Wildwood beaches are so big you can play field hockey on them

WILDWOOD, N.J. — The ocean beckoned, a few degrees warmer than the day before’s chilly 57 degrees.

But for these athletes, and perhaps even more so for their parents, busy over on the sidelines reapplying sunscreen, there was hardly a glance over to the glistening surf. They had some beach hockey to take care of.

Yes, Wildwood beaches are so big, you can play field hockey on them.

And with Morey’s Piers amusement rides forming an iconic backdrop on two sides, the Atlantic Ocean off beyond the goal on an another, and as dedicated as ever a sideline set up by hockey parents under beach tents, the annual Sticks in the Sand tournament carried on as if it were the most natural thing to be doing on this hot beach day.

“Beach hockey’s definitely for fun, but it is really hard, running in the sand, hitting it in the sand” said Gia Downes, 19, a member of the Cinnaminson Alumni team, a group that was a 2019 Sticks in the Sand champion when they played in the high school division. They were between games, sitting on a beach towel under a tent.

They play with a 5-inch rubberized “playground style” ball that can bounce around unpredictably. You can hit the ball out of the air, and goalies can throw the ball.

“The ball’s like a little kickball,” said Downes. “You can’t really do any skills with it. You just have to hit it.”

It’s the 15th year that Leslie LaFronz, the coach of Kean University, has run the tournament, timing the 12-minute halves and three-minute halftime on her phone and blowing her whistle to keep things moving in the two divisions and two games going at once: adult and high school.

LaFronz said she imported the idea from Europe and turned to the obvious place: Wildwood’s enormous and free beaches, where Morey’s Piers also hosts the Quiksand Beach Lacrosse Fest, the Battle of the Beach Flag Football, the Beach Blast Beach Soccer, and the Morey’s Mania Wrestling.

The rules are simplified from field field hockey. No corner kicks, no penalty corners. The goalies do not wear pads, and can use their hands and feet to stop balls. They can throw the ball down field as well. The winner gets a tiki-style trophy. Mostly, they just play.

When asked what other beach sports they’d played, these athletes mentioned soccer or lacrosse; there did not seem to be a surfer among them. Maybe a little spike ball in their future. Definitely a trip to the water park later in the day.

Most were making a weekend of it, the older teams renting houses together, or staying at the same motel, with Morey’s offering free access to the amusement park and water parks for the weekend.

A bunch of the Kean alumni players had actual beach hockey sticks, made with a wider end or “toe,” that has holes carved in to let sand pass through.

Nancy Colna, a hockey mom set up happily on the sidelines to watch her daughter, an alumni of Kean field hockey, said after the first year the girls played in Wildwood, “They liked it so much everyone got them for Christmas.”

They also wear special sand socks that also allowed the sand to pass through. The younger division are required to wear sneakers and shin guards. Despite the heat of the sand, some went barefoot.

“We book it a year in advance in the Blue Palms Hotel,” said Krista Lamaina, 26, of Kean’s alumni team, which calls itself “FHocking Around.” They recruited a few male family members since the rules allow for co-ed adult teams. “We’ve won three years in a row.”

The weather seemed decent Saturday, a little hot for the sport, maybe, but better than the one year it rained and they played in puddles. One year, a girl cut her foot on a shell that was in the sand.

LaFronz said that pre-COVID, the teams dressed in costumes and really worked their themes, and she hoped that future summers would see a return to that exuberance. The tournament drew 10 teams of about 10 players each and would conclude Sunday.

The team from Cinnaminson called the group chat for their tournament “Beach hockey for the dads,” a nod to how much their parents really, really, really love watching them play, and miss the regular games, now that they’re out of high school.

“We’ve been doing this since middle school,” said Natalie Cooney, 19. They used to all rent in motel rooms with their families. This year, they’ve got a beach rental just for the team members.

Indeed, over on the sideline, all the parents were set up for the long haul under beach tents, with coolers and snacks for their daughters at the ready, trying not to seem too eager, insisting that they could be more chill watching their daughters play hockey while sitting with an ocean stretching out in front of them.

“They’ll be seniors this fall,” said Kim Digiuseppe, whose daughter plays for Glassboro High. “This is the last year. We do look forward to it.”

On the beach, joked one dad, who wished to be anonymous, “We don’t get angry or anything.”

Kadie Digiuseppe, a senior at Glassboro, confirmed that beach hockey is “more relaxed,” than the field version, for both parents and athletes.

Even on a 90-degree day at the beach, she said, “It’s definitely more chill.”

GiGi Belisario, working the nearby Fudgy Wudgy cart, said she’s also sold during the popular beach soccer tournaments.

”It’s super hot,” she said. “I hope afterwards they spend some time in the water.