Stick Power Brings Indoor Field Hockey to the Virginia Peninsula

From the Daily Press, Jan. 15, 2017 and Virginia Peninsula Sports (updated version), Jan. 23, 2017

One of the fastest growing outdoor sports on the Peninsula, field hockey has moved indoors for the winter, and hundreds of young women and men are busy showing off their skills as a new season broke ground earlier this month.

Properly named, the StickPower field hockey operation, headed by owner Carrie Moura, has been in existence for several years, but looks to make a breakthrough in the public eye with this season’s slate of activities. The six-game winter league season, which commenced on January 21, was pushed back for logistical reasons, but remains complimented by two editions of the Christopher Newport Indoor Tournament, which held its first event on December 17 at the Freeman Center. The second tourney took place on January 14, and was won by the Hawks Premier club.

The proceeds from both events will be used to finance the CNU field hockey team’s annual international trip.

Allie Hackbarth-Kerr is a 2015 alumnus of Christopher Newport and the Lady Captains field hockey team, and currently serves as the Director of Operations for StickPower. She is assisted by a coaching staff that includes four current CNU players, one Old Dominion player, and a Warwick High player, Sam Brady, who has competed at the National indoor tournament with a boys’ team. As Kerr reminds a reporter, “outside of the U.S., field hockey is a men’s sport, so we would love more boys to play the game.”

“I’m part coordinator and part recruiter and promoter,” says Kerr to a prospective parent while selling tourney t-shirts at the first event. “(Young ladies) will express interest in the program, and I’ll tell them about CNU – how there are 164 teams in Division III and CNU is consistently in the top 20 or 25. So, you want to come to CNU?”

However, StickPower is much more than a recruiting arm of the Captains program, easily evidenced by its drawing power. The program draws as many as 500 young women each year who are interested in “extra competition and extra training,” according to Kerr.

Although goals are not tallied for the regular season games, the players are encouraged to “up their game,” said Kerr. She added, “Not keeping score is not meant to give off an “everyone wins” vibe. We are here to educate and teach these athletes the intricacies and strategies of the game. Not only will their skill increase, but their mental understanding of the game should increase as well, which will aid them when we get back to outdoor (season).”

Yet, there is more to StickPower than simply playing field hockey.

“It’s about becoming a responsible adult,” says Kerr, who, as a newlywed at 23, has just made the transition herself. “I was in the best shape of my life when I played, but the program is also about developing a grownup mindset.  You are not the person who tells her boss that you can’t come to work today.”

A steady dose of playing time is part of the StickPower success equation. There are 20 teams in the league, but only eight or nine members on each team, of which six needs to be competing at any given time.

“We don’t have too many subs,” says Kerr.

Caroline Moniz and Lydia Ward are two long-time members of StickPower, which plays its games at “The Grove” inside of the St. Luke’s United Methodist Church facility in Yorktown.

Moniz is a member of the U-19 (age) team, and a junior who plays on the Jamestown High varsity squad. “I got started with StickPower after my freshman season ended, and I was looking for a way to play field hockey and improve my skills. What I like best about StickPower is the coaching staff. (They) work with us continually to improve our skills, but we also have a lot of fun.”

“Carrie (Moura) brought me in with my younger sister Chloe and made us feel welcome from the minute I met her,” says Ward, a member of the varsity team at Warwick. “The CNU players treat you like little sisters and really help you with the skills to play the game.”

Indoor field hockey is different from the traditional outdoor model. Aside from the smaller “field” dimensions, each team features five players and a goalie, while the sticks are shorter and thinner than the regulation outdoor models. At the CNU tournaments, three games take place simultaneously on adjacent courts with a single clock counting off the 25-minute game time. Twenty teams took part in the first tourney with the Menchville “Monarchs” (U-19) and “Panthers” from Richmond (U-16) winning the team age-group titles.

More information about the program, which includes year-round camps, clinics, and a summer league session, is located online at www.stickpowerfieldhockey.com.

“We are always accepting applications,” says Kerr.