Spring youth tours feeding successful athlete pathway 

Three spring youth tours reflect the developing athlete pathway for youth and junior hockey in Canada 

This spring Field Hockey Canada is excited to have three women’s youth tours on the go this spring in Europe. The first two touring groups went out last weekend headed to Czechia and Wales. The last one goes out at the start of May, heading to France. These tours reflect the growing success of the Field Hockey Canada-led youth and junior talent pipeline in Canada. 

Follow the spring youth tours here

Vancouver’s Rylie Novak, a member of last year’s Junior Pan American Cup Roster said that the experience going on youth tours over the past three years to Europe and the US prepared her to make the jump to the junior international level and now college hockey at the University of Iowa. 

“You’re exposed to so many different players who have different skills, and you are exposed to different styles of play. To get that experience at such a young age is really important,” she said. “Going to the U18 tour, having that experience from the U16 tour and bringing it with me, it was really helpful, and I felt a lot more confident in my game.” 

She is a product of Field Hockey Canada’s growing talent system which is supporting young athletes building incremental international experience for athletes across Canada. This means a player like Novak is already carrying 30+ international matches at the youth and junior level. It’s this type of varied competition and international experience that prepares Canadian athletes to enter the senior environment with more preparedness. Novak said that facing different styles of play and getting competitive reps at this level was important to her development as a player. 

“When you can be exposed to something so different, it opens your mind up. When you play with the same people and do the same drills, it can get repetitive. When you go and play against other teams and players, it prepares you for future games,” she said. “The [U16 and U18] tours were a big part of my pathway. Being able to have those experiences before trying out for the U21 team was really important because I knew what i was getting into and the work, I had to put in. It was a step up but I already had a feel for what was coming.” 

Rylie Novak, from Vancouver, BC, represented Canada at the 2024 Junior Pan American Championships in Vancouver, BC.

Field Hockey Canada has two tours (Czechia and Wales) already underway and the France U18 tour will start at the beginning of May. Three teams of 18 plus reserves and coaching staff means there are over 70 people from the Canadian environment getting international exposure — building skills in hockey and life for their future journey. The Field Hockey Canada talent pathway leaders believe these youth tours are vital for exposing Canadians to international competition, setting expectations and developing professionalism in the athletes and coaches throughout the system. 

Ellie Mullins, from PEI, will embark on the U18 tour to France at the start of May. Last year, she went with the U16 team to the Netherlands, marking her first international field hockey experience. She said that she is proud to be one of the few representatives from the Atlantic provinces and that on top of gaining valuable experience, she also said she likes to bring back learnings from these tours to support the growth and development to hockey in PEI and the Atlantic provinces.  

“We know France is going to be a really skilled team, and I’m excited to take some of the things they do on the field and bring it back to PEI,” she said. “I want to demonstrate the level of play that is happening out there and bring back the stuff I learn playing against France and see if we can get the level of play higher here too.” 

Mullins grew up in Charlottetown, PEI, and wants to pursue field hockey at the university level, either in the US or Canada. She said that the international experience is special on and off the field. She said she develops connections with other athletes around the country and is exposed to different sport cultures world-wide. She’s even more prepared this year to tackle the international speed and skill, as she’ll lean on experience from last season. 

“I’m really excited to see all my friends that I made last year. I saw them at Calgary in Nationals, but I made really close relationships with those girls. I’m also excited to meet some of my new teammates,” she said, highlighting the importance of off-field connection to the sport. “From my experience last year playing against Netherlands and those European teams, I’m going into this tour with more knowledge to how they play the game, and it’ll help me be more prepared.

Olive Bodel is a grade-11 student from West Vancouver who has already committed to playing college hockey at Wake Forest University. She made her international debut in the US, playing on a Canadian U16 tour then backed it up with playing in the Netherlands last summer. She now enters the France U18 tour with the experience of back-to-back international tours. Bodel said that outside of the international experience, where maybe only 50-75 athletes per year can be selected, the Field Hockey Canada National Championships offers a great domestic opportunity for players to compete and be evaluated.  

“When I started playing provincially, it’s what really opened so many doors for me and led me to be where I am here today. It put me through the pathway, connected me with coaches as well,” she said. “Nationals is a really fun tournament to participate in where I get to meet new people every year as well.” 

As players move through the NextGen pipeline, the more experienced players will also take on leadership roles as they advance. This is another positive of the continuity that the Field Hockey Canada leadership is trying to emphasize with their youth tour programs.  

Bodel said the leadership aspect is one she’s trying to improve on this season as she looks forward to the France tour at the beginning of May. As a returning player of multiple international tours, she wants to help her teammates understand the tour life, coaching style and expectations. 

“France is one of the best teams in the world so it’s going to be cool to play against them and compare where we stand,” she said. “I’m looking forward to taking more of a leadership role within the team. Last year, I was one of the youngest players on the team, but this year I’ll be one of four returning players. I want to help the other players.” 

Olive Bodel will once again represent Canada in France at the beginning of May on a U18 Canadian side.

These tours provide valuable international experience, preparing athletes like Bodel, Novak and Mullins for higher levels of competition. Novak credits these tours for her transition to junior international and college hockey, while Mullins and Bodel emphasize their role in developing connections and skills. All three athletes echo the sentiment that these tours also help them develop connection off the field with athletes and friends across the country. The tours highlight Field Hockey Canada’s commitment to fostering professionalism and leadership in young athletes. 

Follow @fhc_youthhockey for behind the scenes, training photos and videos from the international tours this month. 

PROJECTED YOUTH TOUR SCHEDULE AND RESULTS