New York City Field Hockey (NYCFH) is a volunteer-led, BIPOC-founded, not-for-profit field hockey club in New York City that welcomes adult women and non-binary players of all ages (21+), skill levels, and fitness levels to our casual weekly pickup games in the summer and fall.

NYCFH was founded in 2006 by Emily Flynn, a former college player who was looking to meet like-minded people and reconnect with her favorite sport in a less competitive setting than other clubs that existed at the time. Seeking to channel the fun, camaraderie, spirit, and passion for field hockey that captivated her in her youth, Emily began posting on Craigslist and soon found other people around the city who were looking for the same thing.

20 years later, NYCFH is a thriving community where members can reconnect with former teammates and forge new friendships with field hockey players from around the world, all while playing the sport they love.

Our members and volunteer managers live and/or work in the New York City area and range in age from 21 to 60. We are all professionals in fields like tech, fashion, retail, marketing, media, finance, healthcare, education, and more. Some of us are moms, recent college graduates, and graduate students. 

If you’ve played field hockey on a school/club team before, you are welcome to join us, even if you haven't picked up your stick in years. Don’t worry—we take plenty of water breaks during each session!

NYCFH plays in Manhattan, where we have two homebase fields. In the summer, we play at the Pier 40 Rooftop Turf which has the most AMAZING views. In the fall, we play at Gansevoort Peninsula, a new field just south of Little Island with Hudson River views. When our club is in session, we play on Sundays from 4-6pm, though we ask that players arrive by 3:45 (3:30 in the fall) to check in with the managers on duty and get ready to hit the pitch on time.

You can sign up for our Google Group mailing list using the link on our JOIN page. We use this mailing list to share important information with all of our members. Please fill out the prompts when signing up so we know you’re not a bot. Once you’re on our mailing list, you’ll be all set to receive our weekly registration emails.

We send out weekly registration emails to our mailing list on Wednesday at 10am before every session. Spots go lightning-fast, so we recommend setting a reminder or alarm so you can sign up before registration closes.

If you miss the registration cutoff, you can fill out the waitlist request form that will be included in the email that we send when the roster is full. We will email or text you if a spot opens up.

Of course! We have so many members who were in your shoes before joining us. We welcome adults (21+) of all ages, skill levels, and fitness levels to play with us, as long as you have some experience with the sport. 

Unfortunately, no. This club is for adults who have played field hockey in some organized capacity before (school, club, league, etc.). Previous experience and knowledge of the game are required for us to promote safe play and make the most of our 2-hour sessions.

For insurance and liability purposes, all participants must be over the age of 21 to play with NYCFH.

Because of the inclusive range of ages, skill levels, and athletic abilities at our casual pickup sessions, we do not recommend that current college players play with NYCFH. We play a modified game with no goalies, no short corners, and no driving/lifting. If you are a college player, there are other, more competitive leagues in NYC that may be a better fit.

As we are playing casual pickup games and trying to keep things as safe as possible, we do not play with goalies. However, we have many former goalies on our squad who now play field positions!

At a typical 2-hour NYCFH session, we circle up to do introductions and go over our rules. Then we split up into 2-4 teams (summer) or 4-8 teams (fall) and play casual 7-minute pickup games against each other. We self start. We don’t play with goalies or short corners. We call our own fouls. We don’t lift or drive. And we don't keep score. Halfway through play, we stop to take a team photo. Afterwards, we swap teams and resume play.

NYCFH is rain or shine. The managers on duty monitor the weather forecast very carefully each week and only cancel sessions in cases of extreme heat, unhealthy air quality, the threat of lightning, or heavy rain/thunderstorms that would make playing dangerous.

Reply to the weekly registration email or a reminder email or email us at nycfieldhockey@gmail.com as soon as possible to let us know so we can remove you from the roster. Letting us know as early as possible can also help us promote someone from the waitlist.

We recommend that every player has their own stick. If it’s your first time playing with NYCFH, the managers have a limited number of sticks available to lend you for your first session only. When filling out the weekly registration form, there is a box you can check to let us know you need to borrow a stick for that session.

For safety reasons, we recommend that all players wear shin guards and a mouth guard to play. Playing without these protective items is at your own risk. Since we are playing on turf that can get a bit slick, we recommend our players wear cleats or turf shoes to play (but wearing sneakers is totally fine too!). Players must bring a reversible pinnie or one light/white shirt and one dark/black shirt so that they can easily swap shirts depending on what team they’re on. We also recommend bringing sunscreen and plenty of water or your favorite electrolyte beverage, especially in the summer.

Field hockey equipment can be found at: Amazon, Target, Longstreth, Dick’s Sporting Goods, etc.

Manager Melissa’s mouthguard recommendation: https://sisuguard.com/sisu-aero-mouth-guard/ (sold at all of the above retailers)

We do not currently offer youth clinics and are not affiliated with any youth leagues or camps in or around the city.