JUNIOR NEWSLETTER - JULY 2017 Hi everyone. Hope you all settled into the season ok. This year we have over 500 players in our Junior Club which is great to see. Within the junior program from J5/6s to J11/12s, we have 22 teams competing across all grades. Thanks to all the parents and senior players that have volunteered their time to coach these teams or manage them. We also have many of our junior players umpiring our junior teams. With everyone helping in some way, we keep Melville the strong club that we are proud of. The club wouldn t survive without volunteers, so thank you. It s hard to believe that we have passed the half way mark already and heading towards finals. However, there is still plenty more hockey to be had and events happening around the club for the 2nd half of the year. Our standings as of the school holiday break (after 9 rounds) are: Boys: J11/12 s: A - 2 nd ARes 3 rd J9/10 s: A - 7 th ARes - 3 rd C - 6 th J7/8 s: AProm - 3 rd B Black - 4 th C Gold - 5 th J5/6 s (7 Rds) AProm 3 rd B Sand 3 rd C Black 3 rd C Gold 4th Girls: J11/12 s: A - 2 nd B - 5 th J9/10 s: A - 2nd (Rd 8 still to play Rd 9) ARes - 5 th B - 8 th J7/8 s: A - 6 th B 7 th J5/6 s (7 Rds) A 4 th B Gold 4 th C Gold 5 th MINKEY & GRADS: The Minkey & Grads program was again up and running successfully last term and of course continues into Term 3. Melville has over 200 children aged 5 to 10yrs playing every Saturday morning. In June, they had a night on the turf, where members of the men s senior squad gave them some coaching tips and played games with them. The men s and women s senior squads are rostered each week to join these young players and help out where needed and for this we thank them. They will be on the turf again this week for Club Day and another night session in August. These kids are the foundation of our junior club and hopefully they will continue into seniors. Thanks also to Matt Read for being our fantastic Minkey/Grads Co-ordinator. 1
CLUB DAY SAT JULY 22 nd : This Saturday is Club Day and we would love everyone to come down to the club for the afternoon. We will have a sausage sizzle happening on the BBQ and the canteen and bar will be open. Minkey, Grads and J5/6 players are invited to have a session on the turf before the Men s 1 s game. They will have 2 s men and 1 s & 2 s women giving them a few tips before playing a game. Then they will form a player guard for the 1 s team before they play at 5.00pm. If some are able to stay a bit longer, it would nice to do the same for the women s 1 s at 6.30pm. It should be a great afternoon for the kids to come and watch the seniors; join in; watch some more; and even buy a sausage sizzle. Being a Club Day there will be many other Melville players and families there supporting the teams, as well as sponsors who are invited for the afternoon. The format for the day will be: 1.00pm Men s 3s v NCRaiders 2.30pm Men s 2s v NCRaiders 3:40pm Juniors to meet out on the grass field in team/age groups 3:50pm 2s men will finish and stay on the turf following their game 3:55pm Juniors to come on the turf with the 1s women 4:00 to 4:15 Small training session with the senior players 4:15 to 4:35 Games to be played, no half time play continuous 20 minutes 4:40pm Finish games 4:45pm Players guard to be formed for the oncoming 1s players 5.00pm Men s 1s v NCRaiders 6.30pm Women s 1s v NCRaiders (player guard to meet on turf at 5.20pm) 8.00pm Women s 2s v NCRaiders RON WILSON CUP (Pre-season): I m sure you all realise that we won back the Cup this year. It was an exciting 2 nights of hockey, where the last game ended up being the decider. Congrats to all the players, coaches and umpires that took the time to play and made it a successful weekend. The Cup is on display in the trophy cabinet check it out next time you re in the clubrooms. 2
JUNIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS: The Junior Club Championships were held these July school holidays where Melville entered one girls team and three boys teams. J9/10 Girls competed in the A division, with 12 from the A team and 2 from the ARes team. They had a very successful round competition winning all 6 games, but unfortunately went down in the Grand Final to Bunbury, finishing 2nd. The girls also formed a bond with the team from Hong Kong, exchanging gifts after their game and the visitors showed their support during the final cheering for Melville. A wonderful tournament for the girls. Thanks to Coach, Craig Tate; Manager, Joel Fulcher; and Umpire, Dylan Forbes. J9/10 Boys had a team in A and B division. The A team was made up of 9 A and 4 ARes players. They did well and improved with each game, winning their last couple of games including the playoff to finish 7th. Highlight was probably Brad in goals (I think he s missed his calling) and Zac playing Wing and scoring a very specky goal to become the teams leading goal scorer! Thanks to Coach, Sean Bentley; Manager, Tracy Young; and Umpire, Wes Stewart (and the array of support staff that wandered in and out of games!!) The B team had mixed fortunes winning 3 games and finishing middle of the table in 5 th position after the round matches. They played well in their playoff game to beat Fremantle and stay 5 th. This team was made up of 6 ARes, 5 C players & 4 from the 7/8 AProm team. Well played boys. Thanks to Coach, Macca Love; Manager, Tammi O Neil; and Umpire, Ash Power The 7/8 Boys played the 2 nd week of the holidays and entered in the B division with 8 from AProm, 5 from B s and 1 from C s. Four of these boys had played the week before in the 9/10s and backed up well. Out of 11 teams, they finished 7 th. Lots of promise for these boys in future championships. Thanks to Coach, Jono Rayfield; Manager, Geoff Cooper; and Umpire, LJ Fulcher 3
BUNBURY CARNIVAL: Well once again Melville families made the trek to the South West Junior Hockey Carnival in Bunbury over the June long weekend. For a change, we were soaking up the sunshine instead of being soaking wet! Representing Melville were 76 players from J5/6s, J7/8s, J9/10s and a few Grads; plus 9 coaches, 6 parent managers, 12 umpires (2 non-playing juniors, 2 parents & 8 players) and of course many parents, siblings and friends, and they all did it with Maroon pride! Our results were mixed but everyone had a great time and made new friends with some of our teams having mixed age groups playing together for the first time. For many, playing on grass was a challenge which they had to learn to adapt to quickly and then for others, playing a turf game was a highlight. We congratulate our 7/8 Girls who made the final and won a silver medal. Our 5/6 Girls made their first ever hockey final and to see their faces when they won was priceless this is what this tournament is all about fun, community, achievement and club spirit. The enthusiasm of our juniors who go to Bunbury and do what they love to play hockey is infectious. They play hard and they play courageously; and not always against teams of the same level, but that doesn t stop them. This is what makes our players stand out against the rest and represent Melville with pride. We as a club, are proud of our players and congratulate them on a fantastic weekend. PRESENTATION NIGHT: After the success of last year, the Junior Presentation will again be on a Friday night. Please keep September 15 th free to celebrate your season. More details to follow soon. 4
CALENDAR DATES: JULY 21-23 Season re-starts Rd 10 (Rd 8 5/6s) 22 Club Day AUG 18-20 Juniors BYE 18 5/6's Turf Round 25 27 Final Round 7/8 s, 9/10 s & 11/12 s SEPT 1-3 Junior Semi Finals & Final Round 5/6 s 8-10 Junior Grand Finals 15 Junior Presentation Night REGISTRATIONS & FEES: Everyone should be registered by now (otherwise you shouldn t be playing!). If you still have not paid your fees, late fees are now in place, so please do so ASAP - this will also stop you from receiving statements reminding you! If you are having difficulties you need to have spoken to our bookkeeper or someone on the Executive Committee to make suitable arrangements. UNIFORM SHOP: Melville City Hockey Club gradually introduced the new uniform last year and it is now compulsory for every player this year (Senior & Junior) to be wearing them. The uniform shop is open every Thursday from 5.00pm until about 7.30pm to accommodate everyone. They stock lots more than the uniform, so go and say hi sometime. And don t forget for your other hockey needs, Jinder at Hockey International will look after you, especially if you say you re from Melville. Enjoy the rest of the season and as always, I look forward to seeing you at the club! Cheers, Colleen Colleen Bentley - Junior Co-ordinator MCHC Clubrooms: Off Prescott Drive, Kardinya Web: www.melvillehockey.com Tel: 0417 992 155 Email: magpie025@gmail.com 5