Elementary Instruction Basic Information

 

The mission of Delaware Shore Field Hockey, Inc. is to provide instruction in the skills necessary to play the sport of field hockey.

DSFH, Inc. provides the means for personal growth and development for each athlete to gain the most from their athletic

abilities. Athletes are trained to apply their developing skills in a game situation and to analyze the outcome. Analysis of the

action during a game is a team effort in which positive and non-threatening communication with teammates and coaches to

foster higher level of cooperation is the desired outcome. All athletes in the program will be challenged to develop their skills

and abilities through competition with other highly skilled athletes. Sportsmanship, respect for the rules of the game, respect for

teammates and opponents, encouragement of attitudes of self-discipline, group (team) loyality, education of self and others,

intensity of effort, responsibility for personal actions, and competitive spirit are the desired outcomes of the program of

Delaware Shore Field Hockey, Inc.

June 29, 2006

That being said, I believe we have stayed very close to this mission since it was written back in 2006. Delaware Shore is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation recognized by the IRS.

Basically, our program is structured to begin in the summer with our training program of 10 hours of instruction followed by participation in our summer league. This has been the nominal starting point for athletes interested in our advanced program, called travel. At the same time, we do accept athletes into our program at different times of the year with recommendations from different contributors (current parents, high school coaches, current and former De Shore athletes). If an athlete wants to improve and grow in the skills of the sport, we are willing to work with her. Delaware Shore does not recruit athletes to form ‘elite’ squads for tourney play. Our focus is on development, not on ‘winning’ in a particular event.

Another component of our training is the fall training for beginning elementary athletes (grades 0-6). This group then continues during the winter in our elementary division indoor league during January and February with coaching provided by our older travel team members. The elementary athletes conclude their year with summer league on the turf playing on a modified sized field. Again, coaching and umpiring is provided by our older travel athletes (many have been with us since they were in kindergarten).

Delaware Shore has been in existence for well over twenty years with the same consistent leadership.

If an athlete and her parents want to join with Delaware Shore for more development, they then become part of our travel program which focuses on exposing an athlete to college coaches at specific tournaments spaced out through the year: November at a Shooting Stars event in Richmond, VA., over the Thanksgiving weekend, Winter Escape event in Sanford, FL., over the Martin Luther King weekend, and a Shooting Stars event at DE Turf over Easter holiday in the spring. Each of the tourneys are chosen because they are well attended by college coaches (more than 80 per event and over 250 at the Winter Escape) interested in recruiting athletes into their program.

Delaware Shore also attends indoor events (usually at Spooky Nook and Virginia Beach) with the purpose of improving our hockey skills on a very fast surface. We practice for these events on Sundays starting in late October and through February. Showcases events usually have a one- or two- day practice sessions before attending those events.

Delaware Shore is well aware of an athlete’s commitment to a high school program during the fall thus we have a strong focus on skills development during that time with limited scrimmages. Once the high school programs are completed in November then we want the focus to be on Delaware Shore events through the end of February before taking a break for the athletes to enjoy participating with their spring high school teams.

For those athletes joining our travel program, part of the fee goes to the use of SportsRecruits.com PRO software which allows our athletes to organize their college search based on educational interests, distance from home to college, and college team dynamics. The fee structure of Delaware Shore is available on a different page of our website. This fee included everything needed to be part of Delaware Shore in the travel program: summer league, indoor tourneys, showcase tourney fees, uniforms, sportrecruits.com Pro version, group practices  and coaching, and any other assistance that Delaware Shore can provide for the athlete and parent.

Delaware Shore has been very successful in developing athletes who continue on to play with college programs and we are especially proud of the high number that enter a college program and are starters as freshmen. They are ready to play at a higher level without having to sit on a bench for multiple years.

Delaware Shore parents will be glad to provide more feedback about our program, just come and visit us on a Sunday and talk with people.