About Us

Polar Bears Field Hockey began as Total Field Hockey almost 20 years ago. We have evolved in providing the latest training methodology to provide accelerated learning for young athletes. Andrew Schouten and Shiaz Virjee have a passion for field hockey and love to see the athlete develop their skills, tactical awareness and love of the game.

Our goal is to improve our athletes’ overall skills at all levels. We provide top level coaching year-round to players of all ages and abilities. Our program is directed by Shiaz Virjee, former Men’s National Team Coach and FIH Trainer-Educator/World Team Coach – Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Pan Am Games gold medalist and World Cup Top-8. We also have a team of highly qualified coaches to work with all our athletes and we maintain a good coach to player ratio to provide effective coaching to every athlete. All our coaches are current or former National Team athletes and former USports or NCAA Div-1 standouts.

Our top-level coaching staff is passionate about field hockey and our goal is to assist the athlete to reach their full potential as well as develop a well-rounded young person with sense of self and community.

Our athlete pathway is free of rigid boundaries as we work with the athlete to chart their course for development to provincial, national, and Canadian or US Universities. We assist the athlete to navigate the recruitment processes – together we have assisted over 150 athletes for recruitment to USports (CIS) and NCAA placements. In this time we have been the leader in the field hockey community in providing post-secondary opportunities for female athletes.

We have year round programs – indoor in the winter and outdoor for all seasons together with select tours to showcase our athletes for post-secondary recruitment, fun tours to Cal Cup and competitive tours to Europe and Oceania (Australia/NZ).

20 + years of High Performance and Youth Development Coaching
150+ athletes recruited to US (NCAA) and Canadian (USports) Universities
50+ athletes selected to Provincial and Canadian Teams

Mission Statement

To enable Polar Bears athletes to develop their skills to achieve their aspirations and enjoy the sport of field hockey.

Vision Statement:

There is no quick path to success. Great hockey players are made, not born. We believe in the Long Term Athlete Development model and learning skills progressively from experienced coaches and through a highly successful curriculum. If you put the focused time in, you will position yourself to best achieve success. The experts say it takes 10 years or 10,000 hours to achieve mastery on the field.

Our success in developing athletes to excel at all levels (club, regional provincial, university and national) is built on the premise of expert coaching, focused & diligent training on the field. We create a positive learning environment where athletes have fun and take personal responsibility while acquiring and refining technical, tactical, mental and physical skills that enable them excel in field hockey.

Making quality players

Recent Testimonials

Choosing to move our daughter from the local program to Polar Bears Field Hockey was the best decision we made in regards to her development as a player. Competition level and the speed of the game at this level pushed players to grow. Dedicated and knowledgeable coaching from Shiaz and Arif allowed our daughter to develop her skills which has now led her to achieve her goal of attending an NCAA Div 1 school in the fall of 2022. Shiaz’s experience in dealing with post-secondary schools was pivotal in the decision making process. A big thanks to Shiaz, Arif and the Polar Bears Program!

Colleen & Taka – Parents of Taylor Katsube, NCAA Div. 1 committed - Class of 2022

Shiaz and Arif absolutely live for field hockey! Their passion for the game is endless and a lifetime of experience is truly evident on and off the field. Their love for the game creates a dynamic atmosphere and the players are always fully engaged.
Shiaz’s insight with the post-secondary recruitment process over the last few years has been instrumental in guiding us through the process of our daughter’s field hockey career. He was with us step by step and it made things so much easier for us. We are so happy to be part of the Polar Bears Family.

Kim & Sinder Gill – Parents of Avani Gill #16, University of Maine 2021

Shiaz, Andrew & the Polar Bears program have been a fantastic part of our daughter’s field hockey development. They have been supportive and encouraging throughout, from starting as a Cub to giving her the opportunity to play Premier Division field hockey, preparing her for varsity field hockey. Shiaz was incredibly helpful with guidance about the different university programs, and seems to know every coach out there! We’ll always be grateful for the advice & help with university programs. Thank you Shiaz, Andrew, Arif & Polar Bears!

Jennifer Baird & Leith Dewar , Parents of Jocelyn Dewar- St. Andrews University class of 2023

We are very grateful to Polar Bears Field Hockey for the amazing program it has offered Georgia! It paved the way for her journey from Grade 7 to being recruited to play NCAA Div. 1 Field Hockey. The coaches are committed and professional, and they care deeply for all of their athletes. The training sessions, US tournaments and the opportunities to play within higher divisions at a young age were instrumental in Georgia’s development and confidence. A special thanks to Shiaz and Arif for their guidance and invaluable assistance during the recruitment phase which was daunting, to say the least. We strongly recommend the Polar Bears program for any young aspiring field hockey players to learn the game, to love the sport and to enjoy the competition!

Gillian and Gavin Reynolds – Parents of Georgia Reynolds , Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA

Choosing the Polar Bears program was a pivotal moment for our family. Shiaz and Arif embraced Saylor and were crucial in her development as an athlete and as a young woman (which is too often taken for granted).
The commitment on and off the field by the coaches, and senior Polar Bears players, was instrumental in developing the skills and mindset to achieve her goal of playing NCAA Div. 1 school. Having just returned from watching my daughter play for University of Maine Black Bears in her rookie season, I could not be more proud of my daughter and thankful to Shiaz, Arif and the entire club for truly enabling her to achieve this goal. The experience of playing for the Polar Bears in the Premier Division was priceless for Saylor to experience the game at speed and made transition smooth to Div. 1
Finally, I would personally like to thank Shiaz for his support of Saylor, and her parents , throughout the university recruitment process. We could not have done it without you.
I strongly encourage anyone looking at the Polar Bears program to join the club even if the drive is long (we were from Port Moody) as it was completely worth it!

Nick Kuefler , Saylor's dad - 2023 U18 Polar Bears