If, like me, you have spent your life in the Lehigh Valley, or even just within the state of Pennsylvania, you may take for granted that you live in what many would consider the heart of field hockey country. Travel just a few hours outside the state (particularly in the central U.S.) and you’ll likely find people who have never heard of the sport.
Field hockey has taken off in recent years, but still remains heavily concentrated on the East Coast. In fact, USA Field Hockey divides the country into different regions for membership purposes. According to the 2023 Annual Report, the state of Pennsylvania, which itself makes up the entire Region 5, is home to 5,629 USA Field Hockey members, or nearly 20% of the organization’s 28,407 total members. This is far more than any other single region, nearly all of which are made up of multiple states. The regions that comprise the states from Maryland up through New England make up over half of all registered USA Field Hockey members.
So if, one weekday, you venture out to a high school field on one of those perfect Pennsylvania fall afternoons around 4pm, there’s a chance you may stumble upon one of the nation’s best field hockey players, even right here in the Lehigh Valley.
Meredith Sholder, a former Emmaus Hornet and UNC Tarheel who is now a member of the U.S. Women’s National field hockey team with over 50 caps (appearances in international competitions), is a prime example. Sholder tallied the only goal in the only U.S. women’s field hockey team’s one victory in the Paris Olympic Games this summer. “It was such a crazy feeling to see the ball go in the back of the net and see my teammates running to me. I’m not someone who normally scores on the team, so that was a very special occasion for me,” told Sholder.
[Meredith Sholder’s 50th international cap at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games vs. Argentina on 7/27/24. Sholder front row, center, with flowers. Contributed by Sholder.]
[Olympic field hockey players – Sholder at far left – in Paris. Contributed by Sholder.]
Lehigh Valley is also home to the winningest high school field hockey coach in America in Emmaus’s Sue Butz-Stavin. Butz-Stavin, who was named to National Federation of State High School Associations National High School Hall of Fame last year (just the second inductee from the Lehigh Valley in the organization’s 40-year history), is often commended for her efforts developing field hockey players at the youth level. Emmaus’ youth program offers playing opportunities for those as young as three years old. These efforts have helped generate a high school program with 41 conference championships, 39 District XI championships, 15 PIAA State Championships, and countless recruits who went on to have successful careers as members of Division I, II, and III field hockey programs.
[Emmaus youth field hockey player, Blair Boyer, at Emmaus’ Memorial Field. Contributed by Kristin Boyer.]
What’s more, the U.S. team was captained by a player who played collegiately right here in the Lehigh Valley at Division I Lafayette College, Amanda (Magadan) Golini.
[U.S. Women’s National Team captain, Amanda (Magadan) Golini, and former Lafayette College teammate Kate Arnold at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Contributed by Kate Arnold.]
[2024 Paris Olympic Games: USA vs. Argentina pregame on 7/27/24. Contributed by Kate Arnold.]
A read through the rosters of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA)’s 2024 Preseason Top Ten Division I field hockey teams finds 54 Pennsylvanians, including 7 from the greater Lehigh Valley area specifically. Notably, none of the top ten teams are even schools located in Pennsylvania. This statistic is even more impressive when you consider that the majority of these rosters are filled with international players, coming from everywhere from England to the Netherlands and beyond.
“Pennsylvania is such a hot spot. It’s nice growing up and playing field hockey as part of your life. You just know all of these girls. I have so many teammates that I grew up playing against,” told Sholder.
“I think being surrounded by field hockey growing up [in the Lehigh Valley] definitely impacted where I am now. Being where I’m from and surrounded by field hockey, I felt like I knew what I wanted to do at an early age because of it. It was my life growing up. I had so many resources, which was amazing. I was constantly going from one thing to the other and having amazing coaches like Sue Butz and Laree Beans, those people who come back and want to grow the game where they’re from. All of these little tiny products have helped mold me into where I’m at today,” said Sholder.
While girls’ and women’s field hockey has come a long way in the U.S., we still lag behind other countries, especially many in Europe. The U.S. Women’s National Team, which has a very a young roster (not a single member of this summer’s Olympic team had prior Olympic experience), is ranked #13 in the world.
“Other opponents [at the Olympics] on other teams were two, three, four-time Olympians with over 200 caps. They have higher retention in other countries because the U.S. doesn’t have an adult club system. Other countries have adult leagues where you can keep paying after school,” explained Sholder.
Despite that, the future is bright for field hockey in the United States, largely thanks to products out of our very own area. The Lehigh Valley is home to multiple players currently playing in the USA Field Hockey developmental programs which funnel players towards the national team roster.
As a former field hockey goalkeeper out of Southern Lehigh who loved the Lehigh Valley so much that I decided to stay here and play at Lafayette College, I look forward to highlighting the abundant talent and notable stories that come out of the Lehigh Valley field hockey community in this blog. I hope you’ll follow along as we bring recognition to the remarkable field hockey teams and players, like Sholder, that call the Lehigh Valley home.
Sources:
- USA FIeld Hockey 2023 Annual Report: USA Field Hockey | Corporate Docs
- Women’s FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings: https://www.fih.hockey/outdoor-hockey-rankings
- NFHCA Coaches Preseason Rankings: https://nfhca.org/polls/division-i/
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
