Field hockey in northern VA

[Anonymous]

Hi!

I’ve read through the field hockey posts but am looking for updated advice. Field hockey is such a niche sport and we literally don’t know anyone else who plays who I can ask advice from. I have a rising fifth grader who has played with beyond sticks for several years. She loves the game and wants to play more/at the next level. I’d love recs and feedback for northern VA area specifically. I feel like a lot of people
are playing in MD, and we cannot fit that into our life currently. We are in the Oakton area. Looking at the following:

Nova Xtreme
Hammers
Mustangs
Metro (one of their practice locations is almost 1hr from us tho…)

Did mustangs take off? We did a year of FH clinics with perfect performance when DD was in 2nd grade and while the clinic was great, I felt frustrated by lack of response and disorganization… but the location was great for us. Any people with u12 girls who can give feedback about them?

TIA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi!

I’ve read through the field hockey posts but am looking for updated advice. Field hockey is such a niche sport and we literally don’t know anyone else who plays who I can ask advice from. I have a rising fifth grader who has played with beyond sticks for several years. She loves the game and wants to play more/at the next level. I’d love recs and feedback for northern VA area specifically. I feel like a lot of people
are playing in MD, and we cannot fit that into our life currently. We are in the Oakton area. Looking at the following:

Nova Xtreme
Hammers
Mustangs
Metro (one of their practice locations is almost 1hr from us tho…)

Did mustangs take off? We did a year of FH clinics with perfect performance when DD was in 2nd grade and while the clinic was great, I felt frustrated by lack of response and disorganization… but the location was great for us. Any people with u12 girls who can give feedback about them?

TIA

Have you asked Heidi which club she recommends for your daughter? I have an older player but I am familiar with all the clubs you mentioned and know people at all of them.

Nova Extreme has a positive environment but they have not been successful lately.

Hammers is seeming to turn things around. There was a time I would not have recommended them, but I know a few families there now and they are happy. Recruiting support, if that is the goal, is lacking. But you have time and that could change.

Mustangs has a poor reputation due to lack of communication and poor organization. No recruiting support.

Metro has a history of moving locations, so don’t count on where they are now being where they stay in the future. There is also a lot of negative talk about the owner. Their u19 group is strong, but the younger age groups are not at the level. This is the most demanding club. Do not go here unless you are willing to schedule everything else around it.

At u14 RCC Extreme and Hammers won 1 game. Metro won zero, Mustangs didn’t participate.

[Anonymous]

The St. James now has field hockey- I guess you could say it’s the old Jackles and Husel.

Ava Magic is just starting club. I think I saw a shooter clinic scheduled for the near future.

M Malik Starz is moving (?) to Nova and I think working with the McLean HS coach. While new to Nova he has been around in MD for a while.

[Anonymous]

Is the Maryland area better for field hockey than Virginia?

[Anonymous]

You might also ask the Oakton high school coach to see what they recommend. They have such a strong program, so there is probably some good advice there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the Maryland area better for field hockey than Virginia?

Yes. Typically region 7 is stronger than region 8.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi!

I’ve read through the field hockey posts but am looking for updated advice. Field hockey is such a niche sport and we literally don’t know anyone else who plays who I can ask advice from. I have a rising fifth grader who has played with beyond sticks for several years. She loves the game and wants to play more/at the next level. I’d love recs and feedback for northern VA area specifically. I feel like a lot of people
are playing in MD, and we cannot fit that into our life currently. We are in the Oakton area. Looking at the following:

Nova Xtreme
Hammers
Mustangs
Metro (one of their practice locations is almost 1hr from us tho…)

Did mustangs take off? We did a year of FH clinics with perfect performance when DD was in 2nd grade and while the clinic was great, I felt frustrated by lack of response and disorganization… but the location was great for us. Any people with u12 girls who can give feedback about them?

TIA

Have you asked Heidi which club she recommends for your daughter? I have an older player but I am familiar with all the clubs you mentioned and know people at all of them.

Nova Extreme has a positive environment but they have not been successful lately.

Hammers is seeming to turn things around. There was a time I would not have recommended them, but I know a few families there now and they are happy. Recruiting support, if that is the goal, is lacking. But you have time and that could change.

Mustangs has a poor reputation due to lack of communication and poor organization. No recruiting support.

Metro has a history of moving locations, so don’t count on where they are now being where they stay in the future. There is also a lot of negative talk about the owner. Their u19 group is strong, but the younger age groups are not at the level. This is the most demanding club. Do not go here unless you are willing to schedule everything else around it.

At u14 RCC Extreme and Hammers won 1 game. Metro won zero, Mustangs didn’t participate.

Thanks! Helpful. Yes, I emailed her and she recommended either McLean/Falls Church house league to keep travel to minimum or Nova Xtreme and Ava Magic.

Can you please explain what you mean about Hammers turning things around? What was the negative?

TIA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The St. James now has field hockey- I guess you could say it’s the old Jackles and Husel.

Ava Magic is just starting club. I think I saw a shooter clinic scheduled for the near future.

M Malik Starz is moving (?) to Nova and I think working with the McLean HS coach. While new to Nova he has been around in MD for a while.

Thank you. St James and Ava Magic are super out of the way for us but I looked into them. I’ll look more into M Malik Starz but the website is basically nonfunctional and the links are dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might also ask the Oakton high school coach to see what they recommend. They have such a strong program, so there is probably some good advice there

Good idea! PS the head coach for mustangs is the Oakton HS freshman field hockey coach

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You might also ask the Oakton high school coach to see what they recommend. They have such a strong program, so there is probably some good advice there

Good idea! PS the head coach for mustangs is the Oakton HS freshman field hockey coach

The coaches at Mustangs are not the problem. It is the owner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi!

I’ve read through the field hockey posts but am looking for updated advice. Field hockey is such a niche sport and we literally don’t know anyone else who plays who I can ask advice from. I have a rising fifth grader who has played with beyond sticks for several years. She loves the game and wants to play more/at the next level. I’d love recs and feedback for northern VA area specifically. I feel like a lot of people
are playing in MD, and we cannot fit that into our life currently. We are in the Oakton area. Looking at the following:

Nova Xtreme
Hammers
Mustangs
Metro (one of their practice locations is almost 1hr from us tho…)

Did mustangs take off? We did a year of FH clinics with perfect performance when DD was in 2nd grade and while the clinic was great, I felt frustrated by lack of response and disorganization… but the location was great for us. Any people with u12 girls who can give feedback about them?

TIA

Have you asked Heidi which club she recommends for your daughter? I have an older player but I am familiar with all the clubs you mentioned and know people at all of them.

Nova Extreme has a positive environment but they have not been successful lately.

Hammers is seeming to turn things around. There was a time I would not have recommended them, but I know a few families there now and they are happy. Recruiting support, if that is the goal, is lacking. But you have time and that could change.

Mustangs has a poor reputation due to lack of communication and poor organization. No recruiting support.

Metro has a history of moving locations, so don’t count on where they are now being where they stay in the future. There is also a lot of negative talk about the owner. Their u19 group is strong, but the younger age groups are not at the level. This is the most demanding club. Do not go here unless you are willing to schedule everything else around it.

At u14 RCC Extreme and Hammers won 1 game. Metro won zero, Mustangs didn’t participate.

Thanks! Helpful. Yes, I emailed her and she recommended either McLean/Falls Church house league to keep travel to minimum or Nova Xtreme and Ava Magic.

Can you please explain what you mean about Hammers turning things around? What was the negative?

TIA

My daughter has been playing club for like 8 years and Hammers has never had a great reputation. People go there because they don’t know where else to go and it’s convenient. It seems like the next step for anyone local.

Several years ago, one of the head coaches did something very shady at NIT to help her team (which was the A team) at the expense of the B team. They have slowly phased her out and honestly she is not a nice person. They hired some unqualified coaches who had no idea what they were doing and it cost them players, however they are gone now. They were not providing recruiting support (this was still an issue as of last year), despite claiming to provide recruiting support.

It seems like they are trying to correct course, but I think they are still several year away from fully turning things around. Your daughter is young enough that it might not be an issue.

Go to the tryouts for all the teams you are interested in, ask lots of questions, try to watch some games if you can. It’s too late for now, but in the fall you can see most of the teams play in the hoco league. No club is perfect so you kind of have to pick the one that bothers you least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You might also ask the Oakton high school coach to see what they recommend. They have such a strong program, so there is probably some good advice there

Good idea! PS the head coach for mustangs is the Oakton HS freshman field hockey coach

The coaches at Mustangs are not the problem. It is the owner.

Ahhh… Yes. Ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi!

I’ve read through the field hockey posts but am looking for updated advice. Field hockey is such a niche sport and we literally don’t know anyone else who plays who I can ask advice from. I have a rising fifth grader who has played with beyond sticks for several years. She loves the game and wants to play more/at the next level. I’d love recs and feedback for northern VA area specifically. I feel like a lot of people
are playing in MD, and we cannot fit that into our life currently. We are in the Oakton area. Looking at the following:

Nova Xtreme
Hammers
Mustangs
Metro (one of their practice locations is almost 1hr from us tho…)

Did mustangs take off? We did a year of FH clinics with perfect performance when DD was in 2nd grade and while the clinic was great, I felt frustrated by lack of response and disorganization… but the location was great for us. Any people with u12 girls who can give feedback about them?

TIA

Have you asked Heidi which club she recommends for your daughter? I have an older player but I am familiar with all the clubs you mentioned and know people at all of them.

Nova Extreme has a positive environment but they have not been successful lately.

Hammers is seeming to turn things around. There was a time I would not have recommended them, but I know a few families there now and they are happy. Recruiting support, if that is the goal, is lacking. But you have time and that could change.

Mustangs has a poor reputation due to lack of communication and poor organization. No recruiting support.

Metro has a history of moving locations, so don’t count on where they are now being where they stay in the future. There is also a lot of negative talk about the owner. Their u19 group is strong, but the younger age groups are not at the level. This is the most demanding club. Do not go here unless you are willing to schedule everything else around it.

At u14 RCC Extreme and Hammers won 1 game. Metro won zero, Mustangs didn’t participate.

Thanks! Helpful. Yes, I emailed her and she recommended either McLean/Falls Church house league to keep travel to minimum or Nova Xtreme and Ava Magic.

Can you please explain what you mean about Hammers turning things around? What was the negative?

TIA

My daughter has been playing club for like 8 years and Hammers has never had a great reputation. People go there because they don’t know where else to go and it’s convenient. It seems like the next step for anyone local.

Several years ago, one of the head coaches did something very shady at NIT to help her team (which was the A team) at the expense of the B team. They have slowly phased her out and honestly she is not a nice person. They hired some unqualified coaches who had no idea what they were doing and it cost them players, however they are gone now. They were not providing recruiting support (this was still an issue as of last year), despite claiming to provide recruiting support.

It seems like they are trying to correct course, but I think they are still several year away from fully turning things around. Your daughter is young enough that it might not be an issue.

Go to the tryouts for all the teams you are interested in, ask lots of questions, try to watch some games if you can. It’s too late for now, but in the fall you can see most of the teams play in the hoco league. No club is perfect so you kind of have to pick the one that bothers you least.

Thanks this is helpful. So sounds like there has been a change in staff and things could be headed in a positive direction. Good advice to go to the games as well.