The Hudson Valley Summer Field Hockey League’s 25th season is underway, continuing a remarkable run fueled by a love for the game by both players and coaches.
“It has lasted so long because there is a shared sentiment amongst players and coaches that summer league is a fun and valuable way to grow individually and as a team,” said league founder and director, Lakeland coach Sharon Sarsen. “It is also an opportunity to start getting some momentum going into the fall season.”
For Lakeland—which will host the league this summer—playing in the league has been a big factor in keeping the Hornets’ dynasty going. Lakeland has won every Section 1 Class B championship game since 2009, which also includes nine straight state Class B titles from 2009 to 2017 and another in 2019.
“I feel the Hudson Valley Summer Field Hockey League is one more piece of a complex puzzle,” said Sarsen, whose team last season was the state Class B finalist. “It is a way to include everyone and get motivated for the fall. Everyone gets lots of touches on the ball, and it allows players to work on skills, techniques and strategies in a competitive situation which is something they would not be able to do on their own.”
Lakeland, as it has done in the past, will have two squads in the 12-team varsity division—Lakeland Gold and Lakeland Green—and two teams in the nine-team JV division, Hornets 1 and Hornets 2. With the seven-versus-seven format, everyone should get plenty of action.
“Sometimes players may play on both teams in the same age group or others play in JV and varsity divisions to give them more experience,” Sarsen said. “We also have some players playing in the open division, to also play more and let them compete against more experienced players. Putting time in makes a difference. I believe we have a total of 36 Lakeland players playing.”
The league isn’t just for high schoolers. In the five-team open division, players can be anyone in high school, college or beyond. This is also the second year of the league’s youth division, which has six teams from grades two through six.
“The youth division shows so much growth and improvement and players really enjoyed the competitive setup of this league,” Sarsen said.
Yorktown also will be participating in the league, with one varsity team and two JV teams—Yorktown Green and Yorktown White.
Last year, the Huskers used summer-league play as a springboard to a 12-5-1 season, including a 6-0 win as the No. 5 seed against No. 12 seed Nanuet in the opening round of the Section 1 Class B tournament.
“We definitely had a great season last fall,” said Yorktown coach Courtney Hyndman. “Our program here at Yorktown has been rapidly growing and progressing. Participating in the Hudson Valley Summer Field Hockey League has been a huge help in our success. Not only does it allow new and old players to hone in on their skills and game play, but the girls genuinely love playing. It gives us an opportunity to prepare for the season early and compete against other skilled programs. We love coming to play each year knowing the benefit it provides our program come the fall season.”
Yorktown will use play this year in the summer to get experience for a young squad.
“We are coming off a fall season losing 14 seniors,” Hyndman said. “Each senior brought an immense amount of knowledge and skill to the program. With that being said, we will be young this year, but we have a ton of talented girls coming up. This summer, we are focusing on working together with a new crew of players. We want the girls to get comfortable in new roles at a higher level of play. Summer season gives us the space to see who works hard, who is adaptable, and who is coachable. We are really excited to get this season underway.”
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