UmpireHockey.org, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is pleased to announce the fourth of five winners of the 2007 Captain of the Year award. This year’s fourth winner is from Morris County, New Jersey.

2007 Morris County Captain of the Year Lauren Kusik (right) of Kean University receives her award from Morris County sponsor G-FORCE Field Hockey owner Leroy Mayers. Sharing the moment is Michelle Kusik, Lauren's sister and high school teammate. Michelle nominated her sister for the award. Her nomination was the first in the history of the award submitted by a teammate --- or a sister!

At the high school level, the Captain of the Year award is presented on a county-by-county basis. The program began in Mercer County, New Jersey in 2005 and expanded to include awards in five counties in 2007. In 2008, in addition to the New Jersey counties just listed below, the award will also be presented in Monmouth County, New Jersey, and San Diego County, California.

The Captain of the Year award program was created by umpires in 2005 to help foster collaborative relationships between players and umpires. In addition to Morris County, award winners for 2007 will be named in four other New Jersey counties -– Bergen, Hunterdon, Mercer, and Somerset.

The 2007 Morris County winner is Lauren Kusik, a graduate from Randolph High School, Randolph, NJ now playing for Kean University, Union, NJ.

Kusik was the first winner ever nominated by a teammate. That teammate was Kusik's sister Michelle.

After hearing that her sister was selected as the winner, Michelle said, "It was a pleasure to nominate my sister for the 2007 Captain of Year award. I am so proud of her and all her accomplishments! I am also so thankful she introduced me to the fast-paced, awesome sport of field hockey. Thank you all at UmpireHockey.org for agreeing with me that she deserved this award. I also want to thank G-Force for sponsoring the award."

The award in Morris County is sponsored by G-FORCE Field Hockey. Funding provides the award winner's recognition plaque, offsets the cost for advanced training of Morris County umpires, and supports rules education programs for players, coaches, and fans.

According to the UmpireHockey.org website, "The Captain of the Year award winner is typically a player who helps ensure the fairest possible outcome of a game because she has in-depth rules knowledge and so is able to be an advocate for her team when it becomes necessary to challenge an umpire's important call."

UmpireHockey.org's selection committee is made up of high performance umpires, all of whom have been trained by umpires who have officiated gold medal games at the Olympics. A blind review of the nominations is used in determining each county's winner.

All team captains in a sponsored county are automatically eligible for the award though individual nominations are required. Further, nominees do not have to be serving their team as captain but most display the qualities required by the position.

If an umpire submits a winning nomination, the umpire is rewared with a $100 so that they can have funds to participate in an advanced training program.

UmpireHockey.org is seeking a national sponsor to bring the award program to the college level. For more information concerning the Captain of the Year award program, please write: coty@umpirehockey.org

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