Dartmouth Girls Athletic League’s field hockey opening day is “our favorite part of the season,” said Field Hockey Commissioner Nicole Mello. 

On a “beautiful,” cloudless day Sunday, Sept. 8, field hockey’s 17 teams made up of 220 players hit the field at Quinn Elementary for some friendly in-league competition. 

Courtney Cohen, also a field hockey commissioner who has been coaching with Mello for the last eight seasons, said the start is “always so fun.”

She pointed out her daughter playing among the third through fifth graders, easily spotted with her bright pink cleats. 

Cohen said she has been involved with field hockey herself since the 7th grade, playing for Dartmouth High and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

“I just love the game,” she added. “It’s just one of my favorite things to do on the planet. It’s a great game for kids.”

This season, one of her goals is to get the middle school teams to more turf games, which will prepare them for high school, Cohen said. So far, she has three games scheduled at the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical School, but unfortunately, those fields don’t have field hockey lines, so Cohen will have to improvise.

“The game has come a long way and we’d like to progress as it goes as well,” she said.

Cohen highlighted the benefits of a more recreational approach to the sport, with the focus staying on learning and having fun. She said the increased registration, up from 208 last year, lends well to running the sport in this format. 

“There’s never enough for girls for options,” she said. “We want to give them as much opportunity to try something — that’s all this is, to try it.”

She added how it's not just Dartmouth girls involved, families from surrounding towns are as well. 

The Ahlander family from Lakeville spoke on how much they’ve appreciated having the opportunity to play for Dartmouth. 

Ainsley, 8, and Kiersten Ahlander, 9, said they were “really excited” going into their fourth field hockey season. 

Ainsley said, “I’m really excited that we get to play new teams and there are kids on my team that I’ve never seen and some that I feel like I’ve seen before.”

She added, “The sport itself is exciting and I really like it.”

Their mom, Sara Ahlander, said, “It’s a well-run organization, so we love it.”

While waiting on the sidelines for their turn in the game, Maya Barry, 13, Olivia Barry, 12, and Samantha Ouellette, 11, practiced dribbling and passing the ball. 

Playing since the first grade, Maya said field hockey is “a lot of fun.”

Though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what she likes so much, she said she’s had more success in it than other team sports she’s tried. 

She added, “I like my team. I think we’re going to do pretty good [this season].”

Ouellette joined the veteran players for the first time this season after getting inspired by girls in her classes at school.

However, she’s looking ahead to this first season with confidence, she said, “I think we’re going to win most of the games and have a good time.”

To finish off the day, each team was awarded with Del’s Lemonade, said Mello. 

“We couldn’t do this without all of our coaches, parents and sponsors, so we’re happy to have everybody,” Mello said.