For three sides it has been a largely successful year – Mens’ 1s and 3s finished 3rd in the Championship and Marches 1 leagues respectively, while the Mens’ 4s topped that by winning the Marches 2 league by 4 points, scoring 88 goals in the process!

Unfortunately the Mens’ 2s have struggled, finishing 12th in the absurd De Cymru and Marches 2 league that has included 2 away trips that are as far individually as all away matches for the 3s and 4s!

The dilemma that this leaves the club in is strange. The 2s, 3s and 4s are now scheduled to all be playing at the same level next season, but league rules suggest that no more than 2 sides from any one club will be allowed into the same division, so we shall have to wait and see what the outcome is!

What has become apparent this season is that we have two distinct groups within the club – a strong but small group of players capable of competing at the top end of the West hockey pyramid, and a second larger group of very similarly matched players available to the 2s, 3s and 4s.

The positive news is that within this second group there is a good blend of talented youngsters – a number of whom have the potential to join the first group at some point in the next couple of years – and experienced senior-pros capable of guiding these youngsters so that they have a chance of realising their potential.

My focus as club captain therefore is very much to get the coaching structure right so that there is a clear development path for the younger players, whilst not neglecting the desires of the more experienced players!

We have been very fortunate this season to have been able to regularly call upon the coaching of Alan Chick: new to the club in September, he has very quickly stepped into a role of leading the club training sessions on Tuesday evenings. I believe his coaching style to be ideally suited to the group that he is coaching – he can be a disciplinarian at times but never at the expense of making the training sessions enjoyable and challenging!

I am in the process of drawing up a structure for coaching next year that hopefully Alan, as well as the first team coaching team of Stewart Speake and Mark Bateman, will buy into, paving the way to giving us the best chance to progress as a club as both the current and next crop of youngsters come through into the senior sides.

One thing I would like to encourage from all club members is a greater level of pro-activity – interest from individuals in finding out where the next game is, how the other club teams have done, when the next club social event is et cetera. By being pro-active, you can help to make the job for team captains, which at times can seem a little thankless, easier and more enjoyable. This will inevitably have a direct impact on your enjoyment from playing, as happy captains tend to be successful captains!!

On the point above, there are two notable dates on the horizon.
1. Tuesday April 21st sees the start of the GCHC Summer League. There are three Gloucester-associated sides entered in the leagues this summer – Munch Bunch (run by Matt Puddy and Ian King), Half Pints (run by Tom Newman and George Rawlings), and the original Gloucester side. We are still looking for someone to assist Emily Tompkins in running this side from the Men’s perspective – any interested volunteers please contact me!
2. Wednesday May 13th is the Club AGM at Riverside Sports Club. This evening usually lasts for 2-3 hours, and is the major occasion where key decisions and appointments are made (topics ranging across where we play our hockey, how much we pay to play, who captains each side to mention but a few).

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at both of the above events, and also during the summer if you are playing in the hugely enjoyable and successful GCHC Summer League. Look out for another email specifically on that topic!!