Some high school students spent the past week vacationing for spring break. Others toured college campuses.
Don Warner went to Australia to play field hockey.
Warner, the field hockey coach at St. Catherine’s, is a member of the U.S. National men’s over-50 field hockey team. The American team, along with teams from seven other countries, are competing this week in the International Hockey Federation Masters World Cup in Canberra, Australia.
The tournament began Tuesday and runs through next week. It’s a rare opportunity for veterans of the sport to get back on the field as players.
“Everyone here appreciates the opportunity to keep playing,” Warner said before his departure.
In the United States, field hockey is a female-dominated sport. Across the globe, however, participation is more balanced. Warner grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich. So the first male field hockey game he witnessed was across the Canadian boarder in Toronto.
He later picked up a stick and realized the sport was a good deal of fun. He was a runner in high school, so field hockey appealed to him more than playing on ice.
When he got to Eastern Michigan University, he started a club team and traveled to Canada on the weekends to play games.
The United States entered a men’s team in the 1984 Olympics and started a developmental program of its own. But field hockey opportunities for boys remain limited outside the West Coast and New York.
The over-50 team, Warner said, is a group of guys from all across the nation. Some are coaches, and some are former pros. And some live abroad but maintain U.S. citizenship.
Two years ago, he tried out for the U.S. over-50 team and made it. The Americans went to Holland for the World Cup, where they finished fifth. Not bad, Warner figured, considering how other countries put a greater emphasis on the sport than does the U.S.
“It was a good result to beat foreign countries that have established men’s leagues,” he said.
Warner, who will turn 53 in June, stays sharp by coaching the St. Catherine’s team. The girls trained with him throughout the winter so he would be ready.
“I don’t think I would be anywhere near ready for this if I didn’t have a few kids who were willing to play catch half an hour a day, four days a week,” he said. “If they hadn’t been willing to do that, I don’t think I would be approaching this tournament with the confidence I have.”
The U.S. tied Malaysia 1-1 in its first game and top-seeded Germany 2-2 on Thursday. The Americans face New Zealand today. Also fielding over-50 men’s teams are England, South Africa, Australia and Canada. But the World Cup is just one part of Warner’s three-week excursion. First, he toured Hong Kong. Then he visited St. Catherine’s sister school in Australia. Before coming home, he’ll help coach the U-19 women’s national team at the University of Maryland for a few days.
“It’s kind of a whirlwind trip,” he said.
ekolenich@timesdispatch.com
