Amanda Forrester / news@whmi.com

The Brighton High School girls field hockey team will be a varsity sport starting in the 2025-26 school year.

MHSAA voted to begin sponsoring girls field hockey beginning in the 2025-26 school year. The sport joins boys volleyball as the first sports added to the MHSAA’s tournament offerings since the 2004-05 school year.

Head Coach Craig Schroeder said the team is very excited to be a varsity sport this year.

While operating as a club, the team had to organize their own transportation and location to play, along with raising money to fund everything. As a varsity sport, they will have transportation, some funding and a location to play included.

“The move will foster academic eligibility requirements while helping athletes with goals of playing beyond high school,” the press release said.

Abby Tamer, a local field hockey star and Dexter graduate, is the Director/Lead Coach and Events Coordinator for Great Lakes Regional Field Hockey. Played at the University of Michigan and the 2024 Paris Olympics. She is one of the people working accessible to all ages at the Legacy Center in Brighton.

“With the growth surrounding field hockey, it only made sense for the team to join the ranks of schools with varsity programs,” Schroeder said. “Parents overwhelmingly voted in favor last fall to move to an MHSAA varsity program from a club.”

According to the MHSAA website, Hartland, Pinckney, Novi and Dexter are among the growing number of schools that have a varsity field hockey team.

The team will host tryouts in August, with games beginning shortly after.