“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” ~ Saint Augustine:
A Profile of Lauren Logush '12

Lauren Logush '12 has been on an incredible journey in field hockey that has taken her all over the world.

Currently, she resides in Leiden, the Netherlands, where she plays professionally as goalie for PUSH Dames Een (Women's 1st Team); is completing her Bachelor of Philosophy: Global and Comparison Perspectives at Universiteit Leiden, and enjoys downtime and travel with her partner, Stella van der Niet. 

Lauren's passion for field hockey began in grade 6, and she began playing competitively in grade 8. In her grade 9 year, Lauren was a member of Ontario’s U16 Team. She quickly advanced, becoming a member of the Junior Women's National Team in 2010 and debuting in 2011, when she competed in a four-game series against the United States in San Diego. In 2012, she took to the field as a member of the Senior Women's National Team at the World League Round 1 in Trinidad and Tobago. She played at the 2012 and 2016 Jr. Pan-American Games, earning Goalkeeper of the Tournament at the latter competition, and at the 2013 Junior World Cup.

In the fall of 2012, Lauren went to study at the University of British Columbia and continued to train with the Women's National Team, but her love of travel flourished, and she soon found herself overseas in Europe. Fortunately, Lauren has a Portuguese passport, and so she has had the mobility of an EU citizen. At 20 years old, Lauren moved to The Hague, Netherlands to pursue the opportunity to play, successfully adapting and assimilating into a new culture. She played for the Haagse Hockeyvereniging (hdm) as goalkeeper in the 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017/2018 seasons; for the LOHC Dames 1 in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, and for the Victoria Dames 1 in 2020-2021. 

With her current club, PUSH, Lauren participates in a super-competitive match every week. Lauren's preseason training begins in August, and a three-month season follows. She moves to indoor training and play for December and January, and then enjoys a preseason camp in Spain or Portugal during February. Another intense season from March to May follows, and during these ten months, Lauren is still involved with the Canadian National Team when possible, with some years having a training squad based in Belgium and Holland. 

Lauren indicates that "there is a longer life span for a goalie's professional career," but she wants "to build a life alongside hockey." This other life has involved Lauren earning a Master's in Coaching from the Johan Cruyff Institute in Amsterdam and developing her coaching resume. Lauren freelances with hdm | Haagsche Delftsche Mixed Hockey Club. She coaches the U14 Girls' team and is the head keeper's trainer for U18, U16, and U14. Lauren is also involved with Sportief Besteed Groep, a non-profit organization(NGO), where she is a life coach for young adults. She provides group support for disadvantaged youth between the ages of 14 and 30, who are facing socio-economic disadvantages. Lauren has also recently started a new position as EU project manager where she is responsible for multinational projects within the EU. In addition, Lauren is an entrepreneur, having registered Logush Coaching and Training in the Netherlands, and provides fitness and skills-specific training to clubs within the area. 

Lauren's own fitness schedule is intense, as she works in long runs of 17 kilometres interspersed with shorter 4 to 5 kilometre runs to "push my heart rate." She follows Dutch sports science that focuses less on heavy lifting and more on intervals, agility, sprints, and core stability. She fondly remembers the workouts and camaraderie with Villanova's field hockey team and the leadership of Ms. Ianiero, Ms. Gelleny, and Mr. Mascarenhas. Lauren commends the "strong female teachers" who inspired her to commit to and live her dreams. 

In the offseason of her professional career, Lauren has driven, biked, and hiked her way through Holland, the south of France, Corsica, and the Scandinavian countries of Sweden and Norway. Lauren enjoys her downtime and is always up for a new adventure or challenge – the most recent was surfing in Praia da Estela, Portugal, where she and her partner, Stella (a physiotherapist who works in a nursing home with patients with Huntington's disease and is doing her Master's at Universiteit Utrecht so she can pursue research in her field) vacationed this summer. 

Lauren's intentions are to continue living, working, playing, and traveling overseas. The Alumni Association wishes Lauren well and looks forward to hearing about the next chapter in her life story.