In an effort to give our 8th graders more field hockey experience in their preparation for high school next year, the WH Youth Field Hockey League offers an 8th Grade Team. Please read the important information below BEFORE registering as the program has recently changed.

This team is designed to be a more intense, rigorous experience than the normal rec. teams. There will be more conditioning, higher level skills, and a focus on proper technique and game play. Players must commit to all practices and their assigned games. If you are a first time player and unsure if this team is for you, please contact Melissa Dempsey at dempseymelissa@hotmail.com.

Practices: All practices are mandatory and will take place on the Conard High School Turf on Saturday afternoon most likely from 4:30-6 with the first pratice taking place on September 10. If a player cannot attend a practice, a reasonable excuse must be communicated to the 8th grade league administrator. Please note that participation in another sporting event is not considered a reasonable excuse as field hockey is a fall sport and we expect the 8th grade team to be the player’s priority. An unexcused absence for practice will result in the forfeiting of all assigned games. 

Games: Players will be assigned to games. The number of games will depend on how many players register for the team. Most games will take place on Wednesday and/or Saturday afternoons both in West Hartford and other towns. Games may not be switched or traded amongst players. Only players rostered for a game should show up to that game. If a player cannot make a game, that should be communicated with the 8th grade team administrator as soon as possible.

*If a game is scheduled and it conflicts with a rec. team practice, the game takes priority. Senior division coaches have been notified that no 8th grader should be penalized for not being at a rec. league practice when she is scheduled for an 8th grade team game.

Evaluation: There are NO tryouts. We feel that ALL eighth graders who want a chance to play more field hockey should have a chance. However, girls may be split at practices so that they can focus on individual strengths and weaknesses in an effort to improve their game.

Coaches:

Jennifer Smith is a former collegiate coach at Southern Connecticut State University. She was an assistant coach for five seasons and an interim head coach for two.  Smith played for Villanova University her freshman and sophomore years then transferred Fairfield University where she finished her collegiate career.  She was a volunteer coach for the Nutmeg State Games and involved in the USFHA Futures program.  Jennifer grew up in Avon.  She now coaches her daughters in the Sticklettes and Sr Division.

Cathy (Cardini) Callahan played all four years of college at Southern CT State University where she was a captain and an All American. After college Cathy went on to coach at Conard High School, in West Hartford where she was the varsity coach for 8 seasons, leading her team to the state tournament each year and reaching the semifinals once. In 2016 she was named coach of the year. Cathy helped to start the West Hartford Youth Field Hockey league and is now the league's coaching coordinator. Cathy is the founder of the West Hartford field hockey fundamentals summer camp and has directed and coached in the camp for the past eight years. The camp is geared toward beginning field hockey players and their stick skills. Cathy also runs the Women's 30+ field hockey league in West Hartford CT. Cathy is also an elementary PE teacher, who lives in West Hartford with her husband and two daughters.

Cost: There is a $115 fee for this program.

Opened: 08/08/2022
Closes: 10/01/2022

Open to: Previously registered 

In Grade: 8 for 2022-23 School year

Registration to be a WHYFH Referee for the 2022 Fall season

All refs must:

1. Live in West Hartford

2. Attend and play field hockey in High School (if you do not meet this criteria, please contact Jane Yousman)

STEP 1: Online Certification Course

• Everyone must complete the NFHS online ref. certification course using the following link - https://nfhslearn.com/courses/officiating-field-hockey. To do this, you will need to create an account and select Connecticut as your state. The course takes approximately 30 minutes and is free. Once you have completed the course, please send your certificate of completion to Jane Yousman at janeyousman@gmail.com no later than Friday, August 26. 

STEP 2: Field Certification 

• Freshmen will need to attend a separate on field training certification session to be able to referee WHYFH Sticklette (3rd and 4th grades) games. Date for field training: Sunday, September 11th at Conard HS turf - time TBD.
• Sophomores/Juniors must attend field certification training the first weekend of play - either Saturday, September 10th or Sunday, September 11th at Conard HS turf - time TBD.
• Seniors who are RETURNING REFS must take the online course but do NOT have to do field certification.
• ANY BRAND NEW REFEREE who is a Sophomore, Junior or Senior must complete the online course and on field session. 

STEP 3: Register yourself for games

Before registering, please note:

• Freshmen will be eligible to referee Sticklettes games only. $20/ref/game
• Sophomores will referee Junior Division (5th & 6th grades) only. $40/ref/game
• Juniors and Seniors - will referee Junior and Senior Division (7th & 8th grades). $40/ref/game

We scale the number of maximum games by seniority so: 

Seniors get 4 games maximum 

Juniors get 3 games maximum 

Sophomores get 2 games maximum 

Freshman, get 2 games maximum. 

To Self Assign Yourself to Referee a Game, follow these instructions:

• Go to www.whyfh.net, Sign into the Officials Area or the Master Schedule with your email address and password. If you have forgotten your password or have never signed in before, enter only your email address and the system will email the password to the email address, provided the address given matches the address of an assigned member of the Officials team. 
• Once signed in, go ahead, and click out of the General Availability form or go to the top right of the page and click on options. You do not need to fill out the general availability section, it just mixes things up. 
• Go to the Master Schedule page (located on the left side of the homepage). Any open assignment that you qualify for will have a drop-down selection in the Officials ("Ofl") column. 
• Select the game you wish to assign yourself to and select "Assign" from the drop-down list. If you wish to un-assign yourself from a previously assigned game, select "Not Assigned". 
• When you go into the system, please select games on separate weeks, do not ref 2 games in one day. Reminder - Juniors and seniors may ref in any division; sophomores can only ref in the junior division; freshman can only ref in the sticklette division.  
• You can always view your schedule by signing in and clicking on options and selecting MY SCHEDULE.

STEP 4: Game Day

• You must arrive before the game starts, fully dressed and actively ref the game for safety, fairness, and fun. 
• All Refs should wear black and white stripes or a bright yellow shirt, black shorts or pants, and bring a digital watch to all games you referee. 
• Refs will be provided a battery operated whistle.
• Please make sure you CHECK your EMAIL as game time changes or cancelations will come directly to your email.  

NEED TO CANCEL A GAME?

If, after you register for a game, but then decide you cannot make it and it is over a week away, just log back into the system and uncheck yourself from that game. 

If it is LESS THAN A WEEK from your game and you cannot make it, please contact un-register yourself from the game as described above AND email/text (475-331-5039), Jane Yousman to find a replacement for you. If you have one, please check with Jane first before we automatically assign your friend to the game. 

If you have any questions, please email me. 

Remember, keep it safe by blowing your whistle hard, early, and often. Be in control of the game. Call bunching and spread the girls out. 

Thank you for reffing and your help in developing our youth in this great sport. I will be at many of the games to offer you support and encouragement, answer questions, and just generally be available to help you do your best work. 

-Jane

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Opened: 08/10/2022

Open to: Previously registered 

In Grades: 9 to 12 for 2022-23 School year