KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas Citians were snowed in this past week after a blizzard swept across the region. But as field hockey grows in popularity in the city, it was an outlet for some kids Sunday.
Bram Strookman moved to Kansas City eight years ago. Originally from the Netherlands, where field hockey is popular, he soon realized KC was without a large field hockey community.
"I grew up playing field hockey, and it's been a really big part of my life," he said.
Strookman took it upon himself to establish Kansas City Field Hockey (KCFH) about four years ago.
"I really think that there is an opportunity here to add more schools and more kids," he said. "Just kind of an alternative to soccer or some of the more traditional sports."
Two years ago, only two metro high schools had field hockey teams. For the 2024 season, that doubled to four, according to Strookman.
Bishop Miege is one of the two newest teams. The school joined partially due to Bishop Miege junior Izzy's leadership.
"I really loved being involved and being a leader and showing people you can do other things even though not a lot of people know about it," she said.
Izzy huddled up her classmates and established a team at the Catholic high school.
"Once we had enough girls to play with, I was just happy I could play because it's just so rewarding," she said.
Izzy also helps coach younger players like Henley, who was excited to play some hockey after many snow days.
"I was in my room just hoverboarding because I just had a lot of energy," Henley said.
KCFH's winter academy program grew from 35 players last year to about 100 players this year, and its goal to continue to grow is not unrealistic.
Across the state in St. Louis, there are approximately 30 schools that have field hockey teams, according to Strookman.
Strookman is building the love of field hockey across all genders and ages.
In the United States, the sport is predominately played by girls and women, but Strookman has opened up KCFH to boys, which makes up about 15% of the organization's players.
KCFH even offers weekly adult pick-up games from April to August.
"It's really important to me because it really gave me the confidence to be who I am today," he said.
Strookman hopes to make field hockey even more prominent in Kansas City. His five-year goal is to establish a proper field hockey field — a water-based turf — in the city.
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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
