SACO — Thornton Academy freshman Hannah Huntress will begin school on Sept. 1 with the rest of her class, adjusting to high school life.

Unlike her classmates however, Huntress posseses a unique skill: She can hit a field hockey ball. Hard.

Huntress can hit a ball so hard, she recently took second place overall in a slap shot competition while participating in a clinic hosted by the United States National Field Hockey Team during the BDO Junior World Cup, which took place Aug. 3-16 at Harvard University in Boston.

Huntress was clocked at 66 mph, a speed much higher than other girls in the contest, who recorded speeds in the 40s. The only person to best Huntress in the contest was a male participant, who hit the radar gun at a little above 70 miles-per-hour.

Huntress said at first, coaches couldn’t believe the speed of her slap shot.

“They thought it was a mistake,” Huntress said. “Then I hit 64 [mph] and then 60 [mph].”

Lisa Huntress, Hannah’s mother, said college coaches who attended the clinic asked where Hannah would be attending college next year.

“I told them she was only going into her freshman year of high school,” she said.

Lisa Huntress said many of the players from the USA National Team wanted to have their picture taken with Hannah after the contest, as they had never seen someone hit the ball as hard as she did.

“They were like, ‘I want my picture taken with her next,'” Lisa Huntress said.

Hannah Huntress said if she had another shot, she could actually hit the ball harder than 66 miles-per-hour.

“I think I could, because when I learned the technique of the drive, I think if I did it again, I could hit it harder.”

In fact, Huntress has only played field hockey for three years. She said she was originally against the idea of playing the game, but joined a Saco Recreation team after Lisa Huntress received an email from Thornton Academy field hockey coach Lori Smith.

“As soon as I played, I fell in love with the game,” Huntress said.

Huntress, whose position is defense, said her strength as a player, besides her shot, are her defensive skills. She said she still needs to continue to work on her ball handling.

Huntress participated in varsity tryouts Monday afternoon at Thornton Academy, but even with her Ray Bourque-like slap shot, she said she may be a long shot to make the varsity roster this fall.

“There are a lot of great girls who are playing varsity,” Huntress said. “I’d be happy playing on the freshmen team, junior varsity, whatever.”

Huntress said she thinks Thornton Academy will have a successful 2009 season.

“I think we’ll have a strong team this year,” she said.

Field hockey is not Huntress’ only sport. She said she will also join the track team in the spring, participating in the throwing events. She even has her own coach at home, as Lisa Huntress is the throwing coach for the Thornton Academy track team.

Even though she has the knowledge at home to be successful, she says field hockey is still her most skilled sport. She said her goal is to eventually play field hockey in college.

Lisa Huntress said opponents already fear her now legendary shot.

“I think the coolest thing is, literally people turn their backs because they know she’s going to hit it,” she said.

— Contact Staff Writer Dave Dyer at ddyer@journaltribune.com.