Tryouts consisted of the following:

Warmup – 2 Long Laps around both fields

Stretch – Form a circle run through stretching sequence

Stretching/Strength

• Leg Lifts
• Ham Stretches
• Knee Lifts
• Calf and Quad Stretches
• Knee and Hip Stretches

Cone Drills 5 x – 25 minutes

• Through
• In/Out
• Side to Side

Four Corner Drill – 25 minutes

• Four girls line up in between cones placed in a square.
• Girls rotate counter clockwise while passing
• Girl on the left passes flat to the girl on the right
• Girl on the right passes to the girl on the bottom
• Girl on the bottom passes through to girl on the top
• Girl on the top loops the cone to her left and starts over from the left

Girls pass to each other then move counter clockwise to the next segment.  Girls are to talk through the drill

Goalie Drills – 45 minutes

• Warm up doing shuffle step from side to side on the end line -  5 minutes
• Goalies pair up and kick the ball to each other 10 yds – 10 minutes
• Goalies dribble a hockey ball to 25 and back – 5 minutes
• Goalies rotate kicking a line of balls into the net at close range with authority – 2 minutes each
• Goalies take turns in the box deflecting 10 balls struck low at close range and in quick succession.  The other goalies pass the ball with kickers.
• Goalies take turns in the box deflecting 10 balls struck low at 10 yds and in quick succession.  The other goalies pass the ball with kickers.
• Goalies take turns in the box deflecting 10 balls alternately struck from 10 and 2 from about 12 yrds in quick succession.  The other goalies help retrieve the balls.

Goalies and Field Players join for rest of drills and play

Zig Zag Drill – 30 minutes

• Cones are placed in zig zag pattern out from the goal box starting at about 12 yards out and through to the 50
• Girls are equally divided and lined up behind each cone facing the center line of the field
• Girl at the cone on the 50 passes to the girl across the field following behind the ball to get in the next line
• The process is repeated with passes to each cone in a zig zag pattern till the last girl takes a shot.
• Concentrate on firm passes to the cone, communication and positioning for the shot on goal

3 v 2 Drill – 25 minutes

• Split team into offense and defensive groups
• Offense forms three lines at the 75
• Defense starts at the 25 hitting up to the offense
• Play till offense scores or defense clears

6 v 3 Drill – 20 minutes

• Teams remain in original groups
• Offense forms three lines at the 75
• Two from each offensive line start each rotation
• Defense starts at the 25 hitting up to the offense
• Play till offense scores or defense clears

Scrimmage – 25 minutes

Friday’s conditioning workout included the following:

Warmup – 2 Long Laps around both fields

Stretch – Form a circle run through stretching sequence

Stretching/Strength

• Leg Lifts
• Ham Stretches
• Knee Lifts
• Calf and Quad Stretches
• Knee and Hip Stretches

Sprint Work – Field

• 5 x 25 yds, jog back
• 8 x 50 yds
• 8 x 75 yds
• 5 x 100 yds
• 1 x 200 yds

Circuit Training – 2 minutes each on 6 stations (groups of 6 or 7)

• Ladder
• Cone Shuffling
• Push ups
• Sprint/Grape Vine
• Power Squats and Lunges
• Leg Lifts/Bicycles/Crunches

Thursday’s conditioning workout included the following:

Warmup – 2 Long Laps around both fields

Stretch – Form a circle run through stretching sequence

Stretching/Strength

• Leg Lifts
• Ham Stretches
• Knee Lifts
• Calf and Quad Stretches

Track Work – Ran two miles in two groups

• Partners kept track of each others lap count

Core Work – 5 minutes each

• Situps/Crunches
• Jumping Jacks

Wednesday’s conditioning workout included the following:

Warmup – 2 Long Laps around both fields

Stretch – Form a circle run through stretching sequence

Stretching/Strength

• Leg Lifts
• Ham Stretches
• Knee Lifts
• Calf and Quad Stretches

Suicides

• 5 x 25 yd
• 5 x 50 yd
• 3 x 75 yd
• 3 x 100 yd

Indian Run 10 minutes

Two Minute Drill

• Jumping Jax
• Jog
• Pushups
• Crunches

Cals

• 50 x Squat Push ups
• 100 x Squats
• 100 x Jumping Jax
• 2 Minute – Cone Jump

Tuesday’s conditioning workout included the following:

Warmup – 2 Long Laps around both fields

Stretch – Form a circle run through stretching sequence

Track Work – 2 Mile timed run

Sprint Work – Suicides of varying lengths with 2 minute strength drill in between

• 25 yd – crunches
• 50 yd – push ups
• 75 yd – lunges
• 100 yd – jumping jacks

2 Minute Drill

• Crunches
• Pushups
• Speed Running in place
• Power Squats
• Squat Lunges

Monday’s conditioning workout included the following

Warmup – 2 Long Laps around both fields

Stretch – Form a circle run through stretching sequence

Stretching/Strength

• Leg Lifts
• Ham Stretches
• Knee Lifts
• Calf and Quad Stretches

Track Work – Run each timed with two minute rest in between

• Mile
• 3 Quarter
• Half
• Quarter

Core Work – 5 minutes each

• Situps/Crunches
• Pushups

Kent Island Varsity team took on Gunston Day School for a scrimmage on the KI pitch this afternoon. It was a spirited match which in the end was won by KI with a score of 5 to 0. The Kent Island squad pressured Gunston from the whistle rarely giving up offensive field position during the match. The Kent Island middies had an outstanding performance today skillfully driving the ball up field and feeding the forwards with shot opportunities. The Gunston team fought tough but struggled to clear the ball. They gave up seven corners which yielded four goals though none came cleanly. It was aggressive play by the forwards off rebounds that brought the ball home. The defense was tested just a handful of times and were able to rebuff the attacks easily. The varsity team has a couple more scrimmages to fine tune their strategy in prep for the regular season.

The Kent Island JV team took on QAHS JV team after the varsity contest. The Bucs had the Lions on their heals for most of the match driving the ball down field into scoring position regularly. The team was able to drive the ball up field firing crossing shots with regularity. The team had difficulty converting the crosses as the QA team battle hard to deny the box. Deny they did but not without setbacks. All the battling in the circle generated eight penalty corners for the Bucs though none were converted. The few times the ball cleared the Bucs 50, defense provided a solid front to clear the ball. The loan tally came from a cross with shots on goal just after the half. Kent Island ended the match with a 1 to 0 win over Queen Anne’s.

In general the team played well though it is clear that they will need to concentrate on converting scoring opportunities and strengthening the cohesion of the attack.

KIFieldHockey

Tough Day at Practice

The teams worked hard today. The Varsity and JV worked on separate sides of the field. They spent the majority of the time working attack drills on goal. The team spirit was still a bit strained from yesterday’s happenings complicated further by the introduction of 5 soccer cuts on the JV side. The girls put a good face on it and tried to integrate the new girls.

Practice consisted for varsity and JV ran on opposite sides of the field but consisted of the following:
• 7 Laps around the field

• Sprints
o 10 x 40 yards

• Weaving through a cone set at speed
• Variety of Attack and Deflection drills
• Six on Six pay on half pitch

• Sprints
o 2 x 50 yards
o 2 x 100
o 2 x 200

Did the Goalie Win that One?

The JV coach announced that her team was going to the Seaford playday along with the Varsity team. They were to take a Varsity slot from a lower shore team which was discontinued. The playday is scheduled for 8/23 and will run most of the day. It should offer both teams as many as five games.

KIFieldHockey

Today team selections were posted identifying Varsity, Junior Varsity and for some unfortunate athletes, cuts. For some the news was good and for others disappointing. To the observer the selection process looked somewhat murky but nonetheless difficult. It also looks like thankless work where no explanation could assuage the disappointed girls. The seasoned coaches simply post and carry on trying to move past the hard part and focus on the promise of the season. This year was particularly difficult in that the coaches were determined to carry an optimal size rather than the bloated rosters of year’s past.

For the Varsity team, practice began in earnest. With the team set, the coach was able to narrow focus and get to work. The team focused on attack drills on half the pitch. They concentrated on form, positioning, organization and communication. For the Junior Varsity, the situation was more challenging. They seemed to be having difficulty putting their disappointment aside. The girls spent a good deal of time huddled in the goal box both during and after practice dealing with the hurt feelings and dashed expectations. They did spend some time on attack drills here and there but it was obvious their heart wasn’t in it. The juxtaposition of the giddiness of the Varsity team against the demoralized JV girls made for a rather awkward situation. It will be interesting to see how the coaches will exploit the good and the bad to build two strong and competitive teams.

The coaches anounced that both Varsity and JV would be competing in the Seaford playday on Saturday. Both teams will get the opportunity to test their skills in several games with the local competition.

KIFieldHockey

Across the east county, girls turned off alarms and shook out the cobwebs after a long summer of sleeping in. They fueled up, filed water bottles and collected gear. They left their homes under a golden moon, low on the horizon. A string of head lights converged on the field from all sides. The girls gathered their things and rolled out of cars wandered together and chatted quietly. The girls began what was to be a long hard day, a day where the girls would be driven and tested to their limits. It was time to see who had the drive and determination to become part of the team. Today was the day of the 2008 Kent Island Field Hockey Tryouts!

Right now on a lonely field a hockey team is out there practicing!

The girls taped up legs and ankles, finished putting on gear and stretched out in the dawn hour. Not until the girls had completed strength drills and started their seven lap long run did the sun finally surface. They took a short water break and began a sprint set. The sprinkler system had been running since their arrival so the coaches had to move between three fields to dodge the water. After the sprints the girls were given a 10 minute break to rest and have some water.

Nothing is Getting By Us

The girls moved to the soccer field to begin the first drills with sticks. They did series of ball control and passing drills to warm up and demonstrate competence. The goalies suited up to prepare for shooting drills for the remainder of the tryout. The girls returned to the main field and continued passing drills in groups. The four goalies warmed up doing kicking drills into the box. The coach then setup a whole field passing drill at game speed to get the girls ready for shooting drills.

After a short break the coach divided the group in two and began a series of attack drills. Each group would play one half of the field. He had a defender insert from the back line to a series of three or four offensive players. Two defenders would move up and challenge to drive the ball away. The coach would instruct here and there to point out positioning problems or to suggest alternatives. The drill was changed several times to add more offensive or defensive players or to stretch the distance to the goal.

Good Job Girls

The girls got a break after about an hour. The coach set up two goal pairs running sideline to sideline and began a 3 x 3 drill with all goalies on hand. As with all the drills he rotated players through the drill to get a look how they played and communicated. The remaining 20 minutes of the tryout was reserved for scrimmage. The coach had time for one substitution of four before time ran out. He had the girls huddle at the fifty and encouraged them, thanked them closing out with a cheer.  The parents greeted and congratulated the girls as they walked off the field.  The prepared a brunch for the girls for after tryouts.  The girls eagerly dug in and found a spot on the field to share stories and relax.

The determination of the group was clear from the outset. They worked very hard and drove themselves without provocation. However it turns out, all of the girls should be proud of their work. 

 KIFieldHockey