Jantzen's upbringing has bred field hockey dominance

There was a wrestling mat in the living room.

With Jesse and Corey grappling and Jami and Doni-Melissa practicing aerials, Debbie Jantzen figured there at least needed to be some cushioning. Her kids stopping their activities? Well, that was just out of the question.

Debi-Michelle Jantzen was only a baby, but she absorbed it all. One of her earliest memories is of being at a state wrestling tournament . . . as a 3-year-old.

"I slept through most of it," the 16-year-old said. "But I remember waking up like, 'Did Jesse win?' " He did - one of his record four New York championships.

And Corey became an accomplished wrestler, and Jami became an All-County gymnast, and Doni-Melissa became a two-time All-American field hockey player.

So naturally, Debi-Michelle was lacing 'em up by the time she was 5, stick in hand and Doni-Melissa as her instructor.

There the seed was planted, watered by competitive juices.

"She's been playing with me since," Debi-Michelle said. "Because of her, I've been playing a long time and most girls don't get that opportunity."

Field hockey isn't usually introduced at the scholastic level until seventh grade; Debi-Michelle was on Shoreham-Wading River's varsity team by then. ("It was clear she belonged," Wildcats coach Lea Caligeros said.)

Debi-Michelle credits her sister making time. Even juggling classes and sports at Hofstra and being on the under-21 national team, Doni-Melissa found her way back to Shoreham twice a week to hold clinics for Debi-Michelle and neighborhood kids.

It stemmed from there. Today Debi-Michelle, an 11th-grader, has blossomed into one of the nation's elite junior players and has three Suffolk championships. With stunning speed and slick stick skills, she's able to navigate the field with relative ease and has become a terror in the circle, leading the Wildcats with 15 points.

In March, she scored a goal to help lead the under-17 national team to a bronze medal in the Pan American Cup in Uruguay, memories of which still give her the chills.

The driving force through all of it has been family. "Everything they've accomplished helps me," said Debi-Michelle, whose father, Donald, was an All-County wrestler at Comsewogue. "They're my inspiration."

The children - "My five diamonds," Debbie Jantzen said - are all each others' best friends, greatest supporters and biggest competitors. In a household in which sports were as common as dinner and bedtime stories, the back yard played arena to some of the most fierce volleyball, badminton and Wiffle ball games. And that mat, which finally was put away this summer, was the canvas for some spirited family wrestling matches.

"I'd win all the time," Debi-Michelle said with a laugh.

Even now, with the older siblings into their careers and living in different areas, they get together on weekends to attend games. And chunks of the summer are spent at Jami's house in Southold . . . for water sports.

"We always appreciated that support," Jesse Jantzen said. "You realize the sacrifice they make and it makes you want to do even better."

That's true for Debi-Michelle, on the field and in the classroom, where she's an "A'' student with three AP classes and a maturity that belies her age.

"I dedicate as much energy to school as I do field hockey," she said. Her brothers, one a Harvard alum, insist she's the smartest one. "You definitely need an education,'' she said, "because wrestling and field hockey aren't profitable sports."

But while in it, she goes all-out. Her grind begins when school ends at 2:05 - practice until 5:30, then the gym for a couple of hours of "speed training, leg and core work," then running, then homework. (Jesse said she's often up past 1 a.m. working because "she's a perfectionist.") She travels to New Jersey on weekends to play with her club team; in the offseason, she visits Manhattan to play with her sister's club.

"It's great because men are on that team," she said. "Playing against them has helped me tremendously."

She's so competitive and driven, her mom said, they sometimes have to remind her to "relax and enjoy life."

Kait Brosco's graduation put the onus on Debi-Michelle to be a leader for Shoreham-Wading River. Now a captain, she's become a more vocal and aggressive midfielder, Caligeros said. She was an All-Long Islander last year with 24 points, and this season, she is on pace to far surpass that.

It helps that several teammates, including Kaitlyn Taddeo, Cali Lavey and Stephanie Sorrentino, were among the group her sister taught.

"We already had a rapport," Debi-Michelle explained, "so the on-field chemistry is great."

The Wildcats haven't lost a regular-season game since 2008; their only roadblock has been Garden City in the Long Island championships. "Their skill level speaks for itself, but losing to them three years is annoying," Debi-Michelle said, her fire igniting a bit. "It's in the back of our minds and everybody has stepped up . . . This could be our year."

That's the only high school hurdle left to clear. All the achievements, accolades and adulation, and still more than a year to go.

"Even when she was little, she was always so committed and determined," Jesse said. "It doesn't surprise me at all. She's kicking butt."