All players pay the same registration fee which includes a reversible, numbered pinnie for practice and games.  

 No. We will introduce a uniform in 2020. 

Optimist Field Hockey is organized by grades and generally we place all players in the same grade on the same team regardless of experience. Right now, we are combining Grades 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 and 6 and 7 and 8 because we do not have enough players to support a team in each grade.There are no tryouts.  

We do not advertise that we will accept players in kindergarten.  However, if a parent believes that the player is mature enough we will permit on a case-by-case basis. We find that players who are in the older range in their grade, play other sports or have older siblings participate successfully in the intramural program. 

 First and second grade  girls play together in our intramural program. However, they will participate in "Play-days" with other teams to play round-robin games. Although there is not a formal field hockey "league" there are enough programs nearby to schedule a game almost every weekend. This will involve local travel for about a half of the games. We also have opportunities to play in local tournaments.  Girls 4th grade and under play 7 on 7 on half a field. Girls 5th grade and higher play full field with goalies. 

 All programs begin practice the first Saturday after Labor Day and play through to the first weekend in November. 

All teams practice and play in the football stadium at Penncrest High School.  We use the artificial turf field as much as possible, but at times we must defer to the Penncrest teams and band practice.  3rd-6th graders practice indoors on Wednesday evenings.

 We recognize that your child is involved in numerous activities and other sports. Most players have not found field hockey to be a significant impediment to participation in other activities. School always comes first. For other sports, we ask only that your child's commitment to field hockey be equal to other sports. Generally this means that a conflict between a game and a practice should be resolved in favor of the game. Conflicts between practices should be resolved by attending on a rotating basis. Please recognize, however, that when your child misses a game or practice, he or she is one step behind the child who attended.  

All players need a field hockey stick, shin guards, protective eyewear and a mouthpiece.. Loaner sticks and equipment are available.  

We are always looking for enthusiastic individuals who can motivate children in a productive way and treat each player fairly. Since our coaches are usually spread very thin, we can use the help of parents to run drills, pick up equipment, and make phone calls and send emails. Such parents usually can pick up enough after a year to coach defense and run players in and out of a game. We will offer opportunities for formal training. Please don't be shy in offering to help. 

No, but we encourage players to play in their own community program if there is one.