Somerville Hockey Club Inc - AllTeams

Somerville Hockey Club Inc
2011 Junior Hockey Pre-season Newsletter & Registration
The 2011 hockey season begins in March. Registration and pre-season coaching and trials are similar to those in
previous years BUT please read this entire newsletter carefully. This newsletter includes:
Important dates – trials, competition dates, practice times
Registration process
Hockey uniforms and equipment
REGISTRATION
Registration is only by post, with payment by cheque and a closing date of 22 February 2010. The
registration form is the last page of this newsletter. Paper and cheques are annoying, but e-payment and
registration was considered prohibitively expensive given the rise in fees this year.
Turf restrictions mean the number of Junior players remains limited to about 205 (as in 2009 and 2010). Players who
were in Somerville in 2009 are guaranteed a place provided their registration is received by 22 February.
Players on the waiting list will be given next priority. If your registration is not received, with payment, by 22
February you will not have priority.
Post your registration form and cheque to reach: P.O. Box 9746 Newmarket 1023 by Tuesday 22 February.
Please take special care to include a clear email address as this is our primary form of contact.
THERE IS NO REGISTRATION DAY FOR JUNIORS
Keen to join Somerville but did not play in 2010
If you have friends interested in playing for Somerville Club please ask them to email Junior hockey
somervillejuniorhockey@gmail.com (the fastest way) or post a registration form, but no cheque, and they will be
put on the waiting list. They will be emailed before the musters in March if there are places. We nearly always have
places in Minis (school year 1 & 2) and 11 th division (school years 7 & 8, intermediate) but there are usually only a
few places in 6 th division (years 3 & 4) and 8 th division (school years 5 & 6).
Fees
The Club Committee has set the same fee for all Junior divisions. Fees this year are $220 per player. This is the
first increase in 3 years, and has been necessitated by an increase in AHA fees, last year’s GST increase and
decrease in Council grant (with creation of the Auckland Council). Somerville Junior fees provide for practice
equipment, a coaching session and Saturday game every
week for two school terms. The fee also includes $15 for a
team photo, presented at prize giving.
Email Addresses
Our prime method of communication is email. Please
make sure your email address, or addresses (it is great to
have a second address if the first bounces), is clearly
printed on the registration form.
Team Coaches
The Club benefits enormously from the input of parent
coaches – see the 2010 annual report in which we
acknowledge our club and parent coaches. If you are
interested in being a Team Coach please tick the box on
the registration form. We also have youth and senior-grade
siblings enjoying coaching. For Minis, 6 th and most 8 th
Division teams, parent coaches are responsible for
Saturday morning team coaching as the mid-week
practices are taken by Club Coaches. However, Team
Coaches are welcome to assist Club Coaches at practice.
11 th Division Team Coaches are generally responsible for

the mid-week practices and the Saturday coaching. Your help and involvement with your child’s team is invaluable to
us and we will give you all the support we can. This includes a coaching resource folder, equipment, pre-season
Coaches meeting and covering the direct costs of AHA training courses. In 2010 we held a great evening with the
Auckland Hockey ‘coaching the coaches’ team, learning the how the basic trap/pass techniques are now being
taught and attendance is highly recommended this year.
Managers
Our team managers distribute information (by email), distribute uniforms, and report weekly match scores by text
message to our coordinator. Managers may assist the Coach during games (especially with substitutions and
recording goals for and against). If you would like to be the Manager of your child’s team, please indicate this on the
registration form. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Umpires
It is very helpful to Coaches in the11 th Division and in the 8 th Gold Grade if parents umpire the games. The on-field
coach is the umpire for Mini and 6 th grade games. If you are prepared to assist with umpiring please indicate this on
the registration form. The club supports training costs.
PRE-SEASON PRACTICES and TRIALS
These will be held at the Auckland Grammar Turf, Normanby Rd, Mt Eden on Sunday afternoons from 12 to
3pm on 6 th , 13 th , 20 th and 27 th of March. The details for each Division are set out in the attached Junior Calendar.
Attendance at pre-season practices/trials by all 6 th , 8 th and 11 th Division players is highly recommended,
particularly for 8 th and 11 th grade as all of these practices and trials are important to assess and develop players’
skills. Teams will be selected based on players’ attendance and performance at these sessions so please note
on your registration form if attendance is not possible, e.g. due to representative cricket, and attend the special
Tuesday night skills session on Tuesday 8 th March.
Teams will be finalised and advised by email by about 10 April. All players who played in 2010, and register
by 22 February will be placed in a team.
MID-WEEK PRACTICES
Team practices are held on week-nights throughout the season, starting in the week beginning 2 May and are one
hour each week (minis are 45 minutes). We only have 1 practice to get ready for the first game on May 7. The
practice venues, days and times for each Division are included in the attached Calendar. The practice day and
time for your team will be advised to you by email with your team. Regular attendance at these practices is
essential for the progress of your child and their team. Please do not register unless you are able to attend most
practices.
Venues and start times:
11 th Division: AGS Turf – Tue 5:30pm or Thurs 6:30pm
8 th Division: AGS Turf – Tue 4:30pm or Thurs 6:30pm
6 th Division & Minis: Monday 4 to 6.30 pm Indoors, probably Shore Rd
The specific practice day and time for each Team will be advised in early April.
MATCH DATES
The first competition match will be on Saturday 7 May and there will be matches every Saturday morning until
10 September, EXCEPT 5 June (Queen’s Birthday weekend), and July 16, 23 and 30 (winter school holidays).
Please schedule holidays for these 4 no-hockey weekends and do not register if you cannot commit to being at
nearly every game – each team only has 1 or 2 ‘extras’ and it is common to have no available substitutes when
winter colds hit schools. The draw for the first three matches should be published by Auckland Hockey by 27 April
on the Auckland Hockey website: www.akhockey.org.nz and is usually distributed by team managers. During the
season the draw can change up until the previous Thursday. Hockey games are almost never cancelled as they are
played on artificial turf – only lightening strikes prevent play; turfs are usually only flooded temporarily (minutes).
First Match:
7 th May
No Matches on:
5 June (Queen’s Birthday) and 16, 23 and 30 July (school holidays)
Last Match: 10 September 2011
Game start times on Saturdays (all games 45 mins long):
11 th Division 8:00, 8:45 or 9:30 am
8 th Division 10:30 or 11:15 am
6 th Division 11:15 am or 12:00 noon
Minis 12:00 noon

MATCH VENUES
Games for minis are nearly always held at Auckland Grammar Turf
and always from 12 noon to 12.45. Other grades will play across
Auckland, but because Somerville commits to managing the
Grammar turf from 8.00am to 12.45 each playing Saturday, most
teams will have about half their games on our home turf. Other
common venues are LEP (Lloyd Elsmore Park in Howick), St
Cuthberts College, Avondale College, Mt Roskill Grammar School
and Kings School (for 6 th and 8 th division games). Occasionally 6 th
and 8 th division teams will travel to Waitakere. In 2011 we hope
games may be held at two new turfs: Saint Kentigern School (Shore
Road) and Pakuranga.
UNIFORMS
Club shirts and shorts will be distributed through your Team Manager
at the first practice. We are trialing new light-weight shirts and are
investigating the option of parents purchasing shirts. Somerville
Club socks (navy blue with seven white bands) must be worn
for matches and these can be purchased from Just Hockey in
Enfield Street, Mt Eden, about 3 minutes walk from the Grammar turf.
Somerville beanies, sweatshirts and fibre-pile jackets can be
purchased at the Auckland Grammar Turf on Saturday mornings
throughout the season.
SAFETY GEAR
Mouthguards and shin pads are compulsory for all practices
and matches. Players are not allowed to take the field without this
safety equipment.
Goalies are provided with full safety equipment: kickers, pads, trousers, chest pads, arm guards and helmet.
We have recently upgraded our goalie gear and have at least 4 sets.
The Auckland Hockey Junior Handbook will be distributed to you by your Team Manager at the first or second
practice. It contains the rules for all grades, code of conduct for players and spectators, and other useful
information. TK, a leading international supplier of Hockey sticks and general equipment, has a sponsorship
arrangement with the Club and we ask that you give first consideration to purchasing TK sticks and other gear,
which is available at Just Hockey.
COACHES, MANAGERS AND UMPIRES BRIEFING
We will be holding briefing sessions for Coaches, Managers and Umpires prior to the start of the season and will
advise the date and time of this briefing during March. This will include aspects of umpiring that are specific to
Junior Hockey and grade-specific coaching and team management guidelines developed by Somerville to help
teams and club run as smoothly as possible through the season.
AUCKLAND HOCKEY TRAINING COURSES
Auckland Hockey offer early season coaching and umpiring courses applicable to all levels of Junior Hockey. These
courses will give you a great start with coaching and/or umpiring. The Club covers the costs of coaching and
umpiring courses for parents (and players) who coach or umpire for a team.
SPONSORSHIP FOR PLAYER OF THE DAY RIBBONS
If you would like to sponsor the player of the day ribbons, handed out each Saturday to an enthusiastic recipient and
pinned proudly to home notice boards round the central suburbs, please contact Vicki Palmer-Neels at palmerneels@xtra.co.nz.
The cost is about $400, depending on the length of the ribbons.
Best Wishes for your Hockey this season
Robyn Simcock
Txt 021 300 470
Email: somervillejuniorhockey@gmail.com
Club Website: www.somervillehockey.org.nz