Most Frequently Asked Questions


What is Cape Ann and what are the benefits of playing club field hockey?

Cape Ann Coalition is an organization dedicated to helping youth and high school field hockey players achieve the next level of field hockey, and to prepare high school athletes to play field hockey in college. Cape Ann Coalition is for those youth athletes that want additional practice and play all year and for high school athletes that want to develop and play competitively in the off season towards the goal of playing college field hockey.

The philosophy of Cape Ann Coalition is to provide a wide range of opportunities for all players to develop; to reach that goal we hire outstanding coaches, are committed to high level training and development, enter challenging regional and national tournaments, reward work ethic, sportsmanship and academic achievement, and above all have fun while learning!
Playing club field hockey is essential for those high school field hockey players serious about playing field hockey in college.  College coaches from every program in the country look at club field hockey programs to recruit players. Cape Ann Coalition will provide exposure to college coaches at tournaments, skill development necessary to play at the college level and competition that will challenge and improve the athlete’s skill level.

 

What is the team practice and tournament commitment?

Cape Ann encourages players to participate in all practices and attend as many tournaments as possible. We recognize that most of our athletes play several sports, participate in a myriad of extracurricular activities, are honor role students and have family commitments; and while there is no attendance taken or tournaments required, those athletes that are committed and that can give one hundred percent in all that they do, will be chosen for the top teams.

Cape Ann athletes that have been successful on their town, high school, and ultimately their college teams are those who have worked hard at every practice, scrimmage, and tournament and have taken advantage of as many opportunities to practice and play as possible.

 

How many practices and tournaments are scheduled?

There is no set number of practices or tournaments, it changes based on player availability and on the tournament schedule. In general there are 1-2 practices a month from September to February. All teams have spring practices and tournaments; there are typically six spring practices on Saturday morning in April and May. Summer practices in June and July are weekly or bi-weekly for both High School and Youth teams.

There are generally 2-3 tournaments per season; fall, winter, spring, and summer. Players choose what tournaments to attend. Tournament fees are NON-Refundable, as the fees are paid to the events in advance. Sign ups for tournaments are first come, first serve; players are encouraged to get their tournament registrations in as soon as possible to get a spot on tournament rosters.

 

When are practices?

We have two distinct playing seasons, outdoor and indoor. Our outdoor season runs from April through November and our indoor season runs from December through the beginning of March.

During out outdoor season, we have three training sessions that you can choose to sign up for one or all three of them. These sessions are typically just once per week and it is from these practices that we pull our tournament players from.

During the indoor season in the winter, we train on Sunday mornings starting the first Sunday of December. In January, teams attend National Indoor Tournament Qualifiers for March’s main tournament. Whether you qualify or not, training continues through February.

 

How many players for each age group U16/U19 are chosen?

There is no set number of players in each age group. Players are chosen based on skill level and athleticism. There are typically 2-3 full teams at each age group. Players are often rostered for tournaments based on their rank within the club.

The try out process is extremely difficult; our coaches come from many different backgrounds and have different selection criteria. We make every effort to give every candidate a fair evaluation, and feel that with multiple skill stations, small sided games, and full field game opportunities we allow all players an opportunity to demonstrate their skills. We encourage players to participate in as many try outs as possible, it will only help our evaluators to recognize your talent. Only one try out is required, but if legitimate conflicts arise and a player cannot make any of the scheduled try outs, our staff may schedule a try out by invitation. Similarly, a player may be invited to join Cape Ann Coalition, without a formal try out if one of our coaches has recruited the athlete to join our club after the try outs have been completed.
Cape Ann players must try out every year. As new players try out the competition changes and each advancing age group requires that players have reach the next skill level. Players must challenge themselves to improve each year.

 

How are teams chosen for the tournaments?

Teams are generally chosen by the athlete’s age group, as most tournaments use this format in scheduling. Depending on the number of athletes in an age group and the size of the roster necessary to enter a particular tournament (7v7, 11v11), there may be multiple teams entered for each grade level.

You may play on different teams for different tournaments and have many different coaches. Cape Ann has found that players benefit from playing with different players and for different coaches. Our most successful field hockey alumni will often reflect on how much they have learned from their Cape Ann teammates and their Cape Ann coaches. When there are opportunities to play for an older or more advanced team, players with appropriate skill level will generally be chosen because they demonstrate willingness to play any position, positive attitude, work ethic, team play and field vision.

 

Can players play for more than one club team?

No. Cape Ann coaches feel that when you make a commitment to play for this club it should be to this field hockey club only. If it is your choice to play for another program; we would rather offer the spot to another talented field hockey player.

 

What does the Cape Ann entry fee cover? Are the Tournament fees additional?

The Cape Ann team fee covers uniforms, additional player insurance, and all practices. Tournament fees are additional, generally between $50.00 and $175.00 per tournament, depending on the team fee to participate in a given tournament and the travel expenses of coaches. There can be no refunds of tournament fees, even in the event of a last minute injury or conflict as the fees are paid months in advance and tournament directors do not give refunds.  Their costs are fixed and unchanged by a team or player dropping out. We try to add a few additional players to each roster, but it is a delicate balance between keeping the roster light so that all of our players benefit from playing time and preventing a forfeit. Cape Ann will lose the opportunity to participate if we have to withdraw from a tournament, please take tournament commitments seriously.

 

Who will be coaching my daughter’s team?

Cape Ann is a successful field hockey club program, our success is not only measured by the accomplishments of our athletes but also by the individual experiences of our players; they have fun, they work hard, they make mistakes, they are challenged, and they grow. Our coaches are one of the reasons they learn and why they have fun. Cape Ann recruits the best coaches in new England for our players; our staff must share the Cape Ann coaching philosophy: to teach field hockey and drive athlete’s to excel with energy, passion, fairness, and dedication while respecting each if these athlete’s personality and contribution to the team. Simply, our coaches are the best; they are talented field hockey players, great athletes themselves, and great role models for our players.

Cape Ann values consistency in coaching, and we will often try to have the same coach with the same team in as many events as possible; however just as your lives are busy, so are the schedules of our coaches. We cannot require that they are available at every practice and tournament. We find that players benefit from many different coaching styles are often better prepared for their next field hockey experience having learned from a variety of coaches.

Player development can often change dramatically from year to year. Conversely top team players cannot take their spot for granted, as there should always be players challenging them for these tournament roster spots. In certain ago groups for youth players there are those players that are not being challenged by the majority of their teammates, and they are asked to advance a year, so that they are challenged. While we encourage players ‘playing up’ we also recognize that in many high school tournaments, players must play ONLY with their age group; so athletes will typically play with their grad year in high school events.

 

Will Cape Ann write college recommendations and help with the recruiting process?

Cape Ann is very involved with the recruiting process, many conversations happen every day in our office and in between games at tournaments. We do not typically write recommendations as coaches would prefer to evaluate players in a game situation than read an evaluation. Many club coaches will falsely inflate an athlete for the advancement of the club, and coaches have learned that only through watching perspective athletes play multiple times can they make valid decisions.

Though Cape Ann coaches are often involved in the recruiting process, unanimously college coaches have stated that they want all recruiting conversations to be with the athlete, not parents or coaches; simply because they are recruiting an individual, whom they would like to get to know. Your personality coming through in an interview, e-mail or phone conversation will help them determine how you will fit in with their existing team and how you will handle the pressures of college academics and athletics. Cape Ann offers individual recruiting meetings and an on-going Excel spread sheet. Please never hesitate to set up a meeting or call the office with questions at any time.

The most important part of the recruiting process begins with your high school grades and standardized test scores. College coaches start every conversation with the question, “what are the student athletes GPA and Sat scores”? As hard as you work on the field, you must work twice as hard in the classroom. Extra help, SAT tutoring and summer school are very common for all athletes preparing to play a sport in college. The second most important recruiting fact is “BE PROACTIVE”, go after every lead, get in front of coaches, ask questions, schedule campus visits, go to camps and clinics, and get to know coaches and assistants; if you don’t make every effort to sell yourself and to take every opportunity to play in front of college coaches another athlete will step up and take your spot.