Hockey Society Newsletter 2014-2015

MAY 2015

KGS Hockey Society 2014-15 Season round Up

NEW LOOK DITTON FIELD OPENS FOR BUSINESS!!

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fter a summer of diggers and workman at Ditton, our new facilities were officially opened on Tuesday 30 September by Head Master, Mr

Junior Internationals

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K G S o n To u r

Stephen Lehec and Chairman of the Old Kingstonian Association, Mr Snelling. (Cont. on page 2)

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W a g e n i n g e n To u r

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NEW LOOK DITTON FIELD OPENS FOR BUSINESS!!

After a summer of diggers and workman at Ditton, our new facilities were officially opened on Tuesday 30 September by Head Master, Mr Stephen Lehec and Chairman of the Old Kingstonian Association, Mr Snelling. You would have been forgiven for thinking that it was mid-July as the many spectators basked in the Indian Summer sunshine. The HocSoc provided tea and cakes (MANY thanks to the numerous families who baked and brought cakes for the stall!) and the pitches were christened followed by drinks at an evening reception.

The U13a and U14a girls each played St George’s and CLFS in a round robin tournament with the following results: U13 – 0-3, 4-2; U14 – 4-1, 1-1. This was followed by our boys 1st XI v Matt Daly’s XI, a side featuring various current and ex international players as well as current and ex KGS coaches....including our very own Mr Durban who displayed some silky skills on the pitch! It was an extremely competitive match where neither side – neither Youth nor Experience – seemed prepared to give ground. Final score was 3-5 to Mr Daly’s team.

Reflections on a busy season As ever, our hockey teams, ably led by their coaches, have been competing in various tournaments and competitions outside of their regular match schedule. This year we’ve had mixed results. Here’s a summary of how each year group got on: Girls Tournaments

Boys Tournaments • U18 boys lost in the quarter finals of the National Hockey Association Cup against Repton on penalty flicks • U16 boys won all their matches in the first round of the south tournament. They beat Stowe School in the quarter final, Sir William Borlase in the semi-final but lost to Whitgift in the final. They lost in the playoffs for Nationals to Queens Taunton • U14 boys reached the first round of the South Tournament • U13 boys didn’t qualify from the group stages at the London tournament.

• U12 boys just missed out on qualification for semifinals of London tournament

NEW ADDITIONS AT THE FIELD AND FUTURE FUNDR AISING GOALS • The School have installed covered shelters (2 per pitch) for hardy parents watching hockey at Ditton Field in all weathers. These are now in situ and the HocSoc would like to thank John Farmer for all his hard work in organising this.

• The HocSoc are now investigating options for new fundraising goals, one of which is tiered seating at the pitches.

Watch this space for more news.

• U18, U16 and U14 girls teams had their tournaments before Christmas. 18s lost in the playoffs at the South tournament, 16s reached the first round of the South Tournament and 14s reached the playoffs at the South tournament • U13 girls were runners up in the Surbiton High tournament • U13 girls won the London tournament. At the south tournament they won all their group games without conceding a goal. In the quarter final against Wycombe they drew 0-0, but lost, unfortunately, on flicks.

• U12 girls lost in the semi-final of the Surbiton High tournament • U12 girls lost in the semi finals of the London Tournament

ANOTHER HOCKEY RULES EVENING SUCCESS! The Hockey Rules evening is an informal annual event run by the HocSoc in which parents listen to Mr Daly and Mr Durban eloquently and entertainingly explain the rules of hockey. It’s an opportunity for parents to find out about some of the more detailed rules/keep up with the rule changes and to meet other hockey parents over a glass of wine. This year we aimed the evening at parents of first form children and those new to the School and it provided a great chance for them to meet their children’s coaches in an informal environment. Mr Durban and Mr Daly also gave a round up on suitable equipment that the children require to play hockey at KGS. Many thanks to them both for giving up their time, once again, to run this event.

Look out for more information next year on which date in February 2016 this will be.

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Three Cheers for Mr Buttanshaw!

Mr Buttanshaw runs an annual tour to Wageningen, Holland and this year will be THE 30TH TOUR in a row to this Dutch Hockey Club. We think this is absolutely amazing !! A huge thank you from the HocSoc!!

The “away” leg of this is taking place for the U14A and B boys and U14A girls on 2 April and our U14B girls go to Belgium on 13 March.

We wish our teams luck!!

KGS on Tour!

Our KGS hockey players are extremely fortunate to have a number of opportunities to tour abroad during their time at School.

4th/5th years have the chance of a once in a lifetime experience tour in the summer holidays. Last year they went to South Africa and will be doing the same next year, taking part in an International Tournament in Cape Town and playing matches against local Schools and Clubs. As well as playing hockey, they visited all the classic tourist attractions including Robben Island and Table Mountain and got the chance to visit a local township and play football with the kids there.

The Tourists for July 2016 are busy fund raising, please support them where you can.

Fantastic Four Junior Hockey Internationals!

KGS has it’s very own Fantastic Four who have made it through to Junior International Squads for the 2015 programme. Congratulations go to Zach Wallace, Owen Williamson and Ellie de Heer at U16 level and Holly Munro at U18. They still have hard work ahead of them to earn selection for forthcoming international fixtures but we very

much look forward to following their progress during the programme. Good luck!

Well done too to all the players who have been selected for Surrey or Middlesex this season. Good luck for the forthcoming JRPC selections.

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Goodbye, Farewell...

What’s in the Pipeline?

It is always with a tinge of sadness that we say goodbye to our U6 hockey players as they head off to pastures new at the end of the academic year. For many, it is the end of 7 years of representing KGS and the HocSoc thank them all for their hard work and dedication.

Good luck to: Ollie Axeby, Jonnie Bird, Ben Doble, Lewis Godliman, Max Griffin, Alex Harper, Tom Miller, Matt Newton, Gus Nicholds, Max Salisbury, Harry Style, Billy Winter, Tom Whittle, Hannah Arnold, Anna Cox, Josephine Darwin, Rachel Finaly, Emma Headley, Alex Pitcairn, Kristin Read, Martha Whittall and Beth Yard-Leavett.

We hope you all continue to play (and enjoy!) hockey for many years to come and look forward to hearing your news!

Umpiring Course: KGS, together with England Hockey, are running a Level 1 Hockey Umpiring Award Course at Ditton Field Pavilion on Sunday 14 June 2015, 9am to 4pm. This is a great opportunity for any parents/students who would like to umpire school or club hockey matches to gain the qualification to do so. The course is open to all parents of any year group and students who are aged 14 upwards. There is a maximum of 24 places, the cost is £50 per person and the deadline for booking is Wednesday 3 June. Any further questions please email: umpiring@englandhockey.co.uk.

Level One Coaching Course: We are hoping to liaise with England Hockey to organise a course at School.

We’ll let you know when we have arranged this.

Bacon Butties: We have a team of helpers who regularly provide Bacon Butties (and sausages and eggs!), tea, coffee and hot chocolate on Saturday mornings at Ditton during the hockey season while the morning matches are taking place. This is our main fundraiser and seems to be much appreciated by the mini football parents as well as the hockey contingent!

HUGE thanks to the HocSoc members who have helped out, particularly to Sarah Ainsworth, who masterminds this fantastic service!!

We are always looking for new volunteers to spread the load, so if you can spare a few hours one Saturday morning, please get in touch: fdeheer@btinternet.com School team photos: the HocSoc are responsible for taking the School team photos. If for some reason you do not receive a copy, please speak to Mr Buttanshaw.

Useful Links: Check out all the latest results on the KGS parents’ portal area Sarah Ainsworth and Kathleen Farr –Co-Chairs of the Hockey Society ainsworths@blueyonder.co.uk or farr1@blueyonder.co.uk Frances De Heer –Secretary and Acting Treasurer of the Hockey Society fdeheer@btinternet.com Denis Buttanshaw -KGS Staff link dbuttanshaw@kgs.org.uk

And do follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Facebook: Search for “Kingston Grammar School Hockey Society” Twitter: @hockeyKGS 4