Winchester Hockey Club Oracle Edition 11

Wishing you a wonderful festive break and prosperous new year!

I suppose this is half way through the season, as we prepare to take our Christmas break, but it doesn’t really feel like it given the enforced four week lockdown we took in November. Since that lockdown ended, the junior section has bounced back with a vengeance; some age groups have been luckier than others, avoiding DC clashes and with fixtures against clubs as willing as us to get games played. You only have to see the boys and girls at the end of matches, win or lose, to realise how important it is to make every effort to keep things going.

This weekend we managed to host Aldershot & Farnham under 12 boys and girls teams, our under 14 girls B-team actually played a league game (!) and both under 14 teams played in a fantastic 5-aside tournament organised by King Edward VI school.

Let’s hope the powers that be allow us to continue playing in the new year. All teams have pretty much back-to-back matches as we try to catch up with missed EH Cup, Home Counties and Hampshire League fixtures, as well as many friendly matches that have been arranged with local clubs. We have high hopes in many of the competitions and players have their own ambitions in the player pathway.

Winchester Hockey Club junior section will continue to strive to deliver top quality hockey for all. We will be starting to formulate plans for a new junior academy, and will let you know more about that over the next few weeks.

At this time, I would like to recognise the incredible contribution made by all the coaches, managers, and people involved in all of the administration that is needed to make hockey happen for the children. It may be a challenge on a cold winter night, but your dedication is very much appreciated.

I hope you all have a good Christmas. Looking forward to the second half already!

Weekend Results

Saturday 12th December

U14 Boys v KES, Trojans and Fareham - 5-a-side tournament

Team Summit U14 Girls v KES, Trojans and Fareham - 5-a-side tournament

Sunday 13th December

U12 Girls A team 3 - 2 Aldershot & Farnham

U12 Girls B team 1 - 5 Aldershot & Farnham

U12 Boys A team 11 - 0 Aldershot & Farnham

Team Summit U14 Girls B team 0 - 3 Havant

England Hockey reissue their Return To Play guidelines

Following the government announcement with a number of areas moving into Tier 3, England Hockey has reissued its existing Return To Play guidance (published on 2 December). You can find the full announcement on the EH website here.

For a quick reminder on what is allowed in each of the different Local Restriction Tier areas please click on the updated infographic.

Should you have any questions, please contact us.

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Kings School request - please wear a face mask on site

We’ve received a request from Kings asking all club members to wear a face covering when on site (inside and out), except when playing or for medical reasons. To avoid complaints from other facility users, please help us follow the school’s request.

Many thanks for your co-operation!

Under 12 Girls

A Team v Aldershot & F’ham - Score - 3-2

(Scorers - Bradley 2, Russell)

With a few of the regular starters at DC Hockey this week it was an opportunity to give some of the younger squad players a game.

Was decided to play 4 quarters of 15 mins. 1st quarter saw Winchester in the opposition half for 90% of the time but that final pass eluded them. 2nd quarter start in a similar fashion and quickly Winchester took the lead through Poppy Russell. However, Aldershot and Farnham equalised on the break to make 1-1 at half time.

3rd quarter the Winchester midfield began to tire and Aldershot and Farnham start to get a foothold on the game. Freya Balme was unlucky to concede a short corner which Aldershot and Farnham subsequently scored.

4th quarter some brave coaching decisions paid off and Winchester again started to dominate the match, A well worked move down the left and Francesca Bradley equalised. This was soon followed by the move of the match, Poppy sliding Francesca into the D to put Winchester 3 - 2 up.

A nervous final 5 minutes and some last ditch defending and good saves from Immy Bell gave Winchester a well deserved win.

B Team v Aldershot & F’ham - Score - 1-5

Under 12 Boys

A team v Aldershot & F’ham - Score 11 - 0

(Scorers: Lander 6, Kendall 2, Nolan, Jellard, Van Der Walt)

The under 12 boys signed off the first half of the season in style, with a dominant display of attacking hockey, providing much needed cheer for the home supporters on a cold dank December afternoon.

From the first whistle, Winchester penned their opposition deep in their own half. With Rory’s pace and Felix’s predatory instincts picking off loose passes, any attempts by A&F to pass their way out of defence were always going to be dangerous. Eagle-eyed umpire, Luke Nolan, was missing nothing, awarding a series of penalties which were expertly dispatched by the slick Winchester short corner machine.

Despite long periods of inactivity, the Winchester defence kept their concentration and, well martialled by Henry and Silas, were able to intercept any attempts by A&F to find their forwards. With Bertie dominating the midfield, Winchester were able to transition to attack quickly, moving the ball nicely and creating multiple scoring opportunities.

As A&F tired, the ruthless under 12s took advantage. Bertie scored a few, Silas moved up from the back to bag a couple, Felix and Handre opened their account for the season and Tom’s tireless running was rewarded with a well taken goal.

Coach Boyes was delighted with the development in game management as well as core skills from all the boys. “That is the best I’ve seen them move the ball from player to player and in to space”, he told our reporter. “They are really starting to appreciate the benefit of working as a team”.

The boys have a succession of matches in the new year to continue their development and test themselves against other local Hampshire teams.

Team Summit Under 14 Girls

A team - kes 5-a-side Tournament

On Saturday the U14 girls went to play at the King Edward VI School hockey 5’s festival. We split into two teams to play against teams from Trojans, King Edwards and Fareham. It was 5-aside hockey with barriers round the edge of the pitch so the games were fast and non-stop. We played 6 games in a row.

We won some, lost some and drew some but we were most pleased to beat Trojans! The best match was the two Winchester teams playing each other. It was really even and exciting, and ended in a draw so the best result! Thank you to the boy who stayed on to be our goalie! Looking forward to more hockey after Christmas.

Report written by Cara

B team v havant - Score 0 - 3

Winchester hosted Havant in the pouring rain on Sunday afternoon.

In the first half, our attacking players managed to push through into the opposition’s defensive quarter but, unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in scoring a goal as the ball was intercepted or tackled. However, Havant did manage to break through our defence and score a couple of goals.

In the second half, our defence was a lot stronger but we were unable to capitalise on our first half attacking play and didn’t manage to move up the pitch as we had done earlier. Most of our play took place in the midfield.

Our player of the match was Tilly Shewry for being our amazing goalkeeper and saving us from a worse defeat!

By Charlie Fenton

Under 14 Boys

KES 5-aside Tournament

On Saturday, the under 14s were invited to take part in a 5-aside tournament organised by King Edward VI school. Winchester entered 2 teams, along with 2 from KES and one each from Trojans and Fareham. The innovative format, with surrounding boards, made this a cross between indoor and outdoor rules and a consequent non-stop game requiring high energy levels despite the short matches.

The first match, between the 2 Winchester sides, ended in an honourable 2-2 draw. The other games for each of the sides were a little chastening, with the boys receiving a lesson in the benefits of passing and moving, rather than trying to dribble passed opposition players.

Many thanks to James for stepping in and coaching one of the teams; without him there would have been no hockey for half the boys. All in all, a fun morning’s hockey and some lessons learnt which will hold the boys in good stead for the remainder of the season

WHC bobble hats and socks

Winchester HC bobble hats are now available, again. Price this batch: £12 (N.B. “One size fits all” !)

As ever club socks also available. Price: all sizes £10.

Please contact Stuart Swift stuart@swiftyboy.co.uk or Richard Macer richard.macer@btinternet.com to order yours now.

Are you missing a hooded jumper?

Several hoodies have been left behind after matches.

If your child has a hoodie, can you please ensure it does have a surname in it - to ease future returns!

Current Stock !!

a) New Masuri style, size 13-14 years with initials on front MS

b) Old style (inner hood yellow) size XS - no name

c) Old style (inner hood yellow) size XS - no name (left earlier in the year, before the March Covid lockdown).

d) Another old style (inner hood grey) with number 15 on one sleeve - no name and has been unclaimed for a long while, size L

Please contact Richard Macer (richard.macer@btinternet.com) to claim any of the above and the return can be arranged.

Sponsorship Opportunities

As we look to invest in the coaching programme and resources, we are giving local business an opportunity to sponsor individual teams or the entire junior section.

For a modest contribution, sponsors will have:

Their name associated with specific teams
Bespoke coverage in newsletters and social media
Recognition of their sponsorship in local press coverage

We would very much like to hear from you if you are interested, or have contacts at local business which may be prepared to get involved. Please do get in touch.