In 2005, Shannon Parkinson had a vision for a field hockey recreational program for girls in grades 3-8 in the town of Haddon Heights.  She asked two friends and fellow field hockey players, Wendy VanFossen and Jackie Valvardi, to join her in making this vision come to fruition.   The three worked hard applying for grants and asking local organizations for donations, and in the fall of 2005 the first season started with 58 girls wanting to learn to play the sport of field hockey. 

With each year, the program grew and the interest in field hockey blossomed.   A summer camp was added to our program to improve the skills of field hockey players.  Another benefit of our camp is that we have high school players who volunteer and share in the love of the sport by assisting at our camp and they serve as mentors for our younger girls.  In 2010, only five short years after we started this program, we were extremely excited to be able to offer our first scholarship.

Flash forward to 2014 and we have just completed our 10th season of recreational field hockey!  We’ve been able to expand our program to include: a travel team, an indoor league, an indoor recreational clinic, a women’s team and we continue to explore possibilities to play other recreation programs in the surrounding areas.  
 
Ten years may not seem long but starting with 1 person’s vision, 3 people’s hard work for numerous years and now a current working board of 9 members and over 100 girls playing the sport of field hockey, we are beyond proud, beyond excited, beyond thrilled to be playing hockey and keeping the love of this sport alive in our youth.  We’re 10 years strong…and growing!