Atherstone Adders Hockey Club
VISION
Atherstone Adders Hockey Club: our vision:
· To be one of the leading clubs in Warwickshire admired by the hockey community for our ongoing improvement in playing standards and youth development born out of the fun, enjoyment and welcome that is at the heart of our club.
· Within three years the Club will aim to have the Men’s 3rdt X1 firmly established and competing within the MRHA league. We will aim to be promoted from Division 2 and to establish a Men’s 4th X1.
· The Ladies section has expanded to two Senior teams
· Our junior teams will be competing against other local clubs at a range of ages.
· We will have established Vixens and 2 Badgers teams regularly competing against other local clubs.
· Our youth development programme will be seen as a model within local area, and will provide opportunities to all to further their hockey skills.
· We will aim to involve parents and carers, club members and coaches in all aspects of the Clubs development
· Our Coaching programme will be self-sufficient within three years with qualified coaches within all age groups. We will aim to develop at least one coach to level 3 to coach both the Ladies and Men’s first team squads and to support all other teams in achieving their goals.
· We will aim to continue our scholarship scheme for students in the area
Club Ethos
Our ethos is to combine a high standard of on-pitch hockey performance, with the development of junior players as part of a social and family friendly atmosphere. We are community club that aims to use hockey as a way of including children or adults from all areas of the community.
As a Club, we aim to:
· Develop male and female, senior and junior players
· Encourage new and experienced players to our Club
· Establish a community club that aims to bring hockey to a group of people who will not have previously had easy access to the sport
· Encourage new players to the sport
· Recruit ‘back to sport’ adults
In return we expect our members to:
• Learn and play by the rules of the game
• Be a good sport - win with modesty, lose with dignity
• Respect their team-mates, umpires and the opposition
• Recognise and applaud good play
• Pay all subscriptions and fees due to the club on time
• Wear the Adders colours with pride!
Current position – January 2015
Players
The Club currently has a membership of 219. This comprises 137 males and 87 females and includes players, social members, parents, helpers and members who simply receive our regular newsletter. This membership currently serves 3 Men's League teams and 2 Ladies League teams, 2 Badgers sides that accommodate the growing number of juniors in the age group 11-16, plus a range of junior sides. This will ultimately lead to more Ladies and Mens teams in future.
Facilities
For a number of years the Club has been ‘nomadic’, playing its matches on any pitch that was within reasonable distance of Atherstone. The lack of a ‘home’ for the Club very nearly led to its demise in 2009-10 season when player levels were at an all time low both in terms of quantity and quality. All teams now play their home matches at QE Sports College in Atherstone. This is also the venue for all of our midweek coaching sessions. The building of this facility has seen a massive change round in the numbers of players now available for selection and the subsequent success of both the Mens and Ladies League teams.
After match facilities are shared with the local Cricket, Rugby and Junior football clubs at Atherstone Sports Club, which is a venue on the edge of town. This venue is currently being redeveloped as a local sports ‘hub’.
Finances
Over the last few seasons the Club has seen a much more strategic approach to its financial undertakings rather than the ‘hand to mouth’ approach of the past. Increased numbers of members has seen a dramatic increase in the annual turnover of the Club. The Club aims to provide value for money to its members. To achieve this, playing and membership costs are kept to minimum, while fundraising through sponsorship and grants is a key financial function. Over the next three seasons the aim is to create a sustainable financial position that relies on fundraising, but provides a realistic income stream from its members.
Volunteers
There has been a growth in volunteer help to support the coaching and development of junior players. Most of the volunteer help is from parents of Junior players or from former and existing Club players.
Club Membership (2015/16)
The Club currently has 219 registered members, of which, around 2/3rds are playing members. The Club has a thriving Junior section and a growing number of older players. Ages of players ranges from 6-60 years of age. Around half of the members live outside of Atherstone, but this is an historical outcome from the nomadic nature of the Club. The younger members tend live in or around Atherstone and have joined the Club from local schools.
The current cost of membership (January 2016) ranges from £5.00 to £65 dependent on the type of membership. This is good value for the North Warwickshire area and our membership fees compare favourably with other local Hockey Clubs.
We are sandwiched between the two large towns of Nuneaton and Tamworth. This means that they can potentially attract more members.
However, we are finding an increasing number of juniors joining our Club as our excellent reputation spreads. We have also developed links with Birmingham City University and attracted several of their students.
Our Offer to Members
· Weekly matches for all ages and abilities
· Weekly training sessions for all ages and abilities. Several sessions geared to specific teams.
· Regular social activities
· Opportunities to get involved with any of the Management Committees
· Volunteer opportunities for Coaches, Managers and Helpers
· Regular communication with our members via
o newsletters
o website
o social media – Twitter, Facebook
· A robust child protection policy that is overseen by a named member of the Committee
· An inclusive and affordable membership fee
· A scholarship scheme for students
2
/ Development Plan 2014-2017Atherstone Adders Hockey Club
Please see page 24 for a summary of glossary and terms.
1.0 Developing the Playing Programme
NO / HEADING / OBJECTIVES / WHEN / WHO / HOW / MARKETING PLAN / ACHIEVEMENT INDICATORS / REVIEW DATE1. / Junior Hockey / 1.1 Encourage Juniors and other youngsters into our Club / Ongoing after appointment of first Committee following AGM / Junior Hockey Committee as a sub committee to the Main Committee. / * Develop hockey within local primary schools
* Support the hockey development programme within the local secondary school
* Enter teams in the local league and put out a team out each week/month. (This should be self funding, with a mixture of training fees and match fees) / Via local media with match reports, Addershockey.com, social media and person to person / * Sustained growth year on year
* development of teams and increased visibility to residents of North Warks.
* Junior Committee will set annual target at AGM / To be reviewed termly and report back to Committee meetings and AGM on Progress and future plans for development.
2. / 1.2. Develop the Junior Coaching Programme / 2014/15 Season / Junior Committee and Coaching Team / * Develop and maintain an annual coaching programme. This programme should be in a 4-6 week programme with structured assessment, providing a consistent and measurable outcome. / Document and published program to facilitate easy adoption by any and all junior coaches / Published coaching programme and putting up players for Single System Selection / Annual review at AGM
3. / 1.3. Review and establish a selection policy, to include player assessment in line with Coaching Programme and England Hockey Guidelines. / 2014/15 Season / Junior Committee and Coaching Team / Meetings & working party / Policy promoted via section on website. / Policy promoted via website
Assessment criteria published on website / Pre-season and end of season reviews
4. / 1.4. Develop the Badgers team / Ongoing / Sally & Eddie P / Enter a team into the local league and put out a team each week. This should be self funding with a mixture of training and match fees. / Via local media with match reports. Addershockey.com, social media and word of mouth. Promoting the team at practice to all eligible players. / Junior players staying with the Club and progressing to the senior teams. / To be regularly reviewed at Committee and Captain’s meetings.
5. / 1.5. Develop the Vixens team / Ongoing / Jill & Sally / Enter a team into the local league and put out a team each week.
This should be self funding with a mixture of training and match fees. / · Via local media with match reports.
· Addershockey.com, social media and word of mouth.
· Promoting the team at practice to all eligible players. / Junior players staying with the Club and progressing to the senior teams. / To be regularly reviewed at Committee and Captain’s meetings.
6. / Adult Hockey / 1.6. Men – Ensure smooth transition from Badgers to Fathoms to Men’s teams / Ongoing / Club Captain, team captains / Publish selection criteria.
Regular captains meetings / Survey players / 6 month timescale. Reviewed monthly
7. / 1.7. Ladies recruit numbers / Ongoing / Ladies Captains / The plan next time would be to advertise through another/other media and in a more advanced time scale; scholarship. / Ladies develop a second team who play friendlies and then once established, play League hockey / Initial review during Summer 2014.
Second review preseason 14-15
8. / 1.8. Develop a second team? / Ongoing / Ladies Captains / Ensure smooth transition from Vixens to Seconds / Word of mouth, Local press, Scholarship scheme. / Second team becomes established in League by 2015 / Reviewed at Captains meetings, and at the end of the season.
9. / Training / 1.9. Review and revise current training situation to meet the needs of the growing player membership / August 2015 / Playing representatives on Committee / Set up review group and consider a range of alternatives and costings. / Word of mouth, Adders website, social media / Success in numbers and team/club performance. / Reviewed each month on cost and interest.
10. / Social Hockey / 1.10. Explore options for a variety of social hockey teams such as Mixed, Touring sides, Summer or Vets / Ongoing / Club Captains / Meet and discuss options following consultation with players. / Survey players, word of mouth discussions. / Full range of options discussed and Committee agreement on social hockey activities / Annually
2.0 Developing People/Volunteers
No / HEADING / OBJECTIVES / WHEN / WHO / HOW / MARKETING PLAN / ACHIEVEMENT INDICATORS / REVIEW DATE11. / Knowing our community / 2.1. Develop a working knowledge of our potential ‘catchment’ area. / September 2015 / Club Chairman / *Find out about our local community
* population
* ethnic and social economic makeup
* transport links to our venue like
* number of schools in the area
* other hockey or other sports clubs are in the area / Advertising and sponsorship / We will have a comprehensive ‘picture’ of our local stakeholders. / Summer 2015
12. / Players / 2.2. Ensure that we have a fair and transparent pathway for selection. / Ongoing / Coach & Captains / * Develop and publish selection policies for Juniors and Seniors
* Nominate players to the Single System
* Captain selection meetings / * Publish policy on the Club website.
* Inform players via regular communications / All players that want to play are playing
All players feel that they are playing at the right level
Player survey / Policy and processes are reviewed annually
13. / Coaches / 2.3. Develop a sustainable Coaching infrastructure / Ongoing / Current coaching team led by head coach / * Ascertain how many coaches we need
*Decide on how many we want to qualify each year at level ½/3
* Set up a mentoring system to move coaches up through the levels
* Encourage our coaches to get involved with Single System set up
* Seek out development workshops and support attendance of our coaches
* Provide opportunities for young leaders at training sessions / Advertise through Club Newsletter, word of mouth, social media / One level 2 coach, 5 level 1 coaches, 5 junior helpers / Termly
14. / Umpires / 2.4. Develop a sustainable Umpiring infrastructure / Ongoing / Umpires secretary? Or ‘new’ role – Umpires Coach / * Support qualification for 5 level 1 umpires each year
* Encourage young umpires to umpire in Junior matches / Advertise through Club Newsletter, word of mouth, social media / Coaches exist and support all teams’ needs on an ongoing basis / Annual Review
15. / Admin / 2.5. Encourage more Administrators into Committee positions / Ongoing / Club Chairman, Committee / * Encourage volunteer administrators to work alongside current members. / Advertise through Club Newsletter, word of mouth, social media / Recruit administrators as needed / Annual Review
16. / Volunteer Coordination / 2.6. Develop a Volunteer Coordinators Role / September 2014 / Club Chairman, Committee / * When a job comes up ensure that we find someone skilled enough to do it
* reward our volunteers
* provide cpd through local and national awards
* Develop links to the local volunteer officer at the Local Authority or County Sport Partnership
* Develop job descriptions for all our positions in the club
* Develop a knowledge bank of all the skills within the club so that we know who to approach if the club needs a specific skill
* Look into running leadership awards for our juniors and parents as an introduction to volunteering (coaching, umpiring and or admin/management) / Advertise through Club Newsletter, word of mouth, social media / Recruit Volunteers as needed / Annual Review
17. / General members / 2.7. Ensure that general members (non-playing) are made to feel ‘part of the club’ / Ongoing / Club Chairman, Committee / * Ensure members are made to feel more part of the club
* Ensure that all members are part of the knowledge bank
* Undertake a skills audit within the general membership
* Research our participation figures to see if they are representative of our local population
* Increase the amount of members from under-represented groups such low income, BEM, disability
* Explore grant and funding options from local pots to see if there’s help for us to do this / Advertise through Club Newsletter, word of mouth, social media / Positive feedback from survey / Annual Review
3.0 Policy Development