitely an adjustment. It took me a while to get into it and get my body set for that type of play.鈥�
Like many Division I athletes, the start of her college career was a huge change. What makes Burns so different from the rest is that not only did she have to adjust to the lifestyle of being a student-athlete, but she also had to adjust to living in a different country. She figured it out just fine.
The future of Burns鈥� career is up in the air. The plan was always to stay involved with field hockey after graduation through coaching at the Division I level. However, with her college career coming to a close, the possibility of continuing to play has popped up in Burns鈥� mind.聽
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 done playing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to hope not. The end of the season really showed that to me, that maybe I do still have a few more years in me. Especially, the fact that the reason I came to America in the first place was to play field hockey.鈥�
Before she moves on with her playing career, or starts a coaching career, Burns is pursuing a masters degree in Rutgers鈥� Global Sports Business masters program, which has been named as a top-20 sports management program in the country. She鈥檚 particularly interested in marketing brand advancement, and it鈥檚 opened her eyes to the idea of a different type of career.聽
Whatever path Burns chooses after her academic endeavors, her accomplishments and unique story have left a lasting impression on the Rutgers field hockey program and the sport as a whole. The more international athletes choose to follow Burns鈥� path, the greater the sport will be and grow.
