It has been lovely to to see so many of you taking advantage of the opportunity to play some hockey and hone your skills ready for the season. Please take the time to thank Liz Moss and her team of coaches and duty managers for making this possible. In adversity, I think we may have found a model which has created some very positive outcomes. Small group coaching may prove to be something we choose to develop alongside other more familiar out of season playing opportunities. The review of 2020 will be very interesting.
Pre season training has been taking place since the start of July for the players likely to feature in the ladies 1’s and 2’s. Selection for this training opportunity was made in consultation with last season’s ladies 3’s captain, the Chair of Selectors and coaches from last season and this season. Covid restrictions have limited numbers and determined the type of activity that can be done. Those invited have trained regularly and with great enthusiasm and energy, it has been a very productive and beneficial start to our pre season campaign.
As you may have seen from the England Hockey website, as a sport we are now moving to Stage 4. As of August 7th we are able to play hockey in larger numbers and to introduce tackling, We can play intra club small sided and full sided games and can play friendly fixtures against other clubs. We are currently planning our return to a more recognisable form of hockey and to starting the pre season campaign for ladies likely to feature in our ladies 3’s 4’s and 5’s. Up to date details of this will appear via SPOND and on the website so do please look out for this information.
In order to take part in any form of hockey we are now required to complete an England Hockey Participation Agreement. This is an individual consent form for participating under Covid-19 restrictions. This is a document we all complete online, the link is given here
Please complete this now so that you are able to take part in pre season sessions.
As always, we are keen to attract new members to come along and play with us. Do you have a friend who is considering returning to hockey, looking to keep fit after the lock down or is considering moving clubs. Please do your bit in encouraging such participation, often all it takes is a personal invitation and some genuine encouragement. I think we have all realised the importance of social interaction and physical activity in our enforced socially distant existence especially at the start of this situation when restrictions were tight. We all know how empowering it is to be part of a friendly team. Do have a think and see who you can introduce to the Club.
The season is due to start on Saturday September 26th, there is no certainty that this will be possible but this is the date we are working towards. Our pre season training is scheduled to start on Wednesday, September 2nd from 7pm – 8.30 pm. We are however considering having one or two opportunities to train prior to this, more information to follow.
We will be putting some fitness challenges on SPOND so that you can get yourself ready for September. Please ensure that you have registered on SPOND for this season.
Club Day will be held on Saturday September 5th, please leave this date free. We will be arranging some informal, small sided games that will be fully inclusive for players in the ladies 3’s. 4’s and 5’s. Times and details to follow. It is likely that the ladies 1’s and 2’s will have friendly fixtures against other clubs on this day.
I am very much looking forward to welcoming you all back to the Club to start our season, this year more than ever it will be lovely to rekindle old friendships and build new ones.
Best wishes
Annette