Academy Update- March 2019

Firstly a massive well done to our brilliant U10 and U12 players! Both groups have qualified for regional rounds of their competition. Although winning is not the focus for our junior coaches we recognize how enjoyable and nice it is for the children involved. What I was most impressed with is how we managed to take a number of squads to these tournaments. We want to be able to give as many children the opportunity to enjoy hockey as possible. If winning happens as well then fantastic but for us the priority is that as many kids as possible have a good time.

A massive thank you to the managers and volunteers who give up their time to help support our young hockey players and have supported them to this point. Whether they umpire, give lifts or manage squads we can’t function without them. We certainly wouldn’t be able to provide the experience we deliver, so thank you.

And just like that March has come and gone! The biggest problem with the hockey season in this country is how quickly it goes and the months we play over! I mean who likes playing hockey in the rain and snow?! (watch this space…)

It’s been another really busy month for the junior academy with teams achieving success and plenty of players training hard. Well done to everyone who has been a part of what we have done this month.

Recently we had our mother’s day session! A fantastic opportunity for parents to get involved and play against/with the academy players. We spotted a few budding hockey players among you so expect a call in the summer for summer league…..

It is important we are transparent in what we do and as such here is a little insight to the work that is going on behind the scene:

• We are working to create a junior committee that will focus purely on the development of Leicester Academy. There will be spaces on this for manager and parent reps that we will advertise. The aim is that this group provides some strategic direction to our junior section and helps it grow as well as constantly improving what we offer
• I have put a lot of pressure on the coaches (sorry team) to deliver as high a level service as possible. This isn’t just about the hockey, everything we do around it needs to be high quality. Simple things from sessions starting bang on time to make as much of our pitch time as possible
• Gathering feedback, I have spent some time chatting to various parents across different age groups to get some ideas of your feelings. I have had some really honest and open conversations with I can only thank you for. We will also be sending out a survey to gather your thoughts on what’s good and what we can improve
• The news about SMP (St Margarets Pastures) should have filtered to everyone now. This is a brilliant opportunity for us to take things to the next level and we are looking at how elements of the Academy can benefit from this move
• I have had a really productive meeting with a few schools to discuss how we get even more children playing hockey
• We are developing a player pathway within the club so we can better integrate our junior section into the senior section
• We are starting to think about coaches, managers and umpires for next season. If anyone wants to be involved there will almost certainly be vacancies at various levels. Please feel free to get in touch- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Plus plenty more, but these are the headlines!

If anyone has any questions or wants to get involved with the academy please feel free to get in contact.

James