Best NCAA Field Hockey Players to Talk Shop with Local Grade Schoolers

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SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Nov. 18, 2009) - Student-athletes participating in the 2009 NCAA Division III Field Hockey National Championships hosted by Mount Holyoke College will drop by two local schools Friday, November 20, to conduct workshops with students on life skills, nutrition and sports.

Players from four semi-finalist teams competing at Mount Holyoke November 21 and 22 will join Mount Holyoke athletes in traveling to the Peck School in Holyoke and the Mosier School in South Hadley. The teams are: Messiah College, Ursinus College, Salisbury University, and Tufts University.

The session at the Peck School in Holyoke, with second and fifth graders, will take place from 10:30 to 11:30 am.

The session at the Mosier School in South Hadley will run from 1:30-2:30 p.m. Nearly 150 fourth graders are expected to participate and nearly 70 student-athletes and coaches. Local state representative John Scibak will also be attendance.

Since the end of the last semester, Mount Holyoke College student-athletes in conjunction with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the Mount Holyoke Athletics Department, the Community Based Learning Program, the Holyoke Public Schools’ Connections Program and the Commonwealth Corps, have been coordinating a weekly after-school sports program for second to fifth graders at the Holyoke Peck School. It is intended to introduce the students to a variety of sports offered at Mount Holyoke College through games and basic skills training. The program has been highly beneficial to the students at the Peck School and to the Mount Holyoke student-athletes involved. It has allowed team bonding as well as giving the Peck student’s healthy collegiate role models. The ultimate goal of the eight-week program is to bring the regular attendees to Mount Holyoke in order for them to get a sense of a collegiate environment.

The four elite women's field hockey teams will advance to the semifinals and finals Saturday and Sunday, November 21 and 22, at Mount Holyoke Turf Field on the campus of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. Semifinals will be played at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 21, with the championship game being played Sunday, November 22, at 1 p.m.

The Mount Holyoke College Athletics Department and the NCAA are committed to promoting student-athlete and community partnerships as well as providing opportunities to develop student-athlete leadership. The NCAA’s commitment to community service extends to their championships, so that the championship teams become a role model for other athletes and students.