Juniors - teams, training, fixtures, results

Age Groups: The Junior age groups are U8, U10, U12, U14 and U16 - they are aligned to academic school years (i.e. based on age on 1st September) as requested by England Hockey.

Junior Hockey Training Starts September 8th 2024 until 15th December 2024

Junior Hockey restarts 12th January 2025 until 13th April 2025

Pitch 1 is the pitch nearest the Clubhouse Pitch 2 is the pitch furthest away from the Clubhouse if you have any questions or if training sessions are cancelled full details will be on TEAMO

Winter Training (Newport astroturf) - The Juniors Diary is available to download at the top of this page.

Times for sessions from the start of the season (2024/25) are below and will continue throughout the season.

U8 mixed (Yrs 2 & 3) - 9:00 to 10:00 am - Pitch 1

U10 Boys (Yrs 4 & 5) - 9:00 to 10:30 am- Pitch 1

U10 Girls (Yrs 4 & 5) - 9:00 to10:30 am - Pitch 2

U12 Boys (Yrs 6 & 7) - 10:00 to 11:30 am Pitch 2

U12 Girls (Yrs 6 & 7) - 10:00 to 11:30 am Pitch 1

U14 Boys (Yrs 8 & 9) - 11:30 to 13:00 pm Pitch 2

U14 Girls (Yrs 8 & 9) - 11:30 to 13:00 pm Pitch 1

U16s can also join Adult Training:

Under 16s no longer train on Sundays but as an age group on some Wednesdays (Boys) / Thursdays (Girls) ahead of fixtures. They are also welcome to train with their usual adult teams if there are no matches on the Sunday.

Boys - Wednesday evenings (by default)

Girls - Thursday evenings (by default) 

Girls - Tuesday evenings (by invitation)

If sessions are cancelled (e.g. due to frozen pitch), we will update TEAMO If you are in doubt, please call your coach.

Communication

We send all communication via the TEAMO App (i.e. team selections). Please keep your details up to date.

Payments for Subscriptions is also made via TEAMO if you have any issues please contact Vicky Crowden

Club Kit

All children should wear safety gear (mouth guard, shin pads and left hand astro-glove) for all training sessions and matches. England Hockey recommends custom mouth guards, available from dentists. There is no need for parents to spend much on kit, apart from essential safety gear. Hockey sticks can also be borrowed. For advice on buying kit, please speak to any of our coaches.

• Training: Wear either club kit (see below) or plain t-shirts / sweatshirts and shorts / skorts / tracksuit bottoms (please ensure these are named in case they are left behind). Long socks should be worn to hold shin pads in place. Trainers are satisfactory, although astro shoes will give better grip. Please ensure children dress warmly in the winter months, this can include hats, gloves and tracksuit tops / bottoms.
• Matches: Purple shirts, black shorts / skorts and gold socks. To order kit please go to Club Kit on this website, club socks can be purchased directly from the clubhouse (size 4 upwards), for smaller sizes we suggest plain yellow junior football socks from any supplier.

Matches

We aim to give all U10 and U12 children a chance to participate in matches through the Essex League and North Essex League tournaments and also with local friendlies for U8's. With our efforts to accommodate large numbers in each group, we hope parents will appreciate that fixtures will not always be available for all children.

For U14s we field teams for the majority of matches from a core squad of the stronger players, however we will still include other players in matches. By introducing an element of competition for team places we aim to encourage players to focus on training and other aspects of the game, such as fitness. We are conscious that players are still maturing at this age and we aim to strike a balance. We appreciate your support with this approach, but if you have particular concerns please contact one of the coaches.

Parents should transport their children to and from matches, although parents may choose to share lifts. We always welcome support from parents at matches. 

Dates and venues of matches will be added to the Juniors Diary, which is still being updated and so is not yet available. We would appreciate offers of help with umpiring, timekeeping and refreshments.

Subscription Fees

Fees are £100 per child but are discounted for families with more than one child in the Junior section (i.e. up to and including U16 as at 1st Sep). additional siblings are £60.00 each. Under 8s subscriptions are £80.

Waiting Lists

In most recent years we have been unable to accommodate all children wishing to join, however with growing popularity we may have to use waiting lists for some groups. If your child is no longer going to play at the club, please let Jackie Webb know so that we can offer the place to another child. 

Moving to Adult Teams

Some older children will be invited to play in adult teams. Usually, children start playing adult hockey when they reach school year 9 or 10 (N.B. England Hockey do not allow children under 13 to play in adult leagues).

U14 coaches will liaise with development team captains (Men’s 7th XI and Ladies' 6th XI) to identify suitable children to play adult hockey. As with all senior teams, we will play stronger players more regularly to maintain strength and continuity within the team, therefore newer players are more likely to be rotated and will play less often.

Junior Contacts - 

Coordinators:

• Junior Coordinator - Message Vicky Crowden
• Membership - Jackie Webb
• Child Welfare - Lindsay Smith
• Head of Junior Coaching - Andy Mackintosh

Age group coaches: TBC

• U8 Mixed - 
• U10 Girls - 
• U10 Boys - 
• U12 Girls - 
• U12 Boys - 
• U14 Girls - 
• U14 Boys - 
• U16 Girls - 
• U16 Boys -