It is the reporting season at school so it seems appropriate to write a report card for the hockey club. This newsletter is ordered once again on the Club post holders first followed by other news items last. I have once again tried to include something for everyone and updated various items.
Secretary
Rachel will be pleased as her son David has now represented England at full international level. Congratulations.
Treasurer
Adam remains busy collating membership information and updating signatories on the club accounts. Hopefully this will be completed soon because there are a number of ways in which we can improve our use of the new site (such as another bunker and indoor boards). The 200 club launch will take place next year. Ro and Sharon have both been of considerable help in collecting membership forms and building the database.
Website
Binder has taken over responsibilities. Dave Turner continues to maintain a distant view. Web address: http://leicesterhockeyclub.co.uk/
Associations
Luds continues to keep us aware of local hockey association business. The County are interested in finding a men’s team manager.
Captains
1s Matt Edkins, Manager Chris Palmer
2s Rich Thurlow, Manager Juni Matharu
3s Ben Wheatstone 4s Mark Dunwell 5s Neil Murray
ClubsFirst
Matt E is the point of contact for CRB applications.
Fixtures
Ed is on the case as always.
Social Events
We will run a social event next term. I will be in touch through team captains. Suggestions for events and volunteers always welcome. The team captains together with Sati and Mash have delivered a good term of ‘housekeeping’ in the new clubhouse. Well done. One of my holiday jobs will be to produce a rota for the rest of the season of matchday clubhouse responsibilities.
Another well done to the team captains for successfully arranging 5 teams, umpires, equipment, etc during the first half of the season. The 1s have even embarked on a cup run. The juniors continue to grow and I receive regular membership enquiries as a result of your efforts. Training resumes Jan 5 with a beep test for 1s and 2s. Tim has taken on the role of Coach for the 1s and 2s.
News
Junior Activities
Primary: The last Sunday this term is Dec 13. The coaches will meet Sunday Jan 10 to plan next term in detail and the juniors will return Jan 17. We continue to require parents to attend with their children. We also require a high standard of commitment from children to help us create a safe environment in which everyone improves. The success we enjoy in tournaments with u8, u10 and u12 7-a-side squads is a direct consequence of the regular input from the age-group coaches.
Secondary: The regular Sunday morning training followed by a match is definitely paying off. The u14s won their local regional league and are now in the regional finals in April. The improvement in some of the older secondary boys is marked.
u16 and u18 indoor squads: The Thursday indoor training is another success. We are the Leicestershire indoor winners of both categories by default. The regional competition will be a challenge but also an excellent learning experience. I am considering setting up an indoor league next term. Interested?
Roadshows: Mash and JP have already delivered a term each at separate venues of junior provision. Next term I hope to add clubs run by JP, Mike and Olly to our outreach plan.
Umpires and Coaches
The umpiring situation remains difficult. We really need each squad to grow 2 level 1 umpires. I remain happy to fund umpiring and coaching courses in return for help with the club coaching and umpiring provision.
VPs
Steve Timpson has compiled a list of VPs and I would like an appropriate volunteer to follow up his efforts.
Vets
Note that our next cup match is in February.
Kit
Thanks to Dave, Binder and Sharon for the initiative to arrange for a standard waterproof for the entire club.
Video analysis
I would like to submit a joint bid with the School and Leicester Ladies for some of the England Hockey Capital Investment towards a video analysis for sports capability onsite.
