Hey everyone!
I am a Jr. this year and I am strongly considering Tufts. I was wondering what the tryout process is at tufts for field hockey. Is it extremely difficult to make the team? Also what is the practice schedule like at Tufts for field hockey?
Thanks so much everyone!
Hey! I was actually considering field hockey too. I can’t help ya, but I’ll leave a comment so that I can peep the answer when someone replies 
bumppppp
Honestly, your best bet is to contact the coach directly with this question. You can explain that you are not looking for support in the admissions process (although if you attend a camp this summer or send some video, you may end up with soft support). It will help, even as a walk on, if there has been some contact in advance.
Our experience with a different sport was that while all the coaches said they were open to walk ons, it really depended on what they had committed to recruits and others currently on the roster. If a coach recruits a kid with the promise of a roster spot, it’s very hard to bump that kid in favor of a walk on. At another school, the roster was senior heavy and the coach knew admissions wouldn’t give him enough recruiting spots to replace them, so he was very excited about players that were admitted without his help. Regardless of whether you want recruiting support, it helps to make contact in advance.
I believe that the Tufts field hockey program has been very good recently. If you go to the website, you can see their results. It might also help to look at the roster to see how the background of the team lines up with yours. If everyone played in elite leagues or was an all state player, that can be an indication of the caliber of a typical player.
Last season, Tufts Field Hockey was #2 in the nation (in Div 3). They lost the national championship in a shootout when the game was tied after two overtime periods. There were two second team All-Americans on the team. So I am guessing it is pretty competitive. But - one of the captains of the national champion men’s soccer team was a walk-on - so it is really hard to judge.
http://www.gotuftsjumbos.com/sports/fh/2016-17/releases/20161120o3ltic
As a former walk-on to the men’s XC/T&F program I think the best way to know what the situation is is to reach out directly to the coaching staff. Different coaches and teams manage walk-ons differently at the same school and it may even change from year to year based on the make-up of the team and other factors.
I can put you in touch with someone who plays on the FH team if you would like. Some teams overrecruit, so you would want to be sure that this coach does not. If you want to get a sense of the level of play, you can livestream the games on the internet. Tufts has a top-notch team. Also, they play on astroturf (not field turf) so pace and style is speedy. As for practices — expect approx 2 weeks of challenging preseason, followed by at least 6 practices a week in season. Off season will be much lighter. Conditioning will be expected throughout the year.
@lndoBurma that would be great thank you! I was also wondering if Tufts has a club team if I don’t feel I can make the varsity team. I looked on their website but it wasn’t listed