Dear Mt Lebanon Field Hockey Players and Parents

Dear Mt Lebanon Field Hockey Players and Parents,

My name is Julie Buschman and I am the head coach for the Mt. Lebanon High School field hockey program. This will be my fifth year with the program and my fourth year as the head coach. I have been involved with Mt. Lebanon athletics for the past nine years, as I have also been the assistant varsity coach for the girl’s lacrosse team. Prior to moving to Mt.Lebanon in 2009, I played Division 1 lacrosse at James Madison University. I grew up in northern Virginia where I played both field hockey and lacrosse in high school.

During the summer months, we will be offering an optional training program for conditioning and stickwork practices. This is not a requirement; however it provides opportunities for the girls to come into tryouts and the fall season feeling prepared and confident. I recommend attending these sessions when you are in town and available. Coach Cremonese will also be offering strength and conditioning sessions in the weight roomthroughout the summer. The specifics dates and times can be found on our new Mt. Lebanon Field Hockey Association Website (thank you to the Gbur Family for heading this up).

Preseason tryouts and practices will begin on August 13th. Our preseason phase will last until school begins. During this time we will have 2 sessions most days. Our intention will be to make team selections at the end of the first week. During this time, not only will we be assessing the player’s stickwork and conditioning, but their coachability, attitude, work ethic and team work. I will provide the schedule once it is set with the athletic office.

Prior to beginning practices on August 13th, all participants are required to complete a physical and all forms on the high school athletic department’s website: You will use the Family ID online registration. All families will now be able to SCAN their physical into the family ID on-line registration. Please be sure to have this all complete prior to August 13th. Please note that the physicals must be dated after June 1, 2018.

The girls will need to be ready at the scheduled time for all practices with the appropriate gear (water bottle, stick, mouthguard, goggles (must be ASTM 2713 approved), shin guards, practice jersey (once issued to you), running shoes and turf shoes/cleats). If you have any questions about the equipment, please let me know.

If you are not able to take advantage of the preseason training program we will be offering this summer, I highly recommend working out and practicing your stickwork on your own. Coming into the season prepared not only benefits the entire team, but each individual. Conditioning tests will be a component of tryouts, so we expect you to be prepared. If you are interested in some example workouts, please let me know.

Lastly, we will be holding a Player/Parent information meeting on Thursday, August 9thth at 7:30pm near the turf. Please make every effort to be there as we will be cover over a lot of information for the season.

If you have any questionsor would like to be added to our email list for updates, please feel free to get in touch with me. The coaching staff is very excited for this season and look forward to seeing the returning players and meeting all the new faces.

GO LEBO!

Julie Buschman

703-216-3927