Ryan Langford
Excerpt from U. of M press release:
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – University of Michigan field hockey head coach Marcia Pankratz announced Thursday (Feb. 12) the hiring of Ryan Langford as an assistant coach for the Wolverine program. A seven-year veteran of the U.S. Men’s National Field Hockey team, Langford joins Kristi Grannon to complete Pankratz’s first coaching staff since returning to the helm of the program.
See the full article at the University of Michigan athletic website.
Ryan is a longtime CE friend and coach. We wish him all the best.
-CEFH
Katie Reinprecht
Princeton University’s Katie Reinprecht (2012) was recently named to the US Women’s Pan Am Cup Team. Her college coach and CE Director Kristen Winn gives her thoughts below:
Can you put into context what it means for a college freshman to make a Sr. National Team?
It is very special considering how hockey in the US is organized. American athletes do not have the benefit of interacting in a club environment as it exists in Europe, South America or the Oceanic countries. In these countries, a gifted young hockey player will get placed in their top division within their club where often there will be several National team players as well as other high level players. Growing up in a professional environment prepares these younger players for the demands of a National team environment. It is not uncommon to see an Australian or Dutch 19 or 20 year old with 50 caps. That doesn’t happen in the US. The fact that Katie is ready for this level now is testament to her overall talent and athleticism.
As Katie’s college coach, to what extent do you feel responsible for preparing her to play at the international level?
Katie has been on my NJ high performance team for the last few years so I would say that those moments together have probably had more influence on her play than these last few months at the college level. HP is great because it more closely simulates what she would get if she playing in a club in Europe (diversity of age and quality players). The high performance team serves as the highest level of competition for an American athlete other than the National Team. Ultimately, a coach can only do so much. I believe the High performance environment allowed Katie to be around other players such as Katie Evans and Tracey Arndt (Larson) who were capable of really pushing the tempo of our practices . I think this probably helped Katie the most.
How will Katie’s experience at the international level help her college teammates at Princeton during the upcoming spring season?
It will be invaluable. The main difference between the two levels is the speed at which Katie will need to execute her skills and make decisions. She’ll come back playing and thinking faster. It will force her teammates to have to stay up with her.
Additional information can be found on Princeton University’s athletic website.
-CEFH
The US Women’s Pan Am Cup Team has been recently announced. Five members of the team are past or present Champion’s Edge camp coaches. They include: Keli Smith, Carrie Lingo, Lauren Crandall, Tiffany Snow & Katie Evans.
The Pan Am Cup takes place February 7-15 in Hamilton Bermuda. The top 8 teams in the region compete for automatic qualification to the 2010 World Cup in Argentina. See the complete story at www.usfieldhockey.com
-CEFH
