Objective:

SPark Field Hockey Club is a premier, not-for-profit field hockey club whose mission is to promote the development of high quality field hockey players who are competitive at any level.  Through its developmental leagues and travel teams, SPark Field Hockey Club provides young women between the ages of eight and eighteen with world-class technical training in a positive, competitive atmosphere so that all athletes can reach their full potential.

Commitment:

SPark Club players train once a week from November through February, play in multiple tournaments, and will be entered into the SPark Leagues. U16 and U19 teams will also be entered in a qualifier tournament for the National Indoor Tournament. Attendance at ALL practices, tournaments and league games is mandatory.  Missing these can and will result in removal from the team with no refund.  SPark athletes may not play for another "club" if you are affiliated with the SPark Field Hockey Club.     

Where:

Practices will be held at:
SPark Indoor Training Center @ API.

 When:

2015-16 Practice Schedule:

November - mandatory practices for all SPark club members:
Tentative practice times are as follows:

U10,U12:  Tuesday, November 3,10,17       4:00-5:00pm
U14:  Tuesday, November 3,10,17                5:00-6:45pm
U16:  Tuesday, November 3,10,17                6:45-8:45pm
U19:  Tuesday, November 3,10,17                8:30-10:00pm


Regular Season Practice Schedule:
Regular Season practices start in December and run every week through mid-February.  
Tues 4-6pm:  U16 Platinum, U16 Bronze, U14 Blue, U14 White
Tues 6-8pm: U16 Blue, U16 White, U16 Gold, U16 Silver
Tues 8-10pm: U19 Blue, U19 White, U19 Gold, U19 Silver
Wed 4-6pm: U12 Blue, U12 White, U12 Gold, U10 Blue
Wed 6-8pm: U14 Silver, U14 Bronze
Wed 7-9pm: U14 Gold

**Teams that qualify for the National Indoor Tournament will continue to practice weekly after February 19.  Additional practices may be necessary to prepare teams for the National Indoor Tournament.

Tournaments:

SPark travel teams participate in a minimum of 4 tournaments.   


Leagues:

SPark travel teams participate in the following leagues for game experience throughout the season:

U10 Teams will play in the SPark 5/6 Grade League.
U12 Teams will play in the SPark 7/8 Grade League. 
U14 Teams will play in the SPark 7/8th Grade League, SPark High School League or Junior Premier League. 
U16/U19 Teams will play in the SPark High School League, Laurel High Performance League or the Junior Premier League.  
 

USA Field Hockey Membership:
All SPark Club members must be a CURRENT member of USA Field Hockey.  To register go to:

https://webpoint.usfieldhockey.com/wp/Memberships/Join.wp

ALL memberships must be valid through March 10, 2016.
No players will be allowed to practice without a copy of their membership card on file with SPark.
Please Note:  When you register and/or update your membership you must designate SPark as your home club.  Also, all athletes ages 12-18 yrs  are considered "U19".

Refunds:
Registration and team fees are non-refundable and final.  SPark FHC will not refund any portion of your registration fee for any reason.  SPark registers each player to fill a specific spot on each team and since these spots are limited it is up to the player/parent to make the commitment to participate.  The information regarding tournaments and practices are not yet finalized at the time of registration, therefore changes or elimination of any tournament and practice dates may be necessary and are not a cause for a credit or refund.

Volunteers:
SPark is a volunteer run organization and in order to be successful and keep costs down all parents are required to volunteer throughout the indoor season. Volunteer sign-up sheets will be available at the Parent Meeting in November.  Every parent is required to volunteer at least 5 hours throughout the season.  Parents who elect not to volunteer are required to pay a $125 fee.

Sportsmanship:
Sportsmanship is an important part of our game.  Players and parents that do not exhibit sportsmanship at practices, leagues and tournament can be released from the club with no refunds. This includes being supportive of your daughter, supporting the coaches decisions regarding your daughter and teammates and being a positive fan that refrains from addressing officials before, during and after games. You should also be a positive supporter of the SPark Field Hockey Club.


Important Information Regarding Age Group classification:

US Field Hockey determines a players age group based on the players birth year - not school grade.

For the 2015-16 Season:
U19 = birth years 1997,1998,1999
U16 = birth years 2000,2001
U14 = birth years 2002,2003
U12 = birth years 2004,2005
U10 = birth years 2006,2007

Per US Field Hockey:  "An athlete's age on December 31 of that given year determines what age group the athlete will be in for the following year. For example if the athlete is 15 on December 31 and turn 16 on January 1 they remain in the U16 division. Again the age of the athlete on December 31 determines their age grouping for the following year."