The Junior Program is for both Girls and Boys from U-11 to U-18

We’re often asked if it’s too late for new players to join in and the answer is absolutely not. We have many new to the game Junior players joining in the fun each season 

The Junior season starts in late March/early April and runs through late June, ending before the end of the school year.

Teams practice once a week for a duration of 60-75 min (dependent on age group). Practice times are between 6:00 PM and 9:30 PM on a designated evening between Monday and Thursday depending on the team to which the player is assigned. Once set at the beginning of the season, practice day and time will remain consistent for the duration of the season. Traditionally, younger teams fill the earlier time slots while the older teams fill the later practice slots.

Each team is scheduled for one game a week, to be played on Saturday or Sunday depending on the age of the team. Presently U-11, U-12, U-14 and U-16 teams play Saturdays; U-13, U-15, U-17 and U-18 play on Sundays. However, the away game schedule is set by the host club and factors such as field availability may result in games being scheduled on a different day than teams are used to. Players should prepare to be available for games on either a Saturday or Sunday in each week. Once the game schedule is finalized for the season, schedule details can be found on the Greater Vancouver Junior Field Hockey League website. Game info can also be found by logging into teamsnap.com and accessing your team’s schedule page.

No games are played on the Easter or Victoria Day long weekends 

Players are assigned to a team in early March and will then be contacted by their coach with details on the practice schedule. Once the game schedule for the season is finalized by the League (usually by mid-March), complete information can be found on the Greater Vancouver Junior Field Hockey League website. Game info can also be found by logging into www.teamsnap.com and accessing your team’s schedule page

The Club often receives requests for a particular team placement, a particular practice evening or other requests. The Club does its best to accommodate requests but, with a limited number of teams at each age level, requests are often impossible to meet. Teams are comprised of only age appropriate players. No tryouts to determine a player’s skill level are required for our three month season.

The Club often offers Friday evening skill development sessions that parents may want to consider for their young player so check our website for possible offerings. Please note, Skill Development sessions offered by external coaches will have an additional cost associated. 

The Club does not offer a Junior Program during the Fall. A number of schools do offer Field Hockey as an extracurricular program in the fall, so please check with your child’s school. Once players turn 14, they are able to join in our Women’s League which runs from late August to mid-March. This is a great way for players to further hone their skills.

Footwear
Many players opt to wear good running shoes. Some choose to use soccer shoes which is also fine, however metal studs are not permitted, and some away games are played on fields that do not allow plastic studs either. If wearing shoes with studs, players will need to bring alternate footwear with a smooth sole when games are played on water based turf locations. - A number of our more experienced players wear sport specific turf shoes which are available online, or locally at The Hockey Shack and Just Field Hockey

Mouthguard
These can be purchased from most sporting goods stores

Shin guards
Soccer shin guards are not recommended as they often do not provide sufficient ankle protection

Field hockey shin guards traditionally have a hard exterior shell that extends down to cover the ankle as well. They can be purchased online, or locally at The Hockey Shack and Just Field Hockey

The club has a limited number of shin guards for sale. Players registered for the Spring season will receive notification when our equipment sale is live, or you can keep an eye on the website for an announcement.

Stick
Field hockey sticks can also be purchased online, or locally at The Hockey Shack and Just Field Hockey

The club has a limited number of Junior Sticks for sale. Players registered for the Spring season will receive notification when our equipment sale is live, or you can keep an eye on the website for an announcement.

The length of stick needed is traditionally determined by the player’s height but there are various ways of determining the proper stick length, with player comfort being key. If this is your first stick, you may want to test sticks one size longer and shorter than the recommended size for your height to see what feels best, but the vast majority will use the length that aligns with their height. For more ideas on factors to consider when choosing a stick size and a breakdown of what height = what stick length, try searching “field hockey stick size guide” online.

An oft asked question (from fathers in particular) is, “Where can we get a left- handed stick?” Sorry to report that field hockey has only one stick design. Let us explain why. With lefties comprising only about 10% of the population, the International Hockey Federation has made left-handed sticks illegal based on the fact that mixed stick play would increase the potential for injury, so no lefty sticks. Kids adapt and in fact, left-handed players are advantaged in play on the left side of the body.

Uniforms are provided for players and are to be returned at the conclusion of the season. The Club provides good quality uniforms to our young players and requires a uniform deposit cheque from parents which is destroyed when the uniform is returned. We ask that parents and players treat their uniforms with care!

Contact Brian Lewis at: brian@tcfieldhockey.com