5th-8th Grade House Program Information
DJFH's 5th-8th House Program was launched in Fall 2022 to provide a better option for those that love field hockey, but perhaps a travel team wasn't the best fit for their development as a player or the rigors of a travel schedule didn't work for them.
This program will focus on some of the more fundamental elements of the game, with an eye on developing and honing the skills needed to thrive in a full field game play environment.
Stay Tuned: Based on feedback from our inaugural season, we're working on some enhancements to make the program even better. More to come soon.
Clinic Format
We are very fortunate to have some of the best instruction available for our Senior House Program. Clinics, on either Monday or Wednesday evenings, are run by veteran local high school and club field hockey coaches Mo Minicus, Emily Prince, & Robyn Neto. They are supported by members of local D1 collegiate programs.
Clinics will be 90 minutes long, or until the sun sets. Each clinic will focus on one or two of the fundamentals of field hockey, which will be emphasized in a number of drills and small-sided game play.
While there is a focus on improving field hockey skill, there's also an effort to keep it fun and engaging. Athletes will improve their level of play and hopefully learn to love the game as much as we do.
Sunday Games
Our Senior House Program is designed to give the full field game experience with on-field/in-game instruction from a professional umpire and professional coach. Our parent coaches will manage the sideline, substitutions, offer encouragement, and reinforce the coaching points made by the professionals on the field.
Early in the season we may play games half field (still much larger than smaller fields used in our 3rd/4th program). This is meant to ease into the the concept of spreading the field and working as a team. However, we will very quickly move to full field play, perhaps as soon as the second Sunday of play.
First Games: Sunday, September 8th
Game Times: Typical game times are Sunday morning between 8am-Noon.
Location: All games will be played on the Oval Turfs at Darien High School
Intratown Games: All Currently Scheduled Games will be Darien vs Darien
If we can find teams, we may schedule one or two home games on Sundays vs other towns later in the season. More information to come soon.
Last Games: Sunday, October 27th
House Team Placement
Our 5th-8th grade athletes are divided into balanced teams, based on data from evaluations, prior to the start of each season. Rosters are typically released in August.
The ONLY way to request team placement is if the parent is a coach. In these cases, DJFH will attempt to accommodate requests.
Equal Playing Time
All DJFH teams adhere to the concept of equal playing time. As part of their role, our coaches focus on ensuring each athlete see their fair share of playing time in every game.
If for whatever reason an athlete or parent believes playing time has not been evenly distributed, please wait 24 hours before contacting the coach and please do so via email. Please do not approach the coach on the turf immediately following a game.
If the matter cannot be resolved directly with the coach, please contact President@DJFH.org
Volunteers Needed
As part of the registration process, parents are given the opportunity to volunteer to be 5th-8th Grade Coaches (field hockey experience not required, but encouraged). Some of our best coaches have been dads that have never played the sport.
These parents are the coaches for their teams, with similar responsibilities to the role in other youth organizations in Darien:
- At games, lead all aspects of game play including team management and substitutions.
- There will be a professional coach attending games as well to provide instruction and to emphasize the learnings from clinic.
- Prior to each weekend, we ask that our coaches send a message to the team, reminding them of clinic and game times for the upcoming weekend and include a recap of the past week's clinic and the game times for the upcoming weekend.
We also need help setting up and cleaning up at the start and conclusion of our Sunday games. Many hands makes light work. For those that would like to be part of our Field Crew, please let us know.
For those that did not volunteer during registration, but would like to participate, please contact registrar@djfh.org.
Keys to Success
Parents and athletes, please keep these in mind every time you attend a DJFH event.
ARRIVE EARLY: Please arrive 10 minutes before the start of your clinic. This allows us to start promptly and ensure the best experience possible for the athletes.
EQUIPMENT CHECK: All athletes are required to adhere to DJFH's equipment guidelines, which can be found here. Athletes will not be permitted to participate without proper protection (mouthguard & shin guards).
UNIFORMS: As part of registration, each athlete ordered shorts or a skirt, which will be distributed at the start of the season. These items are optional for practices and clinics but required for game play. At the first clinic or practice, each athlete will be issued a reversible pinnie or jersey that should be worn to every DJFH event. These uniform tops will be collected at the end of the season.
BATHROOM CHECK: Please ensure all athletes have used the facilities prior to arriving on the turf. While there are options at DHS, we've found it best if athletes can focus their attention fully on field hockey.
DRESS ACCORDINGLY: Early in the season, it can be warm on the turf. Later in the season, particularly for our early morning sessions, it can be chilly. At times we make the decision to play in light rain. Please dress accordingly.
HYDRATE: Everyone should bring their own water bottle to every DJFH clinic, practice or game.
TIMELY PICK-UP: Out of respect for our coaching staff, please be on time to pick up your child. Our coaches will not leave until everyone is safely with a guardian. Coaches are not permitted to drive athletes home.
Schedule & Location
All 5th-8th Grade Senior House practices will be at Darien High School, and will be held on the Varsity Baseball Turf.
Typical Practice Schedule
5th & 6th Grade: Monday 5:30pm-7:00pm
7th & 8th Grade: Wednesday 5:30pm-7:00pm
Practice times will vary throughout the season due to DHS conflicts and sunset times.
Teams will play one home game per weekend Sunday mornings. All games will be played at Darien High School.
Weather & Cancellations
From time to time, we may need to cancel or reschedule DJFH events due to conflicts or weather. DHS events, athletics and testing, take priority over youth sports. Severe weather can also impact our clinics, practices, games and events.
If we need to cancel or change our schedule unexpectedly, we will attempt to notify parents at least 60 minutes prior to an event starting. These changes will be messaged to all parties and reflected in the DJFH calendar and team schedules. Although, in less obvious situations we may hold our decision as long as possible.We must wait at least 30 minutes from the last lightning/thunder before returning to the field.
If there is foul weather in the forecast, and we do attempt to have the game or practice, please be on standby should we need to cancel or end the session early.
Cancellation decisions are not made by the coaches, but rather by members of the DJFH board. Please monitor team communications and DJFH.org for updates.
Team Calendar
Your specific team calendar can be found in the SportsEngine App. However, below please find the schedule for all 5th-8th Grade Senior House events.
Instructions for downloading the app and finding your team can be found HERE
The schedule will not be released until August after the Darien Board of Education has provided our field space and we're able to coordinate with the league to schedule games.
