New Season – Statement from the Chairman

 

A new season and a new Chairman – promises to be full of excitement and has been awaited with tremendous anticipation……. Club Badge Hi-Res

 

Dear Club Member, Parent, Umpire, Coach, Manager, Official, Administrator or Spectator,

 

Welcome to the new hockey season.

This season promises to be full of excitement and has been awaited with tremendous anticipation as our Ladies 1st XI enter the Premier League for the 1st time. Our Men’s 1st XI finished last season just 3 points off the league champions but pre-season matches have shown significant promise and hopefully this year can gain promotion to the National League. Our Mens 2nd XI won Prem B but were unable to take their place in Prem A and our Mens 5th XI won division 4NW.

The challenge is on, not just for our respective 1st XI players, but for the whole club. Our 1st XI’s may produce the results on the pitch, but the strength of our top teams depends hugely on the strength of the whole club and the tremendous work put in by everyone not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well.

Our City of Peterborough Hockey Club family is huge and much bigger than any individual member. Although we have over 200 members in both our senior and junior sections, those of us playing hockey on Saturdays and Sundays are mostly in turn members of families who all commit time to allow us to play in one form or another. So thank you to them for their support.

The Club still needs much help and as they say, “More Hands Make Light Work“. Don’t just rely on your captain to do everything; she or he needs help and there are many ways that you can divide up the duties of running a team. More significantly, there is also a vacant position that requires filling fast and I ask you all too look and see if you can commit time to boost the success of the club by taking on this task. The Men’s section need permanent 8th XI captain – as I have indicated the running of the team can be broken down to reduce the burdens of the job. I would like everyone to closely scrutinise their giving to our hockey family, not financial (which would be equally welcomed) but your time and commit to help the club, be it any of the ways suggested above, assisting our junior coaches on Sunday mornings, seeking club/team/player sponsorship or helping your captain.

Can everyone please register their details on the club website? This includes your contact e-mail address and your contact phone number. This will then allow your team captains to be able to contact you about playing hockey/selection.

Finally, at the start of any new season hopes and aspirations of individuals are high, we set ourselves targets. These are good things, but inevitably some will be disappointed, finding themselves in a lower team than they hoped, become disgruntled and some may decide to give up or move away. Don’t. Our coaches and captains can only select on what they see. If you think they have read you wrong, accept their decision but be motivated and determined to train harder, play harder and fight back improving your standard of play and earn that promotion. We never all play to the same standard but strive to reach that level and you will achieve your target, but you only get there by hard work and commitment; respect the decision of your coach or captain!

Let us all enjoy our hockey and have a great 2017/2018 season.

 

Darren Griffiths / Neil Webb

Chairman & Vice Chairman of the City of Peterborough Hockey Club

Darren Griffiths

Neil  Webb