USA Hockey Festival 2020

One of the summer’s glorious traditions in field hockey is USA Field Hockey’s National Hockey Festival, sponsored by Cranberry. The 40th edition of the Thanksgiving-weekend tradition will be held from November 26 to 28, 2020. The tournament, for all the family, will take place at the state-of-art facility at the Panama City Beach Sports Complex in Panama City Beach, Florida.

The complex features 13 lighted fields, including nine Astroturf multi-purpose  fields with Z-Cap Cooling technology, ideal for hosting field hockey.

USA Field Hockey will take advice from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), and the International Hockey Federation (FIH). Registration timing will depend upon recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), probably in late April or early May. USA Field Hockey Member Clubs should look for updates and be prepared to get in on the action. Please check official websites for more information regarding registration, divisions programs.

With an average of 320 days of Florida sunshine each year and over 27 miles of white sand beaches, Panama City Beach is a favorite for travelers seeking an affordable beach vacation with year-round leisure activities and services. For a majority of visitors, the water is the biggest draw. For others, it’s the wonderful history and architecture of Florida.

The region features exciting on-shore and off-shore attractions that are catered to adrenaline-seekers, eco-tourists, families and couples alike. Panama City Beach offers more than16,500 rooms, giving visitors a variety of accommodations.

The National Hockey Festival is a Stay-to-Play event and will be working with Team Travel Source to coordinate housing for all participants. In order to be placed  in the tournament, all teams are required to book their lodging through the housing partner, Team Travel Source (TTS). This includes everyone in the travel party:  players, coaches, parents, friends, etc.

“We are excited to bring field hockey and the National Hockey Festival to Panama City Beach,” said Madeline Hoeppner, USA Field Hockey’s Events and Club Services Manager. “Our membership is excited to play Festival games on synthetic turf and the Panama City Beach Sports Complex
is one of the few venues in the country with enough fields in close proximity to accommodate this event. This location really fits Festival and is the ultimate ‘play-cation’ experience. We are able to offer field hockey at a contemporary sports facility in a part of the United States that is known for its world class beaches and Florida sunshine.”

The 39th edition of the National Hockey Festival, presented by CranBarry, was held at the
new Sportsplex of Tampa Bay and treated thousands of fans to first class field hockey.

Well done to last years winners at the 2019 National Hockey Festival:

U-19:

A: South Jersey Edge Pink

B: Windy City Fire

C: Jersey Intensity Black

D: Gateway Red

E: Freedom HKY

F: X-Calibur FHC

G: Rush

U-16:

H: New Heights Black

I: Gateway Red

J: New Jersey Starz

K: Shore Byrds

L: Texas Pride

M: AGH-1

N: AIM Field Hockey

O: Nook Hockey

U-14, 11v11:

P: AGH

Q: X-Calibur

U-14, 7v7:

R: Stealth Comets

S: Key Biscayne White

T: Mayhem

U-12:

V: Key Biscayne Blue

W: Windy City Blast

Women’s:

Red Rose Field Hockey.

James Jones Reports May 31 2020

USA Hockey Releases Return To Play guidelines

In these unpredicted and serious times that test all of us USA Hockey has released Return To Play Guidelines with safety and sickness prevention at the forefront. USA Field Hockey has worked closely with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The organization is keen to point out that these guidelines are flexible and can alter when needed. Updates will be available.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers general guidelines and recommendations for the public on how to limit the spread of COVID-19. They currently include:  Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and exercise equipment including balls
• Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol
• Wear a cloth face covering that covers your nose and mouth in public settings
• Stay at least 6-feet away from non-household members
• Cover mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing
• Stay at home if you are sick

Currently there are no specific scientific studies done evaluating the risk of COVID-19 transmission in sport. Certain sports could have potential for a higher incidents of disease transmission. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has proposed a stratification scale for COVID-19 transmission in sports with the highest risk being a Level 1 category and the lowest risk being a Level 3. Currently, field hockey is listed in the Level 2 category with sports that have intermittent close contact with equipment that can’t be cleaned between participants. The USOPC documents can be found and referenced on their website at teamusa.org/coronavirus.

Per these guidelines it is recommended that Level 2 sports be avoided until the risk of transmission can be eliminated or measures can be taken to make the sport low risk, such as switching group activities to individual activities. Many trusted organizations, including the USOPC and The Aspen Institute, are recommending the implementation of phases into your Return to Play protocol. USA Field Hockey is also carefully monitoring best practices from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and other National Associations for policies and protocols specific to the sport. The information provided are adapted recommendations that can be utilized to form training plans for field hockey.
RISK

Phase 1

STAY AT HOME ORDERS IN PLACE & PUBLIC TRAINING FACILITIES ARE CLOSED

• Individual training sessions in own home using own equipment
• Coaching would only occur virtually
• No athletes work or train together unless they are living in same home
• Focus on individual development and skills

Phase 2

• STAY AT HOME ORDERS ARE RELAXED, BUT GROUP ACTIVITIES ARE LIMITED TO 10 OR FEWER PEOPLE.
• Limit training groups to 10 (ten) or less
• Limit coaches to 2 (two) or less
• Limit attendance to those that can confirm no symptoms of COVID-19 for the past 14 days
• Minimize changes in small group participants –
  assign groups and keep them the same
• Don’t allow parents and spectators to stay at the facility, only drop
  off and pick up
• Coaches handle all shared equipment – cages, balls, cones, etc.
• Athletes use own water bottle,
  towels and personal hygiene products
• No high fives or handshakes
• Focus on drills that allow for social
  distancing to be maintained
• No activities that require direct contact between athletes should be planned
• Frequent cleaning of equipment with disinfectant before and after training session should be considered 2

Phase 3

MITIGATION EFFORTS ARE LIFTED, INDOOR AND OUTDOOR TRAINING FACILITIES ARE OPEN, NO LIMITATIONS ON GROUP SIZE.
PHASE

• Recommended to follow a criterion to participate in training sessions
• Pre-Arrival – no signs or symptoms for past 14 days and no contact with anyone sick in last 14 days Arrival at Site – participant questionnaire and temperature check
• Athletes with signs or symptoms of COVID-19 would be sent home
• Continue with standard infection control measures (frequent handwashing, avoid touching face, cover mouth when coughing)
• Provide appropriate infection prevention supplies in targeted areas (hand sanitizer, facial tissues, sanitizing wipes, etc.)
• Normal sized group training sessions can occur
• Continue to use own water bottle
• Face masks and other personal equipment shouldn’t be shared
• Activities with direct contact can resume

Phase 4

• VACCINE OR CURE FOR COVID-19 IS DEVELOPED
• Athletes, coaches and staff are vaccinated as recommended by CDC
• Continue to educate athletes coaches and staff on the signs and symptoms of infection and don’t let them participate if they have symptoms of infection
• Continue infection prevention protocols
• Continue equipment cleaning protocols before and after training sessions.

John Jones Reports 03/06/2020

Who is Field Hockey Player, Margaux Paolino?

Born Margaux Louise Paolino July 1, 1997 in Philadelphia Margaux is a new young striker for Team USA. Despite the national team’s failure to qualify for the Olympic games in Tokyo 2020,  the rise of the young striker, Margaux Paolino is seen as one of the positive points of a new generation of Team USA players.

1. Name: Margaux Paolino
2. Sport: Field Hockey
3. Position: Striker
4. DOB: 7/1/1997
5. Hometown: Villanova, Pa.’
6. High School: Episcopal Academy
7. College: Duke University (’20)
8. Team/Club: Xcalibur FHC

Paolino became involved in hockey through encouragement from her family. Paolino and her twin brother, Matthew, who attends The Haverford School, have an older sister, Emily, who is a graduate of Villanova University, and a younger brother, Thomas, an eighth-grade soccer player at St. Aloysius Academy.

“My older sister had played field hockey,” Paolino said. “When I got the chance to play, I really loved it.”

“She’s a natural forward,” said Buggy, who was a field hockey and lacrosse All-American at Ursinus College and a member of the United States hockey team that was bronze medalist in the 1984 Olympic Games. “But our team
needed her skill in the midfield, and from that position she still scored, assisted and dominated in the midfield. She added:

“Margaux is one of the most-talented high school players I have seen in 30 years. Her stick skills and advanced passing, receiving and shooting skills far exceed the high school level.”

It’s no surprising then that Dukes describe her as a midfielder/striker.

A Villanova native, Paolino said it was important for her that Duke embodied the values that her family had already taught her. The familiar values and local geography made it the place where she felt most at home.

Paolino definitely appears comfortable at Duke. Going into her final college season, she is a two-time all-American and two-time member of the ACC academic honor roll.

To future recruits, Paolino said it was important to keep the experience “fun.” she added:

“You should enjoy it and embrace everything that comes your way,” she said.

The American 21 year old is not actually a rookie despite her young age. Paolino has already earned 27 national caps and counting. After being named in the national team last fall, she finished the spring semester at Duke, known as the Blue Devils and was called straight up into the FIH Pro League, one of 25 players on the United States squad.
This guaranteed she was up against the world’s elite pros in a season that ran from January to June.
Paolino, a three-time All-Delco at EA and the 2015 Daily Times Field Hockey Player of the Year, chalked up
eight appearances in 2019. The U.S. finished last out of nine elite nations with a 1-12-3 record.
The grueling itinery is not lost on the budding superstar. She said:

It’s definitely hard but there’s a lot of open communication between my national team coaches as well
as my college coaches, so they’re constantly in touch,” she said last week. “We have multiple calendars
to go through everything together and sit down and have meetings. So that’s definitely hard.”

The U.S. went in a pool to play at the Pan Am Games and zoomed past Cuba, 9-0, in the quarterfinal.TeamUSA lost, 2-0, to Canada in the semis, achieving bronze with a 5-1 respectable result over Chile.

The 16-player roster featured a lot of locals Paolino knows well. 10 players hailed from Pennsylvania, with one each from Delaware and New Jersey. With established stars like Kat Sharkey, Paolino was teammates with players she grew up idolizing.

On Nov. 1 and 2, in Bhubaneswar, India, Team USA split a two-game series with the host nation. But because India scored one more aggregate goal, 6-5, India and not the U.S. earned the last of 12 spots in the women’s field game for Tokyo.

Like the rest of the team Paolino felt great disappointment in missing out to India in reaching the Olympics to be held in Japan in 2020 despite Margaux putting USA ahead with a well taken goal. However she was humble about even being picked for the national team: she said

I’m really excited, especially being the process to qualifying for the Olympics, the Olympics itself carries such heavy weight with it,” she added. “So I think for me, I’ve been so lucky through a lot of this process and I’ve continued to grow as a player and I’m excited and humbled to know that my coaches have recognized and see that and they believe in me. It’s definitely unique and special, for sure.”

The whole of Team USA is now looking to the future. Margaux said:

“We have a fairly new, younger squad, but they’re just as talented as any other previous season,
so being a senior, I’m excited,” she said. “It’s great to be back with them, and I have high expectations and I’m pretty sure I could say the same for most of my teammates.

National Field Hockey Teams Preparing for the Future

Field hockey national teams are already looking for ways to be competitive in the future. The FIH Pro Hockey League Season 2 has been extended until June 2021 due to coronavirus. The 2nd season of Pro Hockey League was set to run from Jan to June 2020 and around one-third of the matches have already been completed before the Coronavirus crisis brought competition to a halt in March.

With the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially announcing that July 23 to August 8 next year will be launch dates for the Tokyo Olympics, International men’s and women’s field hockey teams are already eyeing challenges ahead.

Mohd. Mushtaque Ahmad, President of Hockey India, reinforced these sentiments:

“Since we have already qualified, the planning becomes easier. We will be working
closely with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Ministry, Youth Affairs & Sports
and Sports Authority of India in this next 15 months to ensure both our teams have
the best resources to achieve success at the Olympic Games.

“At this moment it is not clear which competitions will be available for us
to play given the various national Government advisories on the Covid-19 situation,
however, both our teams are in a secured environment in Bengaluru and since the coaches
and support staff are also there, our athletes can get back to high-intensity
training as soon as we have a go ahead,”

Indian men’s team head coach Graham Reid who had already extolled the added time
to prepare the team for challenges ahead said: “It’s great to get some clarity about the new starting date for the Tokyo Olympic Games. This allows us to begin the planning process to be ready for July next year.

“In the meantime, we are looking forward to getting through this current tough period and hope to be back out on the training field as soon as possible.”

Sjoerd Marijne, head coach of the Indian women’s team also said that the team is chomping at the bit for a resumption of play.

“It’s good we have certainty when the Olympics will be held and we can work towards that. We are all in the same campus and available for each other in these hard times, a new date for the Olympics is good news for all of us.  But for now, we are living by the day, staying strong mentally and physically
and wait eagerly to get back to our normal routine. We are prepared to hit the reset button,” said Marijne.

Ever since making her Senior Team debut in 2007, the Indian Women’s Hockey Team’s reliable striker Vandana Katariya is eger to once more give her best for the team.

She said the team are spending time watching footage of their opponents. Speaking about the current frustrating hiatus in play Vandana said her team is 100% concentrating on being better prepared than their opponents.

“Obviously the main thing for all of us is always to play hockey on the field, but this time has given us the chance to focus on other key factors which make a team so successful. We haven’t been able to be on the pitch, but our minds are always on the pitch. We are trying to maintain our  fitness levels as best as we can, so that when we are back, we are sharper than our opponents,” enthused Vandana, who has over 240 International Caps for India.

Meanwhile Great Britain Hockey have postponed our two scheduled weekends of home matches in 2020. Britain’s men’s and women’s teams were due to face Spain/USA on 24-25 May and Germany on 13-14 June, all at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre. GB hockey says fans who purchased tickets for these games will receive a full refund, and the season ticket holders and Premium Experience customers.

British field hockey players such as firebrand, Esme Burge too are eager to get back to playing and she was equally confident: “In the next cycle and the one after we’ll hopefully be absolutely owning it on the world stage. People are already doing that but imagine what we could be doing in a few years’ time. It’s so nice that there’s a real tight knit group of us. It’s very exciting.”

USA College Students Must Wear Goggles While Playing Field Hockey

Glasses can break or rub into skin when taking an impact from a ball or a stick. This can happen during a trip or a slip too. While in the USA players increasingly are complaining about plastic goggles with metal mesh, saying they block clear vision downward, causing more injuries. I spoke to some fellow players and parents to gauge opinion on this important matter.

Phoebie, a mother of two sons who play asked me,

“We mostly play indoor, its quick and obviously with children tripping a lot. This means the kids who wear standard glasses are getting similar injuries on the cheek bones where glasses dig into their faces. What is the solution? She added, “Its getting more common.”

Jamie, an old friend who plays in defense tapped me on the shoulder and said: “Prescription sport goggles. They’re made of tough polycarbonate and they contain your prescription lenses.”

I googled them and their they were. Around the $65 – 40 GBP mark and looking like sunglasses with an elastic strap to fit round the wearer’s head.  “How much are contact lenses these days?” I asked. I added before anyone could answer: “Aren’t they expensive?”

Jamie replied: “In my day the price put them out of range, being over $330 in today’s money. Nowadays on internet stores, you can get a pair that would last three months for $40 or even daily use lenses for the same. So if the kid’s px changes over a few months, which does happen, then new lenses aren’t so expensive.”

“Prescriptions can change quite a lot over even a year, which in the past was a big issue for lens wearers, having to continually change. These days the daily lenses can be changed when they expire at no great cost.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “So, There is a good option.”

“I had some designed for squash players: wrap around frames and lenses in polycarbonate before I switched to the soccer style ones.” He added: “I played for 20 years or so in standard glasses, but then got hit and needed stitches where they dug in.”

Phoebie seemed impressed and said she would alert all the parents and show them the goggles online.

A week later I saw Phoebie again and she said several of the mothers were unwilling to make such an outlay on goggles and lenses for kids at a very young age. We discussed the matter further and came to the joint opinion that to save money, proper field hockey goggles should be worn in the USA.

At a cheaper, $30 each (as the rules are not there to be broken – they must be worn). In Europe they’d be good for protection. Sure, but they’re not mandatory. All ages can play with out eye protection so if the kid is short sighted, daily eye lenses would be okay and cause less damage and friction than clunky glasses.

I can say throughout school at all levels no one I remember played with eye protection and I never saw an eye injury. They are rare though it’s up to the individual (in Europe). In America please follow the rules. I will leave a link here where to buy protective glasses at the $30 mark >