Lots of exciting news for the club to round off the Winchester Hockey Club’s 2020 / 2021 season. This week’s edition includes next season’s training schedule and details of our new training venue, as well as a celebration of our U16 National Champions and England / South Saxons representation.

Keep an eye out for membership renewals for the new 2021 / 2022 season which will be launching soon.

Winchester are National Champions!

EH CUP FINAL V Bowden - SCORE 6 - 2

Scorers: Max Wedderburn, Harry Wilson, Henry Crompton, Ollie Lander (2), Alfie Marsh

Winchester U16 boys travelled to Nottingham for the England Hockey Championship final and ended as worthy winners with a 6-2 victory against Bowdon Hockey Club.

There were no signs of nerves as the boys savoured the experience of finals day and took care of the pre-match photo shoots. Indeed they looked so relaxed, it was hard to imagine this was anything more special than the countless other games these boys have played together. But, when the umpires signalled the start of the game, Winchester were ready and what a start! In the very first minute, a defensive mistake from Bowdon handed Winchester possession, and after a couple of incisive passes and a cross to the back post, Wedderburn crashed the ball home. Almost straight from the restart, another Winchester attack and Wilson deflected in a bobbling ball. Less than three minutes gone, and 2-0 to Winchester. Bowdon were stunned and Winchester supporters jubilant.

However, Bowdon are a very good team; they quickly regained their composure and started to display their talents. They pulled one back from a well executed short corner and as the first half wore on, it was Bowdon dominating possession and creating chances. Loveridge in goal dealt with these confidently and it was 2-1 to Winchester at the break.

In recent weeks we have seen the resilience in this group of boys, winning close games and holding their cool when their opposition were losing theirs. And so it was in the final. Winchester quickly regained the momentum and started to dominate again. Gianni, now on as keeper for Winchester, made some important saves, but after a few near misses, the goals started to rattle in at the other end. Crompton, magnificent all game in defence, stepped forward to deflect in a powerful Wedderburn shot from a short corner, and then a trademark Lander drag flick from another made the game well and truly safe. Despite a consolation Bowdon score, the boys were loving it now, and playing with the freedom of a playground knockabout. Bowdon heads were well and truly scrambled, and the umpires were left with no choice but to show a red and two yellow cards. Lander crashed another in from the top of the circle and Marsh struck home a rebound after a rapid Winchester attack.

The team has been generously sponsored by Forghetti over the last couple of years, and the boys have developed a close bond. Coach Howard Chaplin-White has done a fabulous job merging the individual talents into a slick team unit. The team has shown great resilience, bouncing back from individual and team setbacks and dealing with all that the pandemic has thrown at them. Celebrations went on into the early hours as players, parents and other supporters recognised the enormity of this achievement.

Winchester Boys Represent England U16

Winchester boys Joe Jenkinson and Tommy Finney made their debuts for England U16 at the weekend. The matches were very successful as England defeated Wales 7-0 and 12-0, with Joe scoring 3 goals and Tommy part of a solid defensive unit.

Winchester Boys Represent South Saxons

Some of our youngsters recently represented South Saxons in the UK U13 Boys’ Regional Hockey Championships. This is an annual tournament between eight regional sides from around the UK, and is played at a high standard. As a large region, the South enter 2 sides. Will Leyland and Bertie Lander represented the South Saxons and Charlie Long and Tom Nolan the Saxons South. The teams finished 6th and 7th, and all of the boys played some tremendous hockey in some very close, well-fought matches.

In a couple of weeks, Millie Morgan and Amelie Carter will be playing for the Saxons in the girls’ tournament. Good luck to them, and we look forward to reporting on their involvement.

2021 / 2022 Season Training Slots

We are delighted that we have secured additional pitch capacity which enables us to deliver a number of the junior section key initiatives.

Most of the new capacity will be at the new Ganger Farm Sports Park. This is a fantastic new facility, including a hockey astroturf pitch, on-site parking and a large pavilion which will have indoor bar and café facilities open during training sessions and a balcony overlooking the hockey pitch. The slightly longer travel time to the pitch will be compensated for by the ease of access and the facilities available.

Minis

We will be increasing the number of players that we can cater for in the minis section and plan to encourage this growth by strengthening our local schools outreach programme. Alongside this, we aim to continue our initiatives to improve provision for our talented players, through greater pitch space, lower player:coach ratios, streaming and introducing more competitive match play against local clubs. For these initiatives to be successful, the minis need greater pitch time, and so we will be extending the Sunday morning minis training slot from 1 ½ hours to 3 hours, and splitting the U8 and U10 groups.

U16 girls

Over the last several years we have struggled to find a suitable training slot for the U16 girls, with last season’s sharing of the pitch with the U14 girls being less than ideal. The new pitch availability allows U14 and U16 girls to have a full pitch for their weekly training sessions.

Talent Development Group (U10-U14)

The introduction of the Talent Development Group training sessions during the summer term has been an overwhelming success. The players have had access to top quality coaching and an opportunity to progress their hockey skills to a higher level. The new pitch availability allows us to continue running this programme through next season, and extend the sessions to 1½ hours. We will be running weekly sessions for boys and girls separately, with each group sub-divided so that players train with others of a similar age and ability. As each group will have a full pitch, we will be able to increase the number of players invited to attend. This training will be in addition to the players’ regular age group sessions, and so there will be a cost to participate.

Talent Development Group (U16+) and U18

We are formulating plans to support talented players in the U16 groups and above, along with provision for U18 players. This is likely to include monthly training sessions, additional off-pitch support and integration into the senior sections. For U16 players, this training will be in addition to the players’ regular age group sessions, and so there will be a cost to participate

2021 / 2022 Season Training Timetable

Under 8 (mixed)

Sunday 9:00-10:30 (weekly) at Kings School

Under 10 (mixed)

Sunday 10:30-12:00 (weekly) at Kings School

U12 girls

Sunday 9:30-11:00 (weekly) at Bar End

In addition, the U12 girls will have a share of the pitch at Kings School on Tuesday 18:30-20:00. This is not for all the girls’ squad, but for a selection of girls as invited by the coaches.

U12 boys

Tuesday 18:30-20:00 (weekly) at Kings School

U14 girls

Friday 19:00-20:30 (weekly) at Bar End

U14 boys

Friday 19:00-20:30 (weekly) at Kings School

U16 girls

Wednesday 20:30-22:00 (weekly) at Ganger Farm

U16 boys

Monday 19:30-21:00 (weekly) at Ganger Farm

Goalkeepers

Wednesday 20:00-21:30 (bi-weekly) at Kings School

Talent Development Group

U10-U14 girls: Wednesday 19:00-20:30 (weekly) at Ganger Farm

U10-U14 boys: Monday 18:00-19:30 (weekly) at Ganger Farm

U16 girls & U18 girls: Wednesday 20:00-21:30 (monthly) at Kings School

U16 boys & U18 boys: Wednesday 20:00-21:30 (monthly) at Kings School

WHC Membership

Membership renewals for the 2021/2022 season will be launching soon. Please take the time to read the club’s membership policy and procedures which includes information on players’ expected commitment, priority and links / timelines.