Nine Suburban One League athletes were members of the True North Hockey Club that captured the U19 title at the USFHA National Hockey Festival in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Suburban One League was well represented at the USFHA National Hockey Festival in Phoenix, Ariz., over Thanksgiving break. For some, the experience was golden.
Nine SOL athletes – Shannon Devlin (Central Bucks East), Mackenzie Harding (Central Bucks South), Sarah Yerk (Pennridge), Madeline Wagenfeld (Hatboro-Horsham), Kayla Kenney (Central Bucks South), Gretchen Guaglianone (Wissahickon), Megan Hamilton (Central Bucks South), Lauren Becker (Wissahickon) and Emily Vasey (Central Bucks East) - were members of the True North Hockey Club that captured the U19 national title.
Yerk is a veteran of the club hockey circuit but was a newcomer to True North this season.
“I have been to indoor nationals two times before and outdoor nationals two times before, and I had never gotten a national medal, so it was really cool,” Yerk said. “I went to the National Festival with my other club team, and it was way different – this was more intense.”
Yerk attributed some of those differences to Jeff Harding, the coach of Central Bucks South who also coaches True North.
“Jeff made sure we had team dinners, and we bonded with the team, which really helped us,” she said. “We had a lot of practices, and we were really prepared for it when we got there.”
Mackenzie Harding has been part of club teams that won gold in the past, but the experience never gets old.
“First of all, I love traveling and playing in a different environment,” the Central Bucks South sophomore said. “Also, it’s a different team – people I’m not used to, and I love meeting new people and really bonding with them and playing as a team, working together for the same goal.”
In its six games at the festival, True North outscored its opponents 35-2.
“We had a great group of athletes with great on and off field chemistry,” coach Jeff Harding said. “This group of athletes trained hard and prepared well for this very competitive event. They believed in their preparation.”
Yerk, who will be playing field hockey at St. Joseph University next year, acknowledged that her experience with True North was significant in preparing her to play at the next level.
“I thought it really improved me as a player,” the Pennridge senior said. “Jeff is a really good coach, and he pushed me really hard.
“All the girls are high level players, and it was really nice playing with them because we had really good chemistry, and it was really fun because we’re all around the same level.”
The National Hockey Festival – the world’s largest amateur field hockey event - traditionally attracts more than 3,500 athletes from across the United States, Canada, Europe and the Caribbean competing for national titles.
True Blue included a pair of players from England – Meg Byas and Maddie Sharpe – and another from Canada – Danielle Aviani.
“It was really interesting meeting them and meshing together,” Mackenzie Harding said. “We got out there and only had one practice together.
“It’s just respecting that we’re all different players and getting to know how everyone plays and talking a lot on the field, and it all comes together.”
“They were really, really skilled players, but they fit right in,” Yerk added. “It wasn’t that hard. We understand each other. They obviously know hockey really well, but we do too.”
Making the experience even more enjoyable was that fact that the games were played in picturesque Arizona.
“It was awesome,” Mackenzie Harding said. “We had a really early game, so when we were playing, it was pitch black out, and we were playing under the lights. Towards the end of the game, it got lighter out – we didn’t realize that right next to our field was this huge mountain. It was so pretty.”
And for members of True Blue as well as the other SOL athletes who made the trip, it was the perfect way to spend Thanksgiving vacation.
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