2023 Information Below:
Regular Registration Fee $150 (June-July 14st) $25 late fee from July 15th- August 6th. There will be no registration taken after August 6th
New Information *** Leagues will be capped this year, so please register early. We will not exceed our number of players for each league. If you don’t get in, you will be placed on a wait list. We will need 2 coaches per team at every age level. Please consider volunteering because without coaches, we can’t run teams. We do not guarantee any special requests to play with a friends/carpool. We will be asking for one night a week that you can’t practice on registration and we will do our best to match up the teams based on that request and coaches availability *******
1st-2nd Grade League- Capped at 48 players or 4 teams.
3rd- 4th Grade League- Capped at 48 players or 4 teams
5th-6th Grade League – capped a 32 players or 2 teams of 16
Season Dates: Late August – Early November
Fields and Facilities: Lionville Park (Pipeline Fields), Acker Park, and Downingtown East Turf (for some home games)
All Practices will be held at LYA park during the week for all grade levels. There will be some home games on turf if available and all leagues will have away games.
Eligible Addresses: Live in Downingtown Area School District (DASD)
Player Info: Girls grades 1-6
Required Equipment: Field hockey stick, colored mouth guard, shin guards. Players will be receiving a pinnie (that they will keep) and a skirt that must be returned at the end of the season
Contact Information: LYA Field Hockey Commissioners: Ashley Miller & Laura Menzel - [email protected]
League Descriptions
Overview of Sport:
LYA Field Hockey is an instructional league program played in the fall. The goal of the program is to build the love of the sport in a fun atmosphere while also building the skills the girls need to continue playing at the middle school level.
Players are divided by grade level - see descriptions below. All practices and are located at Lionville Park (located at Devon Drive and Rt 113). This year we are anticipating all Leagues having some home games on the Downingtown East Turf. This is not a guarantee but will be based on availability. Priority for turf will be for the 5th/6th grade league and the 3rd/4th grade league.
All League will have away games that will require travel to other sites, no more than 30-35 minutes away. Games are primarily played on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Info by league - (choose the league that corresponds to your child's grade in fall 2023)
1st-2nd grade - Introduction to Field Hockey - Players will be learning the basic skills of field hockey and they will also get to experience being on a team and having fun with their teammates. There will practice once a week (coaches determine the practice day for each team).
Games will be played on Saturdays or Sundays. Early in the Season there will be scrimmages vs the other LYA teams. By Mid-September, this league will start playing away games against other teams. Game play will be on a 60 yd by 30 yd field with a 5 vs 5 format and no goalies. The length of the game is 40 minutes broken up into two 20 minute halves. Coaches are allowed to be on the field at this level. NOTE: There is some travel required in this league for away games.
3rd-4th grade - Instructional league – Players will be taking their basic skills to the next level and learning how to use those skills in a more structured game format. Players will practice twice a week (coaches determine the practice day for each team).
Games will be played on Saturdays or Sundays. Early in the Season there will be scrimmages vs the other LYA teams. By Mid-September, this league will start playing away games against other teams. Game play will be on a 60 yd by 30 yd field with a 6 vs 6 format. This encourages continual involvement in play and improved stick manipulation. We do not play with goalies at this level. The length of the game is 40 minutes broken up into two 20 minute halves. At the end of the season, girls will have an opportunity to play in a local play day/tournament (this is optional for players who want to participate) There is some travel required in this league for away games.
5th-6th grade - Instructional league - Players will be introduced to a regulation format of the game and preparing players for what would be expected in middle school field hockey. Game play will be on a regulation size field with a 11 vs 11 format. The goalie position is introduced at this level and goalie equipment is provided. The length of the game is 50 minutes broken up into two 25 minute halves. Paid referees will officiate games.
Teams will practice twice a week and practice days will be determined by each coach. Games will be played on Saturdays or Sundays. Early in the season there will be scrimmages vs the other LYA teams. By Mid-September, this league will start playing away games against other teams. At the end of the season, girls will have an opportunity to play in a local play day/tournament (this is optional for players who want to participate) There is some travel required in this league for away games.
