Table for one

Joseph Boo

NEWPORT BEACH - Newport Harbor High’s frosh/soph field hockey team

had all the makings of a team this year, with uniforms, equipment and

players.

The only thing it was missing was opponents.

Newport Harbor was the only school in Orange County to field a frosh/soph

field hockey team. Three other schools, Edison, Marina and Glendora,

fielded teams in previous years but had to drop them.

This is the fifth year for Newport Harbor’s frosh/soph team. Rather than

dropping it, Sharon Wolfe, who oversees the field hockey program at

Newport Harbor, decided to keep the girls.

“We just bought new sticks and uniforms,” she said. “So I decided I might

as well go ahead and field the team instead of depriving the girls a

chance to play.”

Of course, being the only team in the area brings about the obvious

question of who to play. The Sailors scrounged around, playing JV and

fledgling varsity teams for 20 minutes before the JV games. They have

managed to scrape together four games this year.

They also won all four game. Their last game was on Oct. 28, which was a

6-1 win against Westminster’s combined JV and varsity team.

The main benefit for having a frosh/soph team is that it accelerates the

learning curve for Newport Harbor.

Only three of the 14 players on the frosh/soph team came in with any

experience in the sport, so most of the practice time is spent on

learning the basics.

Even though Katelyn Baratto, Sam Scott and Carrie Dukes were the only

experienced players, the entire team has grown and looked solid in

winning all four games.

“We don’t really have a star player,” Frosh/soph Coach Beth Snelgrove

said. “Our entire front line scored about four goals each, so everybody

contributes.”

The early exposure to field hockey for the girls is an obvious benefit to

the future of Newport Harbor’s program, and it guarantees a steady flow

of solid players.

“It’s been helping us a ton,” Wolfe said.

Whether other schools will offer frosh/soph programs for next year is in

question. The Sailors will definitely carry on though, playing games

against JV teams next year. Although being the lone team around has its

advantages, it does get lonely out there.

“I hope we have other teams to play next year,” Snelgrove said.