Dear Parent(s)

I would like to welcome everyone back after an enjoyable summer. I hope you are all raring to get going with hockey. I wanted to use this to share the junior section’s vision, over the coming season, for our junior teams.

Over the last 15 years, we have progressed from NO 11-a-side Saturday Junior team & no entries to England Hockey Cups, to this season running 3 Saturday teams & entering junior leagues & cups at all age groups from U10 upwards.

There have been some significant changes from England Hockey over the last couple of years, as they introduced a new Junior Competitions Framework. The aim is develop a more standard level of junior activity & opportunities across the country, while also providing greater depth of age group competition & stretch for some teams/players. This will be a working system that will no doubt develop over the coming years, but Brooklands HC fully support this change & will show flexibility to make the changes benefit the game, our players & clubs.

To support this we have developed a clear & transparent policy on our selection process for the upcoming season for junior teams & also for juniors moving up into senior hockey.

England Hockey are also introducing a new Talent System, more information can be found here. Brooklands HC are fully supportive of this & have applied to be part of the next cohort of clubs achieving Talent Centre accreditation. This will drive us to better, on & off the pitch, in our junior & senior sections.

Beavers/Badgers:

In 2024/25 we will have one Badgers (U15) team and also 2 Beavers teams (U14) A & B. These teams will be mixed age, gender & ability. This shows the progress we are making as a club, both from within developing our own players, but also attracting players to join our club, to be able to consistently field 3 or more teams over the last few seasons.

Our vision for Brooklands Juniors is to ensure we flourish as a section, not just focusing on producing players for 1st team senior hockey. This means developing players for every level of our senior teams, making hockey a life-long sport & to enhance the ever-improving family-feel around Brooklands. The aim of our Saturday teams is develop ALL players in a fun & friendly environment.

Although we will be running 3 teams, we want to ensure every junior player, has contact with different coaches, players & club members throughout the season. So as a section we do encourage rotation of players between the squads. Obviously this will be age & ability dependent & players will only move if capable & without the risk of endangering themselves or others.

Also, hearing the same voice every week is not always beneficial; being exposed to different ideas or tactics, drills at training will aid their development far more. Equally, this will help our coaches’ development too & challenge their skills.

As we move forward with the new Junior Framework we are unsure what will happen to Beavers & Badgers hockey in the North West. It has been a huge part of developing so many hockey players across the region and so many benefits, so I believe it still has a place.

U18/16/14/12/10 Junior Leagues & Cup Teams:

This is where the big changes have been seen over last couple of seasons, with matches but also training which is shown below.

Sundays will provide far greater opportunity for juniors to play in their age groups. This season there will be a structured league system for U18/16/14 teams & Brooklands HC will be entering the Tier 1 & 2 level competitions. These will lead into the England Hockey Cup competitions teams will be selected on merit & ability for both boys & girls competitions. Obviously, enjoyment is still the mainstay of our junior teams, but there will be more emphasis on success within these competitions.

At U12 & U10 age groups, there will be regular 7-a-side hockey, similar to the GMJHL setup, offering regular competition throughout the season. Its been so successful that it is being rolled out across the North-West.

As we have more junior players, this change will give us more opportunity to provide players with more playing opportunity. Obviously this means a need for more coaches, umpires & admin, so if nay parents or siblings can offer help, in coaching, umpiring or admin roles in any age groups, it would massively benefit the players & club. More people doing small bits helps everyone.

Training:

• Tuesday - 17:30 - 18:30: U14 training (Y6-9)
• Thursday – 17:30 - 18:30: U14 training (Y6-9)
**those playing adult hockey are welcome to come along to this session still in addition to their senior training
• Sunday mornings

• U12 (Y6/7) & new starters (up to 14 years old): 9-10am
• U10/U8/U6: 10:00-11:00 (up to Y5)

Personal Protection Equipment

Face masks, gum shields & shin pads are a players own personal protective equipment. While face mask aren’t compulsory, we advise that if playing regular competitive hockey, each player has their own mask if they are required in a defensive capacity.

Finally, the underpinning theme of this vision, we are a CLUB, not separate teams. All members should be able to interact with junior members from each team, and take that into the seniors.

As a child, & to this day in all honesty, the most important aspect of hockey for me was the social side. Hopefully this slight progression of our vision, remembering we are doing a good job already developing our juniors, will only enhance your child’s & hopefully yours as a parent, experience of hockey at Brooklands.

If anyone has any questions, concerns, feedback or ideas, please come & chat to us.

Many thanks

Junior Coaches