FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Non-Travel, Travel & ELITE

Which is best for you?

Non-Travel

This is our Pittsburgh only training. You will have your own training session in the Winter & you will join the Travel Players in the Spring. The curriculum is dependent on the skill level and all our coaches are certified USAFH Coaches. Non-Travel is for people who either cannot commit to Traveling with us once a month for a 1-day tournament or for people who are new to Field Hockey and want to learn how we play the game.

Travel

This includes our Pittsburgh training as well as once a month we travel to another city for 1-day round robin tournaments. Spooky Nook Sports in Lancaster, PA is our travel tournament destinations & they host all year round so both our Winter Indoor & Spring Outdoor seasons are at the same location.

ELITE

This is our top training with Team based training after the club wide master coaching. This is the highest commitment level as we participate in USAFH regional & national events. In the Winter, our U14's automatically attend Nationals. For the U16's & U19's, we must attend a National Indoor Tournament Qualifiers for a chance to get to Nationals at the end of the season. If we qualify, only the rostered players may play at Nationals, so you must be committed to all events. In the Spring we attend Regional Club Championships in an attempt to qualify for National Club Championships in June.

What's the expected comittment level?

Non-Travel

You are signing up for Pittsburgh Training and we have no commitment level as it is up to you to attend and learn. If you miss a practice it only harms your progress. If you know you are unavailable for a session and there is another Non-Travel location you can make up the session with prior approval of the coaches.

Travel

You are making a commitment to train and travel to the tournaments. We make our team of the available athletes each tournament but ideally we will keep the same teams throughout the season to learn and grow together. If you miss a tournament you are leaving your team without a substitute if you miss a practice you are risking missing critical strategies we implement in the game.

ELITE

We expect you to be at every practice and tournament. If we win and qualify for a National event we cannot substitute you and you will leaving your team down a player. If you are participating in our ELITE program you are committing to every event. This is the program for everyone who wants to be recruited to play in the NCAA.

Spooky Nook Tournaments

Address: 75 Champ Blvd, Manheim, PA 17545

Spooky Nook is located in, Manheim, PA (near Lancaster). These are 1 day tournaments where teams from each of the 3 divisions (U14, U16, U19) play 4-5 games. 

• Schedules generally come out the Wednesday before the tournament and will be sent out to the club. 
• Games start at 8am and can go until 9pm.
• Generally, play time for each division occurs within a 4 hour window . Example: U14 8am-12pm, U16 12pm-4pm, U19 4pm-8pm.  Spooky Nook determines the schedule and the order of play. The order can change from tournament to tournament.
• It is HIGHLY recommended that you book a hotel room for BOTH Friday evening and Saturday evening, EARLY, and then cancel appropriately once the schedule is released. 
• Players are expected to be at practice if there is no tournament scheduled for that particular day.

About Spooky Nook

Nook is a huge facility with multiple sports going on at any given time. Players must be ready to go at least 45 minutes before their first game.

Outside food is usually not permitted. Food and drinks are available for purchase. Water bottle filling stations are available for players. 

PGH Venom will set up camp in an area near the playing courts. Team Coaches/Captains will communicate to players where this will be. 

Nook has a parking fee that you can purchase at the desks as you enter. This can be purchased anytime throughout the day and must be presented as you are driving out of the parking lot. Parents, bring chairs and players should bring blankets to use.

Bring ALL YOUR UNIFORM.

There are no available outlets or charging stations. Please charge devices before entering the Nook and you may want to consider an external battery charger.

HOTEL INFO

PGH Venom does not secure hotel rooms for the Nook tournament days, because of the random scheduling. Here are a few options that are close by: 

• Warehouse (at Spooky Nook)
• Comfort Suites, Manheim 
• Hampton Inn, Manheim
• Holiday Inn, Manheim  New
• Fairfield Inn, Lancaster

For additional options, see link below.

Hotels near Spooky Nook

Things To Bring:

Hockey Stick,

Venom Uniform (Black & White),

Socks (Black & White),

Gloves,

Mouthguard,

Shin Guards,

Non-Slip Shoes,

Water Bottle,

Food or Snacks,

Chair or Blanket,

Winning Attitude!

What is NIT and NITQ?

NIT stands for National Indoor Tournament  and NITQ stands for National Indoor Tournament Qualifier.  ALL U16 & U19 teams must attend a qualifier tournament (NITQ) to determine if they can play at the National tournament (NIT). NITQ are all-day tournaments where teams play 4 games and the top teams (12) from each NITQ then move forward to the NIT.

U14 teams do not have a qualifier, but they do get to attend an NIT. Generally, U14 & U16 have NIT's at Spooky Nook. U19 has NIT's at the Convention Center in Richmond, VA. The NIT are 3 day tournaments. 

NIT's are Stay to Play tournaments. Teams are assigned hotels by USA FH. Please do not make hotel arrangements on your own. PGH Venom will send out the link to make reservations at our assigned hotel.

Players for these National bound teams are hand selected by coaches or are formed from a try-out process at the start of the season.

USA Field Hockey Membership

Along with your PGH Venom registration, players receive insurance through USA Field Hockey for practices and regular tournaments. If your player is attending a USA FH sponsored event (NITQ, NIT, RCC, Nexus, etc.) you will also need to purchase an individual membership through USA FH and select PITTSBURGH VENOM as your club.

Please visit the following link to register: USA FH Membership

What is a Field Hockey Showcase Event?

A showcase is an opportunity for players to "showcase" themselves in front of NCAA college coaches. Venom puts together a team of girls who are interested in playing in college. These are outdoor games over a select weekend. The coaches will assist the girls with resumes and coach contacts prior to the showcase. Showcases are generally held in such places as Virginia, Florida, Delaware, New Hampshire, etc. 

Field Hockey Equipment

We have partnered with Longstreth as our equipment supplier! Visit their store to stock up before the season or if something breaks!