Bonfire night, and WHE Hockey Juniors were the hosts for the first round of the U10 Herts Junior League, featuring 10 junior teams from the local area.

There was lots of advanced planning and hard work put in as this was the first time WHE have hosted the tournament. The result was a well organised enjoyable event, run from the sand-filled astroturf pitch at Southbury Leisure Centre.

WHE Hockey Juniors played two teams, which was another first and both teams did us proud!

The A Team came 3rd overall, won 2, drew 1, Lost 1.
The B Team, of less experienced players, showed great skill and were unfortunate not to win a game. The match practice they gained will prove invaluable.

Roll on the next tournament! WHE Hockey Juniors hosts the U12 Herts Junior League on Sunday 21st January 2018.

Pool A: We can safely say that all involved with the A side on Sunday thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The A’s played extremely well as a team which was great to see and by the last game started to show signs of understanding the importance of using the whole pitch, not something they are really used too. All the performances were too good to pick any one player out.

As I commented on the day – we played as well if not better in the game we lost as we did in the games we won, which hopefully proved to the A’s that a good result doesn’t always mean you played well, just as much as a bad result doesn’t mean you played badly.

Overall – Fun was the winner and hopefully we inspired a few watching what can be done while still be competitive.

Nick– A Team Manager

In Pool B, a less experienced Winchmore Hill & Enfield B faced a tough group with regular foes Blueharts B, Broxbourne, Hertford and Letchworth. The team were unlucky to come out on the wrong side of a tight opening match with Broxbourne, going down by a single goal and we could easily have snatched an equaliser or even won having dominated much of the match. Blueharts B, Hertford and Letchworth proved to be bigger and stronger, and were worthy winners of the other games, despite great commitment and battling defence from our boys and girls.

Great performances throughout the Winchmore team, including Ben, William, Jack and Arran for tireless work and good interplay in midfield / attack; Grace for great marking and positional play on the right side; and Emily and Harry who took turns in goal as well as battling hard in defence.

This was the first tournament for most of the team and a great learning experience which will stand them in good stead for future matches. Well done all.

Dom – B Team Manager

There was lots of support for all the teams, with plenty of encouragement and positive shouting from the sidelines. Comments about the day from parents and supporters included: “the kids played their little purple socks off!”, “great organisation”, “fantastic effort”, “Keep up the good work everyone, without this effort clubs soon perish.”

Thanks go to Charlotte Gonella, Lisa Jobson, Gemma Luckman and Lorna Robertson who organised and managed the tournament. Abbi, Erin and Mirei, who helped in the running of the day and collating the score sheets. Bethany McNamara and Alex for assisting with umpiring. Nick Smith and Dominic Smith for coaching the As & Bs, with the help of their assistant coaches Sonya and Callum. And finally, to the parents who helped manage the refreshment stand, which raised over £60 for the Junior Section.