Field hockey

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is the coaching at Next Level? Welma Black is a great athlete. C

The coaching at Next Level is amazing. Welma is a phenomenal coach. I was a bit skeptical that someone who was so successful as a player would be able to teach the game to new players. I watched her and Flo turn a team of neophyte Field Hockey players into a very competitive, successful team in under 6 months. It was amazing to witness. My daughter has grown immensely as an athlete and person as part of the Next Level team. Obviously, I highly recommend the program!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How tall do you think your daughter will be? Because the sticks are all the same size, and pretty darn short. My DD is a very strong athlete - great at anything that involves a stick and a ball or puck and was wonderful at field hockey (varsity letter in 9th grade at a top private school, first time she tried it) but quit, because she is 5'8" and field hockey basically means that she has to run in a squat position the entire game ... a pretty brutal exercise. I just googled average height of women's field hockey players and it came up with 5'4". If you DD is going to be 5'8" or taller - pick another sport - real hockey, volleyball, lacrosse, softball, etc.

Not true at all! Perhaps if you are looking off the rack at Dick's Sporting Goods but you can easily buy shorter or longer sticks for a serious player. Too bad your talented DD gave up!

[Anonymous]

PP here with the tall DD who did not enjoy field hockey - she's nationally ranked in an individual racquet sport not played at her high school, lettered in field hockey and another varsity sport in 9th grade, and has played on a nationally ranked team in a different sport -- so, nah, it's not that she isn't a good athlete. Perhaps too good of an athlete to stick around any game that she doesn't really love, and she found field hockey uncomfortable - EVEN WITH THE LONGEST STICK - because she had to squat a lot. She has loved all kinds of other sports, including ice hockey (goalie and skating out), long distance running, squash, lax.

[Anonymous]

PP here again - sorry to hijack thread with my experience - I just got irked that one PP seemed to attack my kid instead of the message. Certainly try it for any DD ... and on the flip side, as coaches above said it can be a great choice no matter the height (e.,g., unlike basketball or such you don't have to be super tall).

It also seems to be an up and coming game that's a lot of fun to watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post started because a parent of a 10 year old asked about a sport ... based on my experience (and the average stats of height published for field hockey), I suggested that if that 10 year old is expected to get really tall, maybe don't plan on investing a lot of time in field hockey ... just like I would say if you are likely to be very heavily muscular, maybe something that usually attracts petite athletes isn't quite the sport -- that's all. No one is saying taller girls can't play field hockey, but even the coaches stated that it is a sport that shorter girls can play ... and in my opinion, it's not the best for taller girls - it's just not comfortable, and therefore not as fun - even if they are good at it. I understand that a lot of stuff is about what kids are good at these days - not what is fun... we try to keep things fun.

Instead of saying your taller daughter didn't prefer it, and stopped playing after a short stint, you said the sport was a poor fit for all taller girls. Manifestly not true, which is why you got a lot of pushback. Pushback aimed at YOUR making blanket assertions and digging in. Nobody attacked your child -- obviously, not every child enjoys every sport. (Some kids are water babies, others loathe swimming.) Your daughter sounds like a very fine all-around athlete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't give out false advice. My dd was a DI recruit for fh and is 5'10". All of the DI coaches recruit as tall of girls as they can find. Ask around.

Anonymous wrote:This post started because a parent of a 10 year old asked about a sport ... based on my experience (and the average stats of height published for field hockey), I suggested that if that 10 year old is expected to get really tall, maybe don't plan on investing a lot of time in field hockey ... just like I would say if you are likely to be very heavily muscular, maybe something that usually attracts petite athletes isn't quite the sport -- that's all. No one is saying taller girls can't play field hockey, but even the coaches stated that it is a sport that shorter girls can play ... and in my opinion, it's not the best for taller girls - it's just not comfortable, and therefore not as fun - even if they are good at it. I understand that a lot of stuff is about what kids are good at these days - not what is fun... we try to keep things fun.

my daughter is 5' 8" and plays lax and field hockey in HS. Is recruited to play both in college. Height is not a liabilty in FH. Have a friend whose daughter got offered d1. She is 5' 11"