It didn’t start as an obsession.

In fact, it nearly didn’t start at all.

As a child, Hannah Gober played soccer and hadn’t given much thought to playing field hockey.

And when she finally did pick up a stick, the current Northwestern senior didn’t think she’d remain in the sport.

But fortunately for her — and the Tigers’ program — fate took over and, as they say, the rest is history.

Gober eventually fell in love with the sport and as her affection grew, so did the time and work she dedicated to it.

Now, all that effort has paid off.

Gober turned herself into a Division 1 prospect, and will be headed to Ohio State to continue her academic and athletic careers. Recently, she capped off her senior high school season with another outstanding performance by posting 25 goals and 15 assists. She not only helped her team capture league and district titles, but also earned First Team All-State honors.

“I started playing field hockey in seventh grade,” said Gober, who was named the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Field Hockey Player of the Year. “I initially was a soccer player and my older sister had started playing (field hockey), and a lot of my friends were playing the sport, so I decided I would just try it out because we didn’t have a soccer team at the middle school at the time — and I ended up falling in love with the sport.

“At first, my older sister wasn’t too excited I was playing. My mom wanted her to have her own sport, since I am the competitive sibling. She was like, ‘Let Gabby have this,’ ... Coach (Lissa) Opolsky told my mom I needed to stick with it even though I was really not great at it the first few days. I continued playing through club, and it became something where I always wanted to have a stick in my hand.”

While athletes put in practice time to better their skills in hopes of improving, Gober took things to a different level.

If she could find an edge or a way to perfect an aspect of her game, you better believe she was pursuing it.

“Hannah does have an obsession and a drive,” said Opolsky. “She watches top level US and international hockey, picks apart the plays, knows the players tendencies and has role models on those levels.

“With that passion and work ethic, she has an intrinsic motivation to be successful at the next level. It will serve her well as she transitions to collegiate hockey where the expectations and demands require that exact passion on a daily basis.”

So what was it that drew Gober so much to field hockey and turned a liking into more than that?

“It’s something about the stickwork specifically,” she said. “It’s so satisfying to be able to execute all the different types of skills. I think field hockey, especially, you have so many different types of shots you can take, stickwork, passing, so there’s a lot to accomplish. It was always fun because I always had a new challenge.”

While some of those challenges are limited to her individual play, some also included her teammates. As a senior, Gober enjoyed interacting with the team’s younger players and passing on her knowledge of the sport.

“This year, I wanted to really take a leadership role, not that I haven’t in the past, but a little bit more as a secondary coach so I could bring our players along and help develop our program,” she said. “(Individually, coming into the season) I wanted to work on my 1v1 defense. Coach Opolsky likes to say, like every one else but specifically because she was a goalkeeper, that defense wins championships. So I wanted to work on my 1v1 defense because that transition from defense to attack can be lethal.”

Whether it was offense, defense, leading or motivating, her senior year was a success — and it didn’t go unnoticed.

“Hannah had a great season and was able to command the field in high stress situations,” said Opolsky. “She worked really hard to put herself in a situation where she could produce more statistically, but she has always been the presence on the field where she distributed the ball and made the plays happen. Her understanding and IQ of the game was incredibly high, so she was another asset on the field where she could coach and play.”

One of those younger players she helped “coach” was her sister. In fact, Hannah had the chance to play with her older sister (Gabby) in the past, and her younger sibling (Charlotte) this season.

It was an opportunity that meant the world and carried on the Gober name in the program.

“Gabby, Hannah and Charlotte have a connection of field hockey, but all of their stories have been and will continue to be quite unique just like them,” said Opolsky. “Hannah has been able to share the field with both (sisters) and she cherishes that time, even when it was brief. They all have helped me win games, but more importantly have helped me create a strong program from youth on up.

“They spend time on their own perfecting their craft, they give back to the little girls who look up to them — including my daughter and her friends — and they hope for the people that come after them they have left the program better than where they found it. With the support of their parents and family, they have grown to hold a large part of how we have grown over the past 6-plus years.”