CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 2024 Olympic Games is a special one for the Hoffman family. Their daughter, Ashley Hoffman, is making her Olympic debut in field hockey.
As it turns out, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Ashley is, after all, just following in her mom's footsteps.
"This is fantastic," Brenda Hoffman told WCNC Charlotte. "It's almost surreal."
40 years ago, the elder Hoffman planted the seed in 1984, during the second Olympics hosted in Los Angeles. She was part of the American women's field hockey team that won the bronze medal that year.
Now, Brenda Hoffman is watching her daughter carry on the legacy. And she says she's glad to see Ashley do just that.
“With me knowing what to expect in the Olympics and saying that everybody needs to go do an Olympics once in her life -- and then to have your daughter in it again is a blessing," she said.
Brenda Hoffman's experience is now helping Ashley, a UNC-Chapel Hill alum who is a co-captain for the team. In July, WCNC Charlotte asked Ashley Hoffman how having an Olympian mother has helped her prepare for the games.
"[Brenda's] main message is to really embrace it, take it in when you can. And then when you have to put the blinders on, put the blinders on and perform," she said.
Brenda Hoffman said at the end of it all, how her daughter feels about her performance in Paris is what really matters.
“If she can walk off the last game, off the field and say, 'Hey, I played my best, I gave it my all -- this was my game, I feel really good about it' in her mind and in her spirit or soul, I think that would be a win for me," she said.
Ashley Hoffman and the American women's field hockey team will wrap up pool play against South Africa on Saturday, August 3. They take the pitch at 7:15 a.m. Eastern, and the match can be viewed on USA or streamed on Peacock.
This is the final pool match before the quarterfinals begin Monday. It's been a tough series of pool matches for Team USA.
The team faced off against Great Britain on Thursday in a women's tournament pool match, falling 5-2. Team USA competed against Australia on Wednesday morning, falling 3-0. On Monday, the team competed against Spain in the Women's Pool B event, ending in a draw, at 1-1. Hoffman first made her Olympics debut last Saturday with the women's field hockey team, though the team fell to Argentina, 4-1.
They defeated South Africa on Saturday, but did not qualify to advance after quarterfinal standings were finalized.
Contact Myles Harris at mharris5@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.