Spanning the globe
Twenty players. Eight different states. Three different countries. They come from across the nation and the globe, but no CMU field hockey player is from Michigan.
However, coach Cristy Freese does not care that many Michigan high schools do not have field hockey teams.
“There is a misconception that there is no field hockey in Michigan,” Freese said. “There is field hockey in the state, it is just down in the Detroit and Ann Arbor areas.”
Only three universities in the state play field hockey — Michigan, Michigan State, and CMU.
It was not always this way. Alma, Calvin, Eastern Michigan, Northern Michigan and Western Michigan all played field hockey at one time.
The 14 Michigan high schools that sponsor field hockey:
Ann Arbor Greenhills, Ann Arbor Huron, Ann Arbor Pioneer, Birmingham Detroit Country Day, Birmingham Marian, Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, Dearborn, Dearborn Edsel Ford, East Grand Rapids, Farmington Hills Mercy, Grosse Pointe (North and South combined), Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, Livonia Ladywood.
In the 1980’s, EMU had an average team that usually finished around the .500 mark.
“Basically, our team was the softball team playing field hockey to stay in shape,” said EMU Sports Information Director Jim Streeter. “We were a pretty average team, and the sport was dropped along with men’s soccer because of budget constraints.”
Since the sport is not very popular, the Michigan High School Athletic Association is not interested in adding it.
“For the MHSAA to consider sponsoring field hockey, local schools need to sponsor a significant number of teams,” said MHSAA Communications Director John Johnson. “Field hockey is nowhere near that number. Last year, the sport had 64 kids and that number has risen over the last five years.”
For the MHSAA to sponsor a sport, 64 teams across the state must support a team for two seasons. In 2002-03, the Michigan High School Field Hockey Association sponsored only 14 teams. The league is planning to expand to 16 teams in 2004.
“While percentage-wise there has been a modest increase, there has not been a ground swell of sponsorship to support field hockey,” Johnson said. “The MHSAA takes the low sponsorship as an indication that this may not be a sport high school girls are interested in.”
High school coaches around the state are pushing to get the word out about field hockey.
“We send our girls to the Michigan and Michigan State camps and to the futures program of Michigan,” said Livonia Ladywood head coach and MHSFHA Vice President Kris Sanders. “We try to do weekend clinics to get the word out, but being a private school we have a little bit more of a challenge.”
Good players have come from Michigan and went on to succesful collegiate careers. Becky Rahaim graduated from Ann Arbor Pioneer, and is a starting midfielder at Kent State. Rahaim was a second team All-MAC pick last season after starting in every game.
New York: 5
Pennsylvania: 4
Illinois: 2
Ohio: 2
One each from: British Columbia, California, Virginia, Ontario, South Africa, Missouri and Maine
“Being from Ann Arbor, I grew up in a city where the sport was pretty popular,” Rahaim said. “When I was at the National Futures Tournament in Florida my senior year, I met (Kent State coach) Kerry DeVries. She set up a visit for me, and I signed with her.”
CMU’s Freese and her staff have found other ways to recruit.
“We don’t usually see a kid play for their high school team,” Freese said. “Every Thanksgiving for the past 20 some years, we have been at the Field Hockey Festival, where we get to see a lot of different players in a three-day event.”
Recently, recruiting has went national at the Division I level. Freese works hard to scout the country.
“It is not that I don’t want players from Michigan, it is just that they are not good enough to be playing at the level we play,” Freese said. “The players that are good enough have chosen different schools, usually the Big Ten or Ivy League.”
Rahaim said Michigan field hockey is not where it needs to be.
“One of the problems right now is that there are so few teams, and it is hard to compete at a high level,” Rahaim said. “That is why girls from other states are better than players from Michigan, because they constantly play at a high level.”
Freese said the Chippewas must have a good field hockey program in order to get recruits interested.
“Kids are willing to go anywhere and if Michigan had field hockey, it would not mean I would still get them all,” Freese said. “You have to have a good product and in the end it really does not matter where they are from because we have to be a good team and have a good school to get players to come here.”
