This weekend, at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim Township, Pa., the USA Field Hockey U-14 Girls and Co-Ed National Invitational Tournaments are taking place. But there will also be the National Indoor Festival in Virginia Beach, which will have age-group teams from U-10 to U-19.
This weekend begins a four-week movable circus from central Pennsylvania to Virginia Beach, with hundreds of players running up and down courts, looking to score goals (or defend thereof). There are age-group tournaments being held featuring teams that have earned their way into the various NIT weekends as well as teams which have registered for this weekend’s NIF.
But I want to focus your attention on an event happening in a couple of weekends. Adaptive hockey will get its time on the national stage when the fourth All Starz Winter Invitational will take place Feb. 28 at Spooky Nook. The teams will be made up of individuals who register for the tournament. Some will be in wheelchairs, some will be in leg braces. Everyone, however, has a chance to participate, which is paramount for the development of Para hockey in the United States.
We’ve seen All Starz events outdoors, but this is the fourth indoor event. Even though a lot of attention is being focused on the usual cohorts of players that the United States is developing for international play, I believe this group of players, and this effort, deserves your support.