It is called the Nike Sparq Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test. That’s a mouthful. And it’s a real grind.
It involves running. A lot of running. Think 40-meter dash after 40-meter dash after 40-meter dash. One on top of the other, the next at a quicker sprint than the last. With a scant 10 seconds of recovery time in between.
The test measures an athlete’s ability to repeatedly perform intervals of high-intensity running bursts with short recovery periods.
Penn State’s field hockey coaches expect their players to complete the grueling drill before reporting to campus and setting sail on preseason workouts every summer.
Recent Manheim Township grad Brooke Weaver was baking in the summer heat one day earlier this month.
The multi-sport athlete had just gone through the rigors of a grueling off-season field hockey workout — on a simmering turf surface, no less — helping out a group of kids who will become the next great wave of local field hockey standouts.
“It was like 100 degrees outside,” Weaver said. “It was so hot.”
Weaver immediately shifted from practice mode into Nike Sparq Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test mode, mustering up the energy on a blazing hot day to do all of those 40-meter dashes.
“That’s Brooke,” Township field hockey coach Jess Shellenberger said. “Not surprising. Kudos to her and to her work ethic. There’s a kid who gets it. And she’s got it.
“It’s awesome to be around a kid like that. Refreshing. Brooke is one of those blue-collar, blue-chip kids, and we’ve been incredibly fortunate to have her.”
Weaver shined in field hockey and basketball for Township in her sensational senior year. For her efforts, Weaver is one of five girls tabbed as a finalist for the Lancaster-Lebanon League 2024-25 LNP | LancasterOnline Athlete of the Year award.
Manheim Township's Brooke Weaver at Manheim Township High School in Neffsville on Tuesday June 3, 2025.
CHRIS KNIGHT | Staff Photographer Nittany Nation calling
It’s been a tremendous couple of years for Township’s field hockey team.
Shellenberger, the former Warwick standout player and Donegal coach who is set for her fourth season calling the shots in Neffsville, lit a fire under the program.
In the last three seasons, Township has won a pair of L-L League titles, a District 3 Class 3A banner, and went to the PIAA finale in 2023, a gut-punch 1-0 setback against estimable Emmaus.
“Brooke was right there as one of the best players in all of those big games,” Shellenberger said. “We’ve benefited as a program from her work ethic. And from her being tough on the ball and off the ball. I’m not surprised in any way, shape or form that she’s going on to play in Division I.”
For Penn State, a proud program in the Big Ten that is coached by Penn Manor grad Lisa Bervinchak Love. Weaver is already listed on the Nittany Lions’ official roster — she’ll wear No. 21 — and she’s set to report today to hatch her college career.
Weaver capped her prep field hockey career with an unforgettable senior season. Handling the all-important center-midfield duties with aplomb for the Streaks, she potted a team-best 24 goals and dished off a team-high 11 assists while earning all-league and Section 1 all-star honors. And Weaver picked up a coveted NFHCA All-American nod.
With Weaver doing damage, Township won 22 games, beat Warwick 1-0 for league gold, reached the District 3 Class 3A title game for the second year in a row — falling to Mid-Penn powerhouse Lower Dauphin 1-0 in OT — and went to the PIAA quarterfinals, where the Streaks bowed out 2-0 against venerable Villa Maria Academy, a field hockey factory.
“Dream school,” Weaver said. “Penn State was always at the top of my list. I used to go to camp there, so this is very surreal but very cool. I knew I wanted to play field hockey in college, but I never thought I’d go to a big school like Penn State. It’s really happening.”