Former Woodstock Academy field hockey standout Mikayla Jones “jokingly” sent her former high school coach, Lauren Gagnon, a tweet recently.
It was about Katie O’Donnell Bam’s field hockey camps and clinics.
The tweet instructed those who read it and were interested to email the two-time U.S. Olympic field hockey player.
Gagnon thought she had no chance to get the Olympian to come to Woodstock, but she couldn’t resist giving it a try.
“I was like ‘what the heck,’ so I emailed her and a couple of days later, I got an email back saying if I was interested in setting up a camp, she was absolutely interested. I’ve been working hard ever since to bring this opportunity to these kids,” Gagnon said.
The camp will take place from 9 a.m. to noon and from 2 to 5 p.m. on June 9 and 10 at The Woodstock Academy’s South Campus turf field.
In addition to Katie, her husband, Marvin, a South African field hockey Olympian, will be on hand as will a third former Olympian to work with local field hockey athletes.
“We will probably have a maximum of about 20 kids so it will be a great coach-to-player ratio. It’s a 12-hour weekend of field hockey with a lot of time on the field and some really great individualized attention,” Gagnon said.
Gagnon is hopeful that a good number of her current Centaur field hockey team will take part, but there will be enough space for those outside of the Woodstock Academy field hockey program to take part if interested.
Male and female players are invited.
“It’s definitely not for a beginning player, it’s 13-and-up,” Gagnon said.
It’s also a little “pricey” according to Gagnon. The cost to attend is $310.
“We are offering fund-raising opportunities,” Gagnon said.
Whomever signs up will be invited to take part in two “Dining for a Cause” events. One will be held at the 99 Restaurant in Dayville and the other at the Courthouse Bar and Grille in Putnam. There is also a car wash planned for May 20 at the Garden Gate Florists.
Funds that are raised will be divided among those who help out and are going to take part in the camp. There is also a cheesecake auction currently going on.
Gagnon said she has seen a spike in interest in the sport.
When the program was started six years ago, it had 35 student-athletes take part.
Last season, the program had 55 in uniform.
Gagnon also started a youth program in the area which is now part of a nonprofit club. She will also be offering free clinics for certain groups.
While field hockey is often associated with girls, the U.S. does support its own men’s national field hockey program.
Unfortunately, the male population that wants to play field hockey doesn’t have many outlets. Connecticut, like many states, do not offer the sport to male athletes.
“It’s killer,” Gagnon said about the lack of support for male athletes in the sport. “There are very few clubs in the area and the ones that there are cost prohibitive for a lot of people. With our new nonprofit club, we’re trying to keep prices low so anybody can learn. We offer scholarships and financial aid as well.”
For more information and to sign up for the Katie O’Donnell Bam K16 camp in June, go to www.katieodonnellfh.com/woodstock-ct-camp.

Marc Allard
Sports Information Director