Welcome to all our members – we’re looking forward to the new season and seeing all our juniors grow their skills and love of hockey. There are some exciting changes happening this season, but we’ll start with the essentials…

Contact details:

For any questions about anything in this update or throughout the season email: juniors@wakefieldhockeyclub.co.uk
You can also contact your child’s team manager via WhatsApp

Key Dates

Here are some key dates for your diaries over the coming weeks:

3rd Sep WHC 'Club Day' (Fun Rush Hockey Tournament 13:00 - 14:00)
4th Sep First Training Sessions (MUGA 9 - 10 am, U10 & U12 9:00 - 10.30)
5th Sep First Training Sessions (U14 17:30 - 19:00 & U16 19:00 - 20:30)
13th Sep First Training Session (U18 19:00 - 20:00)
18th Sep Squad Selection Games (U14 & U16) From 14:00
18th Sep YYHL Tournament Week 1 (U12)
25th Sep First Schools Outreach session at WHC (09:00 – 10:30)
25th Sep YYHL Tournament Week 1 (U10)
25th Sep First League Fixtures (U14 & U16)
9th Oct 1st Round of EH Cup (U14, U16 & U18)

Memberships

We appreciate that the ongoing costs of living are a challenge, so we’ve looked to contain cost changes as far as possible and reflect feedback we received last season from our MUGA parents. Memberships for the full season are outlined below and will be live on Pitchero on Saturday 3rd September.

· MUGA - £80
· U10, U12, U14, U16s, U18s - £150 (no change to last year)
· U18s not playing Senior hockey at WHC - £50

These will either be available as a lump sum payment or via a direct debit payment plan.
The reduction of fees for the MUGA and U18 members who don't play senior hockey at Wakefield recognises the amount of coaching provided for these age grades.

How to pay your membership

Please ensure you pay them through the app (see below) they are due by 31st October for this season. If fees are not paid by this date your child will not be able to be selected for games. Your Team Manager will be following up with you to make sure we make the cut off.

Pitchero – the club app

Last year we introduced the 'Pitchero' app to manage all teams and fixtures across all senior and junior teams. This is truly a step change in the way we approach squad management. season to manage memberships and payments. Please download and register on the app as soon as possible, the minimum amount of information we require from us is:

Name
Gender
Date of Birth
Emergency Contact Name
Emergency Contact Number
COVID 19 Declaration
Physical Fitness Declaration
Medical Conditions
Photography Declaration
Transportation of U18s Declaration
Dietary Requirements
Shirt Number (if known)

Please ensure your children’s accounts are linked to their parent/guardian's account(s) – an essential safeguarding requirement. You’ll need to keep it up to date over the season as Team managers will depend on the information to manage the team.

All training schedules and matches are already set up in Pitchero and viewable. Please update your child's availability for training and matches well in advance of the sessions as this enables our coaches and management to plan accordingly.

Pitchero Club App
https://www.pitchero.com/club-app

Any questions about membership or the Pitchero app:
juniors@wakefieldhockeyclub.co.uk

BIG CHANGES with the Junior Section Management

As with most positions at the club, all of our management are unpaid volunteers, and this season we’re seeing some new faces…

Introduction from Marc Earnshaw, our new Junior Chair

A lot has changed in the off season, the most significant of which is that we say goodbye to Brian Aldred (Chair) and Martyn Scott (Head of Coaching and Operations). They have both had a huge impact on junior hockey at Wakefield over the years and we can't thank them enough for providing such a fantastic platform to continue to build from.

I will be taking over as Junior Section Chair from Brian. For those of you who don't know me, I started to get involved in hockey (again) through my daughter as she joined the Mugaroos several years ago. I gradually started to get more involved in the team management and coaching as she moved through the U10s and U12s. This year I will be the team manager of the U14 Girls team as well as assisting with the coaching.

I used to play (a lot) but had to stop at the age of 23 due to a hip injury. After being involved over the past few years and armed with 2 new hips, I took the plunge and started playing again with last year being my first full season back. I had previously played for the 1st team at Huddersfield and last season was the captain of the Mens 5th team at Wakefield. I have stepped down from this role to ensure I have the time to dedicate to the junior section.

Simon Ransley will be working alongside me as Deputy Chair. Simon has been a volunteer with the junior section for almost 10 years and this year will be supporting the U14 boys on and off the field. He has three children at the club and plays with the Men’s 6s. When not working or sleeping, he can usually be found on a hockey pitch somewhere.

Jay Heathcote will be working alongside both of us as the Head of Operations and Fixtures. Jay has also been a volunteer with the junior section for almost a decade, and is now applying the skills from his day job to manage pitch bookings, operations and make exciting changes to the food and drink available from the cabin (see below).

Lucy Otter will continue in her role as Treasurer having taken over from Jill Hill last season. Lucy has two daughters - Elizabeth in the U12s and Jemima in the U16s (as well as Charlie who won't be seen near a hockey pitch, instead takes residence on various rugby pitches!).

We are looking forward to meeting you all as the season gets underway.

Welfare

Introduction from Ali Willoughby, Lead Welfare Officer

Hello from the Welfare team which consists of myself and Tracy Jones, our club Deputy Welfare Officer, we look after the well-being of all our junior players. We work across both junior and senior hockey, checking everyone who needs to be is DBS checked, with our verifier (and Club President), Helen Royan.

We try to attend most junior training sessions on a Sunday and are in regular contact with coaches, managers and team captains to ensure we hear of any difficulties a player might be having.

Our contact details are on the website and we have cards in the junior cabin for players and parents to take away. Whether it’s hockey related or not, we’re happy to listen and support however we can.

If a player or parent has concerns or worries, please do get in touch. In the meantime, enjoy the new season.

New Coaching structure – there are some exciting changes to the coaching structure across the club that will place the juniors in an even stronger position this year. Please watch out for updates on this soon…

The Cabin

Many of you will be familiar with the Cabin - with thanks to Jay, it has had a bit of a make over this year and we would love for it to continue to be at the heart of our hockey community. To make it work - we are looking for volunteer helpers to join our Cabin Crew.

We are therefore looking for help not only on regular Sunday mornings but also for help on Sunday fixtures (club games and competitions) and Monday evenings. We are keen to hear all of you who are up for some fun, good at chatting and having good banter with all of our cabin users ... and are at a loose end when their kids are training and playing! If you are up for volunteering a few hours a week please do reach out to Jay on WhatsApp on 07876145668

Club Kit

You may or may not have heard that we are transitioning to a new kit supplier for the 22/23 season. The new supplier will be Y1 Sport and the kit should be available to purchase at the end of September via an online store. Our expectation is that it will take 7 working days to supply the kit so please factor this in when purchasing. The new kit will be phased in over the course of the current season, so there is no expectation to purchase the kit this year.

The differences are that we are transitioning to green socks and the boys are moving from white to black shorts. We are initially introducing playing kit for the 22/23 season, teamwear and club apparel will be available at some point in the future.

The new kit will be available to view with the supplier at the Club Day on the 3rd September.

As outlined, this will be a transition year so to get set up for this season there is a limited stock of the old kit available to purchase at reduced prices. Please speak to one of the Management Committee for details.

Schools Outreach Programme

We will be running an extensive Schools Outreach Programme in the autumn. This will involve taking hockey into local primary schools and also inviting the children down to college grove to experience the facilities at Wakefield Hockey Club. We will be looking for volunteers to help with the smooth running of the 4 weeks of free coaching on offer, if you are interested then get in touch.

Team Management (Vacancies)

We still have vacancies for the Team Management of the U10 and U12 Girls teams, you don't need any previous hockey experience to carry out these roles. All you have to do is:

Welcome new members to the team and guide them through the joining process.
Act as a coordination point for parents' questions.
Pass information on from Junior Section Leadership as required.
Maintain membership of the team's WhatsApp group.
Ensure data is accurate and kept up to date in Pitchero.
Chase up player availability for matches and training in Pitchero.
Communicate with the other team(s) on venues and start times for matches/tournaments.
Ensure the team(s) arrive in good time for matches/tournaments.
Work with the Junior Umpire coordinator to ensure umpires are available for matches/tournaments.
Input results into YYHL results service or England Hockey GMS.

Please get in touch with myself, Simon, Jay or Lucy if you think you can help out as a Team Manager

West Yorkshire Hockey

You can register for West Yorkshire if you would like to be assessed for WY Hockey this coming season.

The season will comprise of

2 ( or 3 ) assessment sessions
6 Training sessions
3 ( or 4 ) Competition days

The costs are:
The assessment sessions will be provided Free of Charge.
For those selected, the season cost will be £120. This will be payable upon selection, either as a lump sum or in 2 instalments.

There will be dedicated coaches looking after the squads for the season, including several current Performance Centre coaches.

The age groups are

u17 - Year 11/12
u15 - Year 10
u14 - Year 9
u13 - Year 8
u12 - Year 7 & Year 6

Watch out on twitter @westyorkshockey for updates.

End of Season Prizegiving (Volunteers needed!)

We would like to hold an end of season prizegiving celebration for the whole section this year. To make this happen we would like volunteers to help organise an event - it would be great if we could have a mix of parents and U18 players. Please let us know if you are interested as it is key we secure a location as soon as possible.

Your Junior Section Contacts

Chairman Marc Earnshaw

Vice Charmain Simon Ransley

Treasurer Lucy Otter

Operations & Fixtures Jay Heathcote

email: juniors@wakefieldhockeyclub.co.uk

Looking forward to a great season of hockey,

Marc, Simon, Jay and Lucy