Manheim Township and Warwick. Warwick and Penn Manor. Penn Manor and Manheim Township.
The Lancaster-Lebanon League field hockey rivalries are self-explanatory. It’s a minefield anytime the aforementioned programs clash. It’s a flip of the coin; anyone can beat anyone at a moment’s notice.
But once the kits come off and the scoreboard goes dark, the feuds are an afterthought. Players from each school — and others across the L-L — gather for a postgame picture. Opponents turn back into friends.
It’s a tradition players like Township’s Julia Weaver, Penn Manor’s Kelby Dings and Warwick’s Kayla Gockley always carve out time for. The snapshot is taken by a parent, and one of the players forwards it to Jess Shellenberger.
Shellenberger is the Blue Streaks’ coach, but she’s also the reason the rivalries don’t leave the pitch. She started Next Level Field Hockey Club in 2021, a vision that’s since tied athletes like Weaver, Dings and Gockley together and engineered a homegrown field hockey atmosphere.
“I have a lot of pride coming from this area,” Shellenberger said, “and I like to think that we have the best field hockey in the country here. This league, for a long, long time, set the standard in the state and set the standard in the country. And the idea that it’s possible to bring that back and have some of the top players in the country right here in this county, that’s really cool.”
Starting small
Launching her own club always held space in Shellenberger’s mind. When her daughter, Emma, began playing competitively, the thought swelled to a larger scale.
Starting from ground zero was the concern. How do you start a club? How do you gauge interest? What would the commitment look like?
“Those were some of the questions I asked myself,” Shellenberger said. “At that time, my son was playing for PA Classics, and I had thought something about approaching them. … And then the more I kind of talked to the people around me, who, quite honestly, are some of the board members of the club, they were like, ‘Jess, do it yourself.’”
Shellenberger already had connections from 20-plus years of training in Lancaster County. She’s a 1999 graduate of Warwick and coached Donegal field hockey from 2004 to 2018. The Township gig arrived in 2022.
Shellenberger knew she wanted to start small and preserve that identity. Rather than expand Next Level’s footprint, she wanted to focus on developing the athletes who’d latched on from the beginning.
“We started as a really small team and most of the other clubs we compete against, they are way bigger than us and have been around for way longer,” Dings said. “But I think that we’ve made a really big name for ourselves. We built ourselves from the ground up, and that’s why we’re so close together.”
Next Level fields three age-group teams — U14, U16 and U19. There’s 49 kids total in the program and tryouts are held each spring.
“I’ve never had that kind of close, relationship build with any of the other club teams I’ve been on,” Gockley said. “And a lot of that comes from our coaching staff.”
While Next Level is small in numbers, the traveling is anything but.
The fall season includes 10 practices — all on Sundays — and teams have competed in the Shooting Star tournament in Richmond, Virginia. The winter slate are Tuesday and Thursday practice windows with an annual trip to Disney in January. The spring schedule is chock-full of tournament opportunities.
“It’s just a higher level than high school,” Shellenberger said. “Because high school, you might only practice with these kids for four years. But with some of these girls, we’re talking 12 years (of training). So to be a part of their field hockey journey, it’s just so special. And you’re so close with these families.”
Results
Twenty-three members of Next Level packed in tight on a Manheim Central stage last month. It was the L-L all-star banquet, and each athlete had been recognized with All-League or All-Academic status.
That was just the beginning for Next Level’s accolade haul. Thirteen members were then honored as All-State selections, and Weaver was tabbed as an NFHCA All-Region pick. Gockley and Warwick teammate Addie Martin vied for a PIAA Class 2A title while Dings and Penn Manor fell a controversial call short of a PIAA 3A final berth.
Ninety percent of Next Level’s talent are L-L products.
“(The coaches) hold us to such a high standard,” Weaver said, “which pushes me to be better every day. And the club draws all the best girls from where I live. So I’m playing with really talented players, which I think has pushed me a lot as a player to get better, because every day at practice is not easy.”
The coaching staff, too, had a memorable fall.
Goalkeeping coach Melissa Schimp guided Hempfield to its first District Three playoff win since 2015 and the program’s first semifinal in 13 years. Shellenberger, after back-to-back league crowns in 2023 and 2024, steered the Streaks to a fourth consecutive state tournament entry.
“All of our coaches always push us to work as hard as possible,” Gockley said, “even if I’m feeling like my skills aren’t great for a day. It’s never negative. It’s, ‘Hey, you aren’t doing this, and we just need more effort. It’s OK if you mess up the skills.’ And I think that’s an environment that has allowed me to grow a lot, because I’m not afraid of messing up.”
Field hockey is family
Opposing players traditionally shake the coaches’ hands during introductions. When Shellenberger and Township are playing Penn Manor, Warwick or another local program, the Next Level athletes give her a hug.
It’s a symbol of unity, an insignia that Next Level is family.
“Next Level is where I’ve actually grown the most as a player and also as a person,” Dings said. “The level of competition pushes me every day. The coaches and my teammates challenge me to be better and faster and more confident on the field, too. They’ve taught me how to win and lose while still supporting one another.”
Next Level families are with each other nine months of the year. They’ve vacationed together, hosted gatherings and team dinners.
The tight-knit vision hasn’t escaped.
“I think it’s really cool getting to create friendships with girls who are your opponents all fall,” Weaver said. “So it makes those rivalry games even more fun, because I’m playing against girls I’m really close with. And it’s kind of funny because, the rest of the year, we know each other’s tendencies.”
One tendency that has endured and will continue to — a picture after every game.
“This group, right here right now, they’re getting 110% from me,” Shellenberger said. “Everything that I can give them to help support them and get them to where they want to go. And they’re returning that feeling.”
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