Category: Juniors

By Posted on Posted in 2022-23, Juniors Tagged with ,

The Junior section ended their fantastic season on a high last Sunday, with over 40 kids and their parents making the trip round the North Circular to the Lee Valley Hockey Centre to play on the Olympic pitch. The weather was kind, and the hockey was highly competitive!

A massive thank you to all our coaches and junior helpers who have made this a highly successful season. Our numbers are growing as we continue to lay the foundations for the future of Winchmore Hill and Enfield Hockey Club.

We’ll be back again in September for next season, but in the meantime watch this space for details of upcoming events in the summer.

By Posted on Posted in Juniors Tagged with ,

The squad arrived in plenty of time in Hitchin for the start of the U-14’s tournament at Blueharts.

After our first game was cancelled, we were practising our passing with the keeper yet to be padded up when we were told that we were playing straight away against stand-in Blueharts reserves! As to be expected we started slowly and let in a simple goal before we got settled. We got back into the game with some good passing in midfield and defensively we became more solid with tenacious work from Dawud and James T. Offensively, we took a long time to gain confidence and to run at the opposition but once we did, we enjoyed the majority of the possession and were unfortunate not to score. A late scuffed shot sneaked in at the far post to make the final result 0-2.

The second game, we needed to get back on winning terms and we started off well with a lucky but well-crafted goal from Teddy after he took a shot (with power) going wide but suddenly hit their players foot, dramatically changing the path of the ball and making it land in the net 1-0 CMONNN!! After their only shot on target saved by the goalkeeper things started to get a bit heated but we were determined for a second to give us some breathing place, we did just that with another finish from Teddy making us 2-0 up. This gave us time to relax but we did quite the opposite and after the third goal had gone in from Teddy, we set off for our last game with high hopes a good mood and a very bored goalkeeper. 3-0.

Our last game, our hopes were high, we started with good running from Aled (who used his pace well) and Sam (holding the ball up with good stick skills) up top. Our confidence with the ball was really positive. Teddy made a good pass to lead to our goal, a lift from Arran (who was overdue success after a lot of hard work). It was roughly half time and things started to crumble. We held back and with some discouragement from excellent runs from our opposition, we slacked with our man-marking and it felt like it was too easy for them. We had a quick counter-attack but goal missed. Another break-away from the opposition and the ball was lifted in the “D” with their striker getting a small touch on it and going in our goal. From then on they started to dominate but we kept it a draw with good saves from our keeper (James S). 1-1

Overall, a good performance but we have a few things to work on and with our full potential (that we have achieved before) we might have come back with 3 wins. I think we should be proud as we all had some pros and we all left in good moods. Well done Lilly on her tournament debut at the U-14s.

By Posted on Posted in 2022-23, Juniors Tagged with , , ,

Our U10s had their first tournament today at Blueharts!

🏑 We were straight on for the first game against Letchworth. The team played amazingly with some fantastic attacking by Alexander, Alex and Sophia, which resulted in a great pass from Alexander to Alex who managed to slip it into the goal. Henry and Ben did some brilliant defending both supporting the attackers and then running straight back to defend our goal! Letchworth eventually managed to score and the game ended 1-1.

🏑 Our second game was against Letchworth’s other team and Aron, Arthur and Oliver put in some strong runs and passes and tried hard to make space. They were unlucky not to score and had some good chances which Letchworth did well to defend. At the back, Thomas defended very strongly, running back and tackling when needed as well as supporting the attackers. Henry, Alex and Alexander filled the second defensive position, working well alongside Thomas and supporting up the pitch.

🏑 We moved straight into our third game against Hertford who were clearly a strong team. After some lovely defensive moves at the back from Sophia and Henry, the ball was passed confidently to Alex who ran it down the wing and scored! By now our players were starting to get tired so we had more substitutions in this game which the U10s handled well just slotting into the game as and where needed. Alexander and Ben did some fantastic running and passing up front and were very unlucky not to score. Henry, Thomas and Sophia again defended very well chasing down balls and players and looking for space at our free hits. Arthur and Oliver were brilliant in the middle, supporting on the attack and chasing back to support in defence. Hertford had a few strong attackers and we were unlucky to finish 2-1 down.

🏑 We then had a well-deserved break before playing our final game against Welwyn Garden City. Everyone battled really hard both in attack and in defence with our players passing and tackling continuing to improve. We created good opportunities and stopped quite a few(!) attacks on our goal. Unlucky not to score more goals we finished at 4-2.

💜 It was a great experience for our U10s to play in their first tournament. They played so well and all seemed to really enjoy themselves!

Thanks to all our supporters that came along to watch our superstars, and Coaches Karen G & Sarah E-Q!

By Posted on Posted in 2022-23, Juniors Tagged with , , ,

The U12s headed up to Blueharts, full of energy and enthusiasm.

The team felt a little unlucky to lose 2-0 in the opening game against Berkhamsted & Hemel C. Hannah and Poppy worked well together in defence, making strong passes up to Emilia in midfield who created chances for our forwards.

Next up, we faced Blueharts C2s. Two great efforts from Alex and Mia were cleared off the line, and Orla came close too – well supported by Felix. Our debut keeper Yiannis make some crucial saves as the game ended 0-0.

We were straight on again facing St Albans C. We took the lead with a great finish from Alex, with help from Edward who had recovered from an injury in the first game. St Albans found an equaliser and the game ended 1-1.

In the final game, the U12s were up against Blueharts C1. Thomas made some strong tackles in defence, and the whole team worked hard with the game ending in a 4-0 defeat for us.

A good tournament all round with a team that’s continuing to develop every time. A big well done to Alex, Edward, Emilia, Felix, Hannah, Mia, Orla, Poppy, Thomas, and Yiannis.

By Posted on Posted in 2022-23, Juniors, Ladies, Mens Tagged with , ,

We start the new season with Club Day on Saturday 10th September at Southbury Leisure Centre – a chance to blow off the cobwebs (if you didn’t play any summer league!) and also welcome any new joiners to the club.

The day begins with a Junior Taster Session from 11-12 (aimed at Under 12s), followed by the Ladies’ squads from 12:00-13:30 and then the Men’s squads 13:30-15:00. These sessions are open to both members and non-members thinking about joining, so please come along if you’re interested in playing hockey with us and we’ll be delighted to welcome you.

Then it’s back to Winchmore Hill Sports Club for a BBQ / social from 15:30 onwards – a chance to catch up with teammates old and new, and get to know the committee who will be on hand to answer any questions you may have.

Adult team training then starts on Wednesday 14th September, with the first league matches from Saturday 24th September, and Junior training begins on Sunday 25th September.