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"So Sports Foundation" aims to provide equal access in field hockey

In a sport somewhat defined by is exclusivity, a local teacher is breaking through the gates.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Meghan Stocks remembers what is was like to stand out during field hockey practice. 

"I was the first black woman on the team," said Stocks about her time as a University of Richmond field hockey player. 

Now a teacher in the Chesapeake area, she sees the same lack of diversity in these spaces. She recently umpired a college conference tournament "and I was the only woman of color on that field," she said.

This is one of the reasons she founded the SO Foundation, aimed at increasing the accessibility and affordability of the sport that gave her so much. 

Field hockey has long shut some out by default, due in large part to the cost of equipment such as sticks and protective gear. The So Sports Foundation aims to redistribute donated equipment to those who otherwise may not have access to it. 

Players who aim for higher levels of the sport oftentimes need camps and special instruction to keep up with their peers in a competitive recruiting environment. The foundation provides scholarships for those in need. 

Those who want to learn more or donate can visit sofieldhockey.org.

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