Zahid Hameed said everything has changed – and in a magnificent way. 

The head field hockey coach at West Bloomfield the past three years, Hameed said there was a challenge with roster numbers and making sure there were enough players on the roster to fully compete.

With field hockey now an MHSAA-sponsored sport and not solely club status, that wasn’t the case when practice started in August.

“This year, from day one I had 20 players,” said Hameed, who said it would be a struggle to have 18 players on a roster at any point of a season in previous years. “It changed. Hopefully next year it will be maybe 30 or 40 and I can have a JV team. It will grow for sure.”

Growth is being experienced at programs throughout the Metro Detroit area now that field hockey has joined the MHSAA sports lineup, with the first Final set for Oct. 25. 

Clarkston head coach Cary Exline said his program had a similar success story as it saw higher numbers once this season began.

“Last year, I had about 17 girls,” he said. “I have 25 (this year). It went from 17 to 25. That was a huge, huge jump. Now, I can run multiple drills at the same time without worrying about bodies. That’s a huge, huge positive for us.”

Athletes have certainly taken notice that field hockey is under MHSAA leadership. At some schools, that means field hockey can be part of a multiple-sport pay-to-play program instead of being a completely separate cost as a club program — and that’s having a positive effect.

“Now that it’s a sanctioned sport, it’s real easy,” said Hameed, who said he has nine freshmen on his roster who have never played the sport. “The girls can give it a try and if they like it, then that’s fine.”

For seniors around the state, it almost feels like they are living out a dream finally seeing the sport under the MHSAA umbrella. 

“When I heard it was official, I was really excited,” said Clarkston senior captain Jenna Brown. “It shows that the sport is growing, and it’s nice to see more teams pop up around the area. We’ve played a couple of teams where it’s their first season. That makes me really happy that the sport is spreading.”

As a club sport, the best teams in Metro Detroit have historically been private schools such as Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Detroit Country Day, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett and Bloomfield Hills Marian. All those programs figure to remain strong going forward due to their tradition and coaching.

Grosse Pointe South also has had success, as a public school, and MHSAA sponsorship of field hockey could really be a boon to other public schools with large enrollment bases and prominent athletic programs. Clarkston and West Bloomfield, for example, stand to get much better quickly and possibly close the gap with more historically elite programs. 

No doubt, there is a lot of untapped potential in those and similar communities.

“It brings light to the program,” Exile said. “When you look at field hockey, I think it’s the No. 2 or No. 3 most popular female sport in the world. In the world, it’s great. In Michigan, it’s like ‘You do what? What is this?’ I think with it being an approved sport, it lends credence to it.”

Going forward, coaches in the area should also have an easier time introducing the sport to younger kids in their communities and building feeder programs so players are more seasoned when they reach high school. 

Hameed said youth clinics he conducted over the summer had a lot more participants than in past years, which should bode well for educating players about the positives of the sport. 

“It’s a dynamic sport,” Hameed said. “It’s entertaining. It’s full of skills. You need to be energetic, agile, sharp and a good decision-maker.”

So far this fall, more and more athletes are discovering the benefits of giving the sport a try.

“It’s not a huge sport as of now, but I feel like it’s getting bigger,” said West Bloomfield senior captain Hannah Jakubiak. “It’s exciting that it’s picking up.” 

Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Clarkston field hockey players Juliet Hardin (left) and Zoe Philbrick battle for a ball during warmups before a game Wednesday against West Bloomfield. (Middle) West Bloomfield players line up for the start of introductions. (Photos by Keith Dunlap.)