USA Field Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of field hockey in the United States, has made the strategic decision to concentrate efforts and resources on 11-a-side, the primary format of the sport, and the continued growth of the indoor game, electing not to participate in Hockey5s programming at this time.

According to USA Field Hockey, the 11-a-side discipline remains the dominant format played at middle school, high school, club, collegiate and international levels, while indoor continues to thrive domestically and internationally.

As part of the shift in focus, USA Field Hockey will not compete internationally in the Hockey5s discipline and does not plan to host or sanction regional or national Hockey5s tournaments in the near future.

“Prioritisation is essential to delivering long-term success,” said Simon Hoskins, USA Field Hockey’s CEO. “After reviewing the full scope of our programming, we determined that narrowing our focus best serves our US national teams and the sport. The 11-a-side game is clearly the most important format at every level, and the indoor game continues to see tremendous growth, which can be seen in the USA’s recent performances, record number of indoor players and record team entries at the national indoor tournament.”

Resources still available

USA Field Hockey recognises the important role small-sided games play across all sports, particularly in introducing new individuals to the game and in supporting skill development, practice efficiency, and game-based learning. USA Field Hockey will continue to provide resources for those interested in playing, coaching and umpiring Hockey5s as an exciting and fun small-sided format for development, training and competition.

Moving forward, for outdoor small-sided play, USA Field Hockey will continue to offer 7v7 formats. The 7v7 competition format is widely recognised and aligns well with existing club and school programming across the country.