Athlete Spotlight

Sharon Danforth: From the beginning to today, a big part of the game

Field hockey player, coach, oficial, scorekeeper, timer, she has done it all
Sun, 11/22/2015 - 12:00pm

CAMDEN — Sharon (Graffam) Danforth has been involved in field hockey in the Midcoast since its inception at Camden-Rockport High School in 1970, and today she remains engaged, serving as the official scorekeeper for the Camden Hills Regional High School team.

Danforth was born in Camden and lived in Rockport until she was in the fourth-grade, when her family moved to Bath. She graduated from Morse High School in 1960 and went to the University of Maine at Orono.

"I was first introduced to the sport of field hockey at college," said Danforth. "Women at UMO did not play varsity sports at that time, but we played intramural and did have a few games against Bates College. I loved the sport right from the start."

Once she learned the game, Danforth was always ready to get involved in a match. Over the years, she has held many positions in the game, JV coach, official and scorekeeper.

"When the high school began playing field hockey in the fall of 1970, I offered to help the coach, Kathy Loretta Walley, with the team," said Danforth. "It was a new sport for everyone except one senior who had played at a different school."

Danforth said officials were very scarce back then and if you knew anything at all about the sport you were recruited.

"I became a referee and did games in Camden, Rockland and Thomaston," said Danforth. "Because there were not enough officials to do all the games, I got my husband (Steve) into being a referee as well. He loved it."

Danforth officiated for four years until Camden-Rockport decided to hire a JV coach. She preferred working with the teams and the girls over refereeing, so she applied for the job and got it. That was the fall of 1974, four years after the start of the program at then-Camden-Rockport High School.

"I coached the JV team from 1974-1979," said Danforth. "At that time I was working more hours, and there was a former player who was willing to coach so although I still attended all the games, I was not coaching."

Danforth continued to referee for a while doing JV and junior high games, but allowed her certification to run out and did not renew it so couldn't officially do high school games without being rated. After a brief hiatus from coaching, Danforth and her husband became co-coaches of the JV team in 1986.

"He did the practices, we both did the home games and I did the away games," said Danforth. "We coached like this for eight years through the fall of 1993."

That year Kathy Loretta Walley retired as the varsity coach and there were two excellent applicants for her job.

"We decided it was time for us to retire from coaching as well so they hired both of the applicants," said Danforth. "The one who took our place was Jan Holmes-Jackson, who went on to become a successful varsity coach at Camden-Rockport and Camden Hills before moving on to Belfast. It was a good move for all."

The origins of the game, the history of Field Hockey
The sport of field hockey — or just "hockey," as it's known in most of the 112 countries it is played — is widely considered one of the top six sports in the world. Field hockey's origins are ancient. Proof can be found in the simplicity of the game: Teams use a stick to hit a ball into a goal.

Ancient Field Hockey
The exact origins of the sport are unknown. However, archaeologists have found 4,000-year-old drawings of men playing a simplistic version of the game in the Beni Hasan tombs in the Nile Valley, Egypt. Other historical records show that various versions of the sport were played in Persian, Roman, Ethiopian and Aztec civilizations.

The Middle Ages
A new era was defined in the Middle Ages when variations of hockey-like games began popping up in various European countries. The game of "cambuca" was played in England, while "shinty" was played in Scotland, "jeu de mail" was played in France and "het kolven" was played in the Netherlands.

English Royalty
The sport became popular among English royalty in the 1300s. Yet, not all of the royals were fond of the game. In 1363, King Edward III of England issued the proclamation: "Moreover, we ordain that you prohibit under penalty of imprisonment all and sundry from such stone, wood and iron throwing; handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games." This proclamation is proof that a semi-organized version of hockey was being played over 1,500 years ago.

Modern Hockey
In the mid–19th century, English public schools adopted the modern game of field hockey. Playing a much rougher version of the game, the first hockey club, Blackheath, was formed in 1849. A few decades later, the Middlesex cricket clubs developed the modern game. A club called Teddington was especially known for its part in molding the game. The cricket players were looking for something to play during winter and began drawing up rules for their new game. This led to the first field hockey association: Hockey Association in London, established in 1886.

Olympic Field Hockey
The British Army had spread the game throughout the British Empire. In 1895, field hockey had its first international competition. The game was between Ireland and Wales. Ireland won, 3-0. Hockey first appeared in the 1908 Olympic Games in London with only three teams: England, Ireland and Scotland. The sport was permanently adopted into the Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. Women’s field hockey made its debut and became an Olympic fixture at the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow, Russia.

International Body is Formed
International structuring for the sport in Europe began when England and Belgium agreed to play against each other. These countries would later join the French federation in 1924 to create the International Hockey Federation (or the FIH - Fédération International de Hockey). To this day, the FIH is the sport's international governing body. The original members were Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Spain and Switzerland. The FIH now consists of 112 member associations, spread across five continents.

Women in Field Hockey
Field hockey was originally considered too dangerous a sport for female participants. This notion later changed when women who enjoyed outdoor activities, such as croquette and lawn tennis, adopted field hockey as a socially acceptable outdoor activity. It was later considered the only team sport proper for women.
Women's field hockey was first introduced to British Universities and schools in the 1880s. The first field hockey club, Molesey Ladies Hockey Club, was founded in 1887. This club led to the formation of the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations in 1927. Following the establishment of the IFWHA, women's field hockey grew rapidly around the world. It spread in many continental European countries and later to the USA.
Women's field hockey arrived in the United States before men's field hockey. It was introduced by an English physical education instructor named Constance Applebee. She brought the game to the U.S. while attending a seminar in 1901 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. The sport quickly grew in popularity and spread through several colleges and clubs by the early 1920s. The United States appeared in the first World Championship of women's field hockey in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1975 and later played in the 1980 Olympic Games.

The Men's Game in the United States
U.S. men officially began playing the sport in 1928. The first official match was between the Westchester Field Hockey Club (of Rye, N.Y.) and the Germantown Cricket Club (of Philadelphia, Pa.). The Field Hockey Association of America was also formed in 1928. Five years later, the FHAA merged with the United States Field Hockey Association to form the sport's official governing body, the USA Field Hockey Association. This was done after urging from the Olympic committee. The U.S. men first competed in the Olympics at the 1932 Games in Los Angeles, Calif. The team earned the bronze medal after losing to eventual silver medalist Japan, 9-2, and eventual gold-medal winner India, 24-1.

India Leads in Olympic Medals
India was introduced to field hockey in 1885 by British servicemen. Within 10 years, the country was hosting the Beighton Cup and the Aga Khan tournament. India entered the Olympic Games in 1928 and the men's team won all five of its games without giving up a single goal. The men's team then went on to win the gold medal in every Olympics from 1932 until 1956, and then again in 1964 and 1980. Pakistan won gold in 1960, 1968, and 1984.

Field hockey is the national sport of India, a country that earned eight Olympic gold medals in men's competition. India leads the Olympics with the highest number of field hockey gold medals among all national teams.

Synthetic Turf
Field hockey was originally played on grass surfaces. That changed in the 1970s when artificial turf became a replacement on many fields. The game has changed significantly with this innovation.

The Indian dribble is one of the many new tactics and techniques used for the faster field. Also, since the application of turf, Indian and Pakistani domination ended. Wealthier European countries have since dominated the Olympics. Synthetic fields are now mandatory for all national and international tournaments.

Gender Disparities
Field hockey is continually growing in popularity throughout the world. In most countries, there is an even balance between men and women who play the sport. In the United States, however, it is predominantly a female sport. This may be because there are very few clubs in the United States at the junior and adult level. Most teams are at the high school or collegiate levels and are entirely female. The strength of men's college hockey in the United States reflects the impact of Title IX, which mandated that colleges put forth equal funding toward men's and women's sports.

Forward Movement
A game that started with a simple stick and ball has become one of the most popular sports in the world. Its popularity continues to grow on a global spectrum. So the next time you're feeling adventurous, pick up a stick and ball and start playing some field hockey like many of the people in 112 countries around the world!

Read more

Currently, Lindsey Clement is the varsity coach, having played for Jackson before replacing her at the helm of the Windjammers. 

Danforth, who has been around the game at Camden schools from the start, says what she is doing today - scorekeeping and timing the games - is very fulfilling. Over the years, she has done it all and enjoyed it all, well most of it.

“I loved it all (officiating was my least favorite however),” said Danforth. “I had some wonderful and fun times coaching. The girls who played field hockey were terrific young women, but I really enjoy the scoring and timing now. I just get to enjoy watching the games without any pressure, and the game has improved so much from when I started.”

Getting involved in field hockey was something that to this day Danforth is happy she did. When she started, it was a new sport in the Midcoast. Lincoln Academy and Rockland had teams before 1970. Camden-Rockport, Georges Valley and Medomak Valley joined those two teams in 1970 and they became the Knox-Lincoln League. There were no state titles for girls back then. Belfast, Wiscasset and Mount View joined the league within the next few years. 

Over the years, 1970-2015, Danforth has seen all the players from Camden and the surrounding schools in many capacities - official, coach and scorekeeper. When asked to pick out her top three players from Camden or the Midcoast schools, she was put on the spot and but answered nonetheless.

“I’ll start with Karen Hardy who played on my first JV team in 1974,” said Danforth. “She was a sophomore playing field hockey for the first time ever, but she was a natural athlete and she could flat out play the game. That team scored 44 goals and gave up only two. Karen scored over half of the goals and assisted on many others.”

Danforth continued, “At around the same time in the 70s there was a girl that played for Rockland, Darla Porter, and I remember her being very impressive. Tammy Barrows played for Rockland in the late 80s and went on to play at UMO in the 90s and she was very talented. Camden-Rockport had a foreign exchange student from Germany in the 90s named Anke Brummer (she went on to play at Boston College), and she was as powerful as any girl I have seen. She was used to playing on turf in Germany, and that was the year Camden-Rockport played Belfast under the lights on Maine Maritime’s turf field. That was probably the most exciting game I’ve seen.”

However, Danforth could not stop at three as she went on to talk about a couple of this year’s players on the Camden Hills team. 

“As I said there have been many, many great players in the Midcoast, but I don’t think I can remember anyone more skilled at passing and dribbling the ball down the field than Emily Daggett and Molly Davee, two seniors on this year’s Camden Hills team,” said Danforth. “They are exceptional and exciting to watch. I have named more than five players, but I would be remiss in not mentioning the three Midcoast coaches - Jan Jackson (Belfast), Joanna Hall (Rockland) and Lindsey Clement (Camden Hills) - who were all excellent players in their own right and have proven themselves as terrific coaches as well.”

One of the pressing things this reporter wanted to ask Danforth was how the game has changed. From a fan’s perspective, the game is a little faster, but to a veteran, what are the changes that matter?

“The game is so much faster now and that is a very good thing,” said Danforth. “People who don’t understand the game think there are a lot of whistles, but believe me, it’s nothing compared to what it used to be. The girls know what the whistle means and it usually doesn’t stop the flow of the game.”

Danforth continued, “Offsides was abolished in the 80s, and that was very good for field hockey. Back in the old days when a ball when out of bounds a player had to bend and roll the ball by hand into play with everyone else at least 5 yards away. Now a player can just get the ball and start dribbling it or drive it into play. In the early 80s the goalies still had hardly any protective gear, just big, bulky, heavy leg pads and bulky hard boot-like covers for the feet. They didn’t even have helmets. We used softball catchers chest protector to help out. Sticks were much more awkward too. The girls were not even required to wear mouth guards when we started in the 70s. There have been many, many changes to the game since the early 70s and I think most all of the changes have been a plus for the game.”

In 2008 Danforth lost her husband to colon cancer, but she has continued to be involved with the game that they both loved. 

Next season when field hockey starts up, Danforth will be there, with sharp pencils, a smile on her face and all the years of knowledge that she has. Field hockey owes Sharon Danforth a great deal of gratitude for the years of work she has put in to promote the game, teach the student-athletes and have a positive impact on so many. 


Reach Ron Hawkes at sports@penbaypilot.com