Limestone gears up for debut of field hockey team next fall

The Catawba College field hockey team in Salisbury, N.C., is shown in action during the 2008 season. Catawba is the closest Division II team that Limestone College could play when its new field hockey team begins its first season next fall. (Photo courtesy of Chuck Williams from the Catawba College Sports Information Office.) Lindsay Jackson spent the Thanksgiving holidays attending a national hockey festival in southern California.

The world's largest amateur field hockey event featured 225 teams from 24 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and even a team visiting from Zimbabwe. More than 3,000 women athletes competed with various club and high school field hockey teams.

Limestone announced the hiring of Jackson on Nov. 25 to head the new Limestone College field hockey program. Limestone will begin competition in the fall of 2009.

Jackson comes to Limestone from St. Andrews Presbyterian College. She has worked at field hockey camps and been an assistant field hockey coach at Southern High School in Maryland.

With four months left until the April signing period, Jackson took in the national field hockey festival to help with the task of finding 22 players for her first Limestone College team.

"I love the sport. I have been playing field hockey since the eighth grade," Jackson said. "I'm very excited to have the opportunity to start a new program and make it everything I want to be."

Field hockey is a fast paced sport similar to soccer.

Using sticks that are flat on one side and curved on the other, players attempt to hit and dribble a solid plastic ball downfield and score goals with a successful shot past their opponent's goalkeeper. The team with the most goals at the end of the 70 minute game is declared the winner.

"Field hockey is very popular in Maryland, Pennyslvania, New York and Ohio. There is a wealth of great talent in these areas," Jackson said. "I look forward to helping field hockey grow in South Carolina. I would really like to hold some coaching clinics here to help introduce kids to the sport once we start competition."

Limestone College will have the southernmost NCAA Division II field hockey team.

Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., and Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., are the only other Division II schools south of Pennyslvania that have field hockey teams.

Limestone has a strong tradition of bringing emerging sports to the South.

Head men's lacrosse coach and athletic director Mike Cerino started South Carolina's first college lacrosse team when he came to Limestone College in 1990.

He became familiar with field hockey while attending Pfeiffer College in the late 1980s.

Field hockey has grown steadily in popularity on the NCAA Division II level in recent years.

Limestone College believes field hockey will be a great addition to its athletic programs, Cerino said. Limestone will have a total of 24 sports next year, making it one of the larger Division II athletic departments.

"We are always evaluating different sports and looking for ways to provide more opportunities for our student athletes to participate," Cerino said. "Field hockey is a Olympic sport that continues to grow in the Southeast. We believe that this will generate interest in the college and enhance Saints athletics as a whole."

Limestone College will play field hockey on the Timken Field.

It's the same location where the men's lacrosse team played games when the program started.

While no field hockey games have been scheduled yet, Catawba College is among the schools that are interested in playing Limestone.

Catawba has played field hockey on the Division II level since 1964. Appalachian State and Davidson College are Division I schools that provide stiff competition for Catawba.

"We were really excited when we heard Limestone was going to start a field hockey program," Catawba College sports information director Jim Lewis said. "It's a short trip. Most of our games in field hockey are played against teams in Pennyslvania and Kentucky."

While it's a nonrevenue sport, Lewis said field hockey has helped expose Catawba College to students in other states that might not otherwise consider attending college in the Carolinas.

"Our current field hockey team has students from Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. We only have three scholarships for field hockey so most of the students on the team pay to attend college here," Lewis said. "Several high schools in North Carolina have started field hockey programs in recent years.

"We hope more Division II colleges will consider adding field hockey in the future so we will have more teams to play in the area."