Martinborough Junior Hockey Update

We are almost half-way through the hockey season and well into the first round of primary 6-aside and 11-aside games following completion of all the grading games.  A record number of 60 children are registered with Martinborough Junior Hockey, and a further 15 children are participating in the Funsticks programme.

This year, we have two 11-aside teams playing in the A and B grades, one 6-aside team playing in the very popular half-field competition on Fridays, and three 6-aside teams playing in the Tuesday afternoon competition.  We are very lucky to have a group of committed and talented coaches and managers working with our teams, and we thank them all for their time and effort with the children at practices and games.  There are no official results available from the competition yet, but our 1st XI team are unbeaten in the A grade to date.  This bodes well for later in the season if they can retain their good form.  

The Funsticks programme has been running this term at Martinborough School for our beginner year 1 and 2 hockey players.  This year, there is a new programme put together by Jess Collins, the development officer at Hockey Wairarapa.  Jess came to school for our first session and the children have been learning new hockey skills as well as developing the physical education and social skills essential for moving up to 6-aside hockey.  

Katie Rees and Chris Funnell are leading the sessions (with help from our 1st XI players) in a fun format involving ball games, hoola hoops and mini-games.  The programme will end with the Funsticks World Cup at Clareville on Saturday 6 July.  This will be a great way for all the Funsticks participants to finish off the programme.

In May, many of our 11-aside players attended an U13 pre-trial development programme over two weeks where they were rotated through a variety of drills and games focusing on fundamental hockey skills.  The development programme was excellent preparation for the U13 trials which are currently taking place.  Selected players will be announced towards the end of the term.  The rep tournaments are held in the second week of the October school holidays in the east and lower North Island.

We are really proud to have our 1st XI team wearing new training jackets this season.  The jackets are lightweight and waterproof with a hood, perfect for our players to wear during practices and at the turf.  The jackets were generously sponsored by Mitre 10 Martinborough and we are extremely grateful for their support, thank you!  

We have also received a generous grant from Trust House Foundation for $1,200 to assist with our affiliation, turf and umpire fees.  Hockey is one of the most expensive sports to play at primary level so this grant will enable us to reduce our subscriptions for 11-aside players to a level more in line with other primary winter sports codes.  

Martinborough Junior Hockey’s vision is to support and encourage as many children as possible to play and enjoy the game of hockey.  Please contact Pippa Broom (co-ordinator for Martinborough Hockey) on 0274 169 102 if you have any queries or would like to help our club in any way.