Tuesday, May 31, 2011

JUNE CLINCS

We had such a great time last summer we decided to host a few more clinics.   
FIELD HOCKEY CLINICS
Help support the Gwynedd Mercy College Field Hockey Team and brush up on your skills before you attend your field hockey camp this summer.   Great response last year so we have split the days by age group!  

The clinics will be run by the GMC coaching staff and current players.    GOAL KEEPING instruction will be available.

June 8th and 15th: Beginners to those entering 6th grade in 2011. 5:30-8:15
June 9th and 16th: Entering 7th grade through 12th grade    5:30-8:15 
Cost:                    $25 per session or $40 for both days! 
                           Checks Payable: GMC Field Hockey
Rules:         We will be following FIH Rules of Hockey/USA Field Hockey
Where/Mail:        Gwynedd Mercy College: Attn: Laura-Ann Lane
                             1325 Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd Valley, PA 19437
Questions: Contact Coach Laura-Ann Lane, 215-646-7300 X 8019 or Lane.L@gmc.edu

Players will need to have all equipment (stick, shin guards, mouth guard(s), GK equipment and a water bottle).  **If you have never played before please contact Coach Lane for help acquiring the needed equipment PRIOR to clinic days.****
Game Plan
5:30-5:50                    Check In
5:50-6:00                    All Player warm up
6:05-7:15                    Skill Sessions
                                    -players will rotate through various stations
7:15-7:20                    Water Break
7:15-8:00                    Small Sided and ½ Field games

Also, our CSAC CHAMPION WOMEN"S LACROSSE team will be hosting several clinics over the summer, please contact Coach Beth Wheeler for more information.  Wheeler.B@gmc.edu

Friday, May 13, 2011

The Man Behind GMC Field Hockey

I hope you enjoy this post written by captain and new Sigma Phi Sigma member Erin Gorenflo '13.    Please add you comments, and keep a look out for other thoughts posted by Flo throughout the  year.

This past Monday, a group of us attended the Senior Athlete’s Banquet to recognize our one and only senior, Matt Peasley.  Matt isn’t a typical senior athlete though; for the past four years Matt has been volunteering his time as our Goalie Coach.  Although we acknowledged his hard work and dedication at the banquet, I thought it would be nice to share with all of you how much we appreciate Matt.
            Matt joined this program as a freshman with more Field Hockey experience under his belt than most of us can say for ourselves… Although he works primarily with our goal keepers, his knowledge and skill is evident in all aspects of the game.  At practice, Matt scrimmages with us, directs our defensive corners, teaches us how to drag flick and stroke, and even competes with us in the occasional skill game to get out of sprints.  Matt is a triple threat player; at defense, offense, or goalkeeper, he’s sure to “school” us at practice.  This has benefited us in ways that he probably does not realize.  Many of us would not have grown to be the Field Hockey players we are today without Matt’s assistance. Personally, if it wasn’t for Matt’s coaching on offensive corners, I may not have scored my first-ever goals this year (as a defensive minded player, that’s a huge deal).  Matt’s influence and support is not just limited to field play either; he is also our emotional rock.  Whether it’s, “How is coach’s mood today?” or “My head’s really not in it this practice,” Matt is there to support us.  Finally, whether Matt likes it or not, his British accent is always a comic source of relief for us (usually when we learn a new British word or simply find something he says to imitate).  It can’t be denied that one of the things we’ll miss the most about Matt is hearing that British accent from the sidelines. Okay, okay, and the occasional “mer-up.”
            Unfortunately for us, Matt's plans for the fall are not definite.  With his Graduation comes a summer full of clinical, and then the inevitable job hunt.  We hope that we’ll all luck out and Matt's job will understand our need for Matt’s time.  He has played an important role in the success of our team since he started four years ago, and we hope that his influence will continue in the coming years. 

2011 Schedule

Our 2011 schedule is finally complete!        The 18 game schedule features 7 Colonial States Athletic Conference matches and 11 out of conference opponents.     Our line up also feature's a pre-season scrimmage against the Centennial Conference Runner Up Haverford College on August 28.
 Some highlights on our schedule;
The season will begin on September 1 with Misericordia University coming to town.    The Griffins won last year's game 4-3 in Dallas.   The game winning goal was scored by Sarah Jackson '14 with :28 remaining on the clock.    The Griffins will then take on 2010 Final Eight participant and NJAC Champion The College of New Jersey at Lions Stadium in Ewing, NJ on September 3rd at 1:00.     We will travel to William Paterson University on September 25th for a 5pm start.   The Pioneers are the 2nd of 3 new teams added to the schedule this season.  
CSAC play will begin on September 20 with the team traveling to Baltimore for a 4:00  match against College of Notre Dame.    The Griffins are 3-0 against the Gators since they joined the league in 2008, and have outscored them 19-1.      Three out of the 4 conference games in October will be against the top of the conference and will play an important role in seeding for the play offs.    We will host CSAC Champion Cabrini College on Saturday October 1 and Neumann University on October 4.   The final conference game of the year will be against Keystone College on October 19.   
The CSAC Semi Final will be Wednesday November 2 and the championship will take place on Saturday November 5.    The winner of that game will get the conferences' automatic bid into the 2011 NCAA Championships.

Full schedule will be available on the Griffins website next week.

2011 Captains Announced

With the end of the semester comes the usual events; Senior Banquet, Graduation and for the field hockey team naming of our captains for next season.     The players as well as coaches entered the spring season with a strong passion towards building on our successes of 2010 and creating new goals for the 2011 season.    So for us picking the right people for this position was very important and represented the first step in helping us to attain our goal of being CSAC Champions.    The 4 players that were chosen by the team and coaching staff will no doubt lead the 2011 Grifs to great things.
It is my honor to present to you Casey Dellostretto '12, Christine Hammitt '12, Kelsey Deveney '13  and Erin Gorenflo '13  as the 2011 Captains.