COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Six hundred and forty six of the nation's top young field hockey players will get the chance to showcase their skills for national team selectors when the USA Field Hockey Association conducts its National Futures Championship, July 9-18 at the USA Field Hockey National Training Center in Virginia Beach.

Competition in the U14 division is scheduled for July 9-12 followed by the U16 division from July 11-15 and concluding with the U19 division July 14-17.

The Futures Championship will run in conjunction with the Rabobank Champions Challenge featuring the national teams from England, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and the USA. The Rabobank Champions Challenge is scheduled for July 8-16.

“We are extremely excited about hosting the Women’s Champions Challenge concurrently with our National Futures Championship,” said USA Field Hockey Executive Director Sheila Walker. “The combination of the two events will create a dynamic environment for international hockey in Virginia Beach while providing an international playing legacy for the junior elite players in our Futures Program.”

The culmination of USA Field Hockey's Futures Talent Identification Program, the National Futures Champions features the top athletes from the more than 5,000 of the program’s nation-wide participants. After receiving five months of elite-level training and tactical instruction in preparation for possible future selection to the USA National Teams, Futures athletes compete in regional tournaments where the top player’s are then selected to compete at the national championship tournament. At the national tournament, athletes are placed on regional teams in Under-14, Under-16 or Under-19 divisions.    

Through their performances at the National Championships, athletes may earn selection to additional competitions or further skills development opportunities in the Futures Elite program, Olympic Development Select Trial, Elite Teams Trials (where the U.S. Under-21 team is selected), the USA-Canada Field Hockey Challenge or the AAU Junior Olympic Games (for athletes 16 and younger). The tournament also provides an evaluation opportunity for collegiate coaches to view and rate the nation's top field hockey athletes as potential student athletes in their respective programs.

Pennsylvania led all states with 111 athletes selected to the tournament, followed by New Jersey with 90, Virginia, 60;  New York, 56; California, 49; Massachusetts, 39; Connecticut 29; and Kentucky and Ohio with 23 each.    

Complete rosters for the tournament are available on the U.S. Field Hockey website at http://www.usfieldhockey.com/futures/results05/index.htm