For the first time, the Maine Majestix field hockey club will send two teams to the National Club Championships in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, next month.
The Maine Majestix Under-16 and Under-19 teams will compete in the National Club Championships July 12-14 and July 15-17, respectively.
Last year’s U-16 Majestix team played in the National Club Championship.
Each team finished second in the New England Region Tournament recently.
The U-16s lost to Northeast Elite from Massachusetts in the final, and the U-19s were beaten by the Boston Field Hockey Club.
Just the top two teams from the regional tournament qualified.
The U-16 team played its regional in Bedford, Massachusetts, and New York teams also were involved in it.
The U-19 team went to Epping, New Hampshire, for its regional.
“To have both make it is a great feat,” said Brian Bernatchez, the president of the Maine Majestix.
“Our mission is to try to be the premier club in Maine,” he said.
The Majestix became a full-fledged entity in 2008.
The Majestix, which have indoor teams as well as outdoor teams, is based in Waterville and plays outdoor games at the Colby College and Thomas College fields in Waterville. The teams play their indoor games at the Alfond Youth Center.
Bernatchez coached the U-14 team, which he said finished fifth among 10 teams.
The U-16 team is coached by Bernatchez’s wife (Amy) and daughter (Katie), and the U-19 team is coached by former Husson University coach Katie McCabe.
The U-16 team is composed of Autumn Littlefield, Josei Varney, Kaitlyn Smith, Ally Corbett, Lydia Dexter and Haley Lowell of Messalonskee High School of Oakland; Skowhegan High School’s Kelsey Thaller, Maliea Kelso and Kealey Bowman; Winthrop’s Mo Hajduk and Emily Molino; Kiley Nelson and Kelsey Mehuren of Belfast; Cony of Augusta’s Delaney Keithley and Mt. Blue of Farmington’s Hannah Minns.
The U-19 team features Messalonskee’s Riley Field, Emily Hogan, Lydia Dexter, Corbett and Lowell; Lilla Tilton Flood of Fairfield’s Lawrence High School; Alyssa Wood, Delaney Wood and Bethany Winkin of Winslow; Belfast’s Nelson and Alicia Gaiero; Mt. Blue’s Victoria Newbill; Scarborough’s Abby Walker; Cony’s Keithley; and Winthrop’s Mo Hajduk and Katriona Hajduk.
Bernatchez said the one thing that hurts the teams in New England is that, “our region is the worst in the country when it comes to club field hockey.”
He and several other coaches and administrators involved with New England programs intend to upgrade the schedules “so we can compete against some of the other top clubs in the region on a regular basis both indoors and outdoors.”
That will probably mean more careful scrutinization of the indoor and outdoor tournaments that are sponsored by colleges, because those tournaments often have a bunch of teams that aren’t as competitive as the Majestix or other high-level club teams, he said.
“We’re looking to evolve into a more highly-competitive league,” said Bernatchez.
Bernatchez also said the Majestix will expand tryouts so players will get to train for six to eight weeks before teams are selected for the next major tournament.
“We’d rather do that than pick the teams at the beginning. I don’t like the one-day tryout [philosophy]. This way it will keep more kids involved,” said Bernatchez.
He said it also gives players who are new to the Majestix a better opportunity to showcase their talent and develop their skills.
“It can be tough for someone [new] to break in when they’re up against players who have been with us for a long time,” said Bernatchez.
He said the goal of the Majestix isn’t to win tournaments although they certainly want to do so if they can.
“We’re hoping to develop players so they can play in college and beyond,” said Bernatchez.
That ideology has led them to pass up the annual Thanksgiving tournament in Palm Springs, California, in favor of a new, high-level recruiting showcase in Virginia that will be heavily attended by college recruiters.
The Majestix have teams at the U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16 and U-19 levels.