Brooklands MU Hockey Club (Www. Brooklandshockey .Co.Uk)

Brooklands MU Hockey Club (Www. Brooklandshockey .Co.Uk)

Brooklands MU Hockey Club (www.brooklandshockey.co.uk)

Junior Hockey Section

Welcome to the Junior section of Brooklands MU Hockey Club. The Junior section provides the opportunity for boys and girls to have fun in learningto play the sport of Hockey.

The section is part of the larger Men’s and Ladies Hockey section and the wider Brooklands Sports Club with its fantastic facilities – the hockey takes place on the Astro pitch. The Sports Club offers a safe environment for children to play sport and all junior hockey sessions are run with qualified coaches, supported by volunteering parents.

Age Range and Development

From the age of 4 to 18, the junior section provides a pathway from the Sunday morning sessions for beginners with the emphasis on fun, through the more structured mid-week training sessions with competitive matches at weekend (Badgers & Beavers), opportunities for county hockey and on the senior sections when the time and opportunity is right.

The starting point for beginners and younger juniors is the Sunday session. Children, from as young as 4 years old, can come along and try the sport. The emphasis is on having fun, whilst learning to play the game. Coaching is provided by qualified England Hockey (EH) coaches, senior players and volunteering parents. The children are split in to several groups based on age. Once children are of the right age and ability, they will be invited to the Thursday evening session. The club provides Hockey sticks

Thursday coaching is for an hour.This is a fantastic training session to really develop the basic skills learnt on Sundays and gives the young juniors more confidence. It will normally be the first structured session for juniors,is run by qualified coaches (often also current senior players) and starts to develop juniors for competitive hockey.We are really keen to promote this session over the next season, so ask for more details on Sundays.

Tuesday coaching is for an hour and a half and focuses on developing the juniors for the weekly Badgers and Beavers fixtures. The juniors are split into groups, e.g. Badgers/Beavers, Defenders/Attackers and Goalkeepers. These disciplined and structured sessions are run by qualified coaches (often also current senior players).

Involving seniors players as coaches (our Men’s 1st team is in the EH Premier League and Ladies 1st team is in the EH National League North Conference) helps bridge the gap between the high performance teams in the club and the junior teams. Hopefully, it gives the juniors a taste of what they can aspire to. We encourage juniors to come and watch senior games when they can and there are always opportunities to be ball boys/girls.

County Hockey

At the right age and ability, we encourage juniors to accept invitations to county training. This offers the opportunity for juniors to follow the formal EH coaching system and potentially play at county or regional level. More information can be supplied if required.

Competitive Hockey

Each week (Saturday), three mixed junior teams compete in friendly fixtures against other junior teams in the region – a Badgers (U16’s) and two Beavers (U14’s). Fixtures will be shown on the website and fixtureslive.

Throughout the season, there are also competitions and tournaments which give more juniors the chance to experience competitive hockey. These can be local and national.

Coaching Sessions

Sunday’s: 09:30 – 11:00 –Under 14’s (ages 6 – 13)

Sunday’s: 10:00 – 11:00 – Beginners and Under 6’s

Tuesday’s: 17:30 – 19:00–Badgers and Beavers Training

Thursday’s: 17:00 – 18:00 – Beavers & Under 10’s

2015 – 16 Calendar (September 15 – April 16)

Membership / Open Day – Sunday 13th September – Between 09:45 and 12:00

(Note - Parents to check and confirm if they are currently rolling Direct Debit members or if they need to join on-line which can be done at the Open Day. Parental Consent forms will be available to sign on the day)

Sunday coaching starts – Sunday 6th September

Tuesday training starts – Tuesday 1st September

Thursday training starts – Thursday 3rd September

Beavers and Badgers fixtures begin on Saturday 12th September.

Watch out for other dates and events on the Brooklands Hockey website.

Membership and Fees

As soon as children have gained an appetite for hockey and certainly by the time they train and play with the junior teams, they must become a junior member of Brooklands Sports Club which is achieved by completing the on-line membership form (

In order to manage our costs (largely for coaches, competitions and equipment), a charge is made for the training sessions and a match fee is collected when juniors play in competitive matches.

Sunday training - £5 non-member and £3 member

Tuesday training - £4

Thursday training - £3

Match Fees - £4

Holiday Camps:

Hockey camps during school holidays are often arranged so keep an eye on the website.

Structure and key contacts

The junior section is coordinated by a number of volunteering parents (and we always welcome more as the section grows, particularly those with previous or current hockey experience). Several of these parents are EH qualified coaches and the Hockey Club’s Performance and Development Director ensures the appropriate level and quality of coaching is provided.

Junior & Badgers Coordinator: R Latham ( )

Beavers Coach: Ralph Yates ( )

Beavers Coordinator: Peter Terry ( )

Performance & Development Director: John Dixon ( )

Treasurer and Membership Secretary: Kath Jordan ( )

Coordinator for Girls and interface for senior Ladies: Cat Savage ( )

Kit

Brooklands hockey kit can be ordered from the designated supplier. Please see details on the website.

When ordering any kit, please request that it is delivered to your home address and any queries over orders placed should be directed to the supplier (Silverfx).

Summary

The junior section has grown significantly over the last few years and gained success along the way. Many juniors have progressed in to seniors and then going on to play for University teams. It is a great sport to meet new friends and have fun, so come down to Brooklands and give a hockey a try – we look forward to welcoming you to our club.

Finally, Hockey is a Winters sport and so please ensure your child is suitably dressed with the emphasis on keeping warm. Always have a drink for training and any matches. Children should always have their own gum shield and shin pads, which should be worn whenever playing hockey.

Ladies’ Section Player Pathway