Summer camp continues Edwardsville field hockey success, interest with younger players
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EDWARDSVILLE – Field hockey is a sport that Edwardsville has experienced much success for many years, dating back to the 1970s when the Tigers fielded a team that often contended for the IHSA state championship when it was an official IHSA sport from 1975-81.
That success has continued to attract players to the program; Edwardsville High is conducting a camp this week to introduce younger girls to the sport and to allow others to develop their skills. The first session of the camp took place at Tiger Stadium Monday evening, attracting a large group of participants ranging from girls in fourth grade to high-school age.
“We have an excellent turnout for both of our sessions,” said Tiger coach Julia Tyler. “Our elementary- and middle-school sessions, which go from fourth grade to seventh grade; we've got about 27 girls with that, so it's more than doubled from our previous years. Our high school session, which is incoming eighth-graders up to incoming seniors, has 60 girls out this year.
“Our coaching staff has done a great job with the program; we've definitely improved every year and we are hoping to continue it here in the future. We've got a great returning group, so I can see some success in our upcoming season.”
The camp does have some girls taking part that could make an impact on future EHS teams, Tyler feels. “There's a lot of future talent out there,” Tyler said. “Some girls have some great skills already and we're just hoping to improve on those so we can make them excellent players.”
Tyler has been a tireless promoter of the program and went into Edwardsville's middle schools to speak about the program and the camp to help pique interest in the game and program. “I always go into our middle schools to speak with those players that have played in previous seasons,” Tyler said, “and then we advertise it here at the high school also, and then (promotion of the camp also comes) just from word of mouth.
“We're just excited to see people come out and be passionate about field hockey and want to play the game.”
The camp also serves, for younger players, as a way to introduce the game to them. “In our younger session, we have a lot of brand-new players,” Tyler said, “which is always a lot of fun. The girls, who may have started in fourth grade in previous years, we've seen grow tremendously over the past couple of years, and even the same with our high-school session. It's a lot of fun to teach them the game and then see how they have developed over the years.”
The Edwardsville coaching staff, including assistant coaches Jenna Compton and Jaimee Phegley, are providing instruction during the camp, as well as EHS alumni and from the AIM field hockey club of St. Louis, a nationally recognized club program. The camp runs through Wednesday.
“It's been a success so far,” Tyler said. “Our parents and booster club and coaching staff has just done an excellent job of helping out and making the camp run so smoothly.”
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