The primary hockey season is in full swing and we have an extremely enthusiastic group of around 60 children, mostly from Martinborough School, playing for the Martinborough Junior Hockey club. This year, five teams have been entered in the primary hockey competition at Clareville, two teams in the 6-aside grades and three teams in the 11-aside grades (up from two entered last season).
We have been able to enter a mixed team of year 7 and 8 boys and girls in the A grade of the 11-aside competition this year, and special thanks goes to the dedication of their coach, Amanda Draper, who has worked tirelessly with these players to improve their skills and confidence over the last couple of years enabling them to play at this level of the primary competition. Some of the players in the Martinborough 1st XI team will be trialling for the U13 Wairarapa representative teams.
We are extremely grateful for the funding support we have received over the last 12 months from two community organisations. We received a grant of $619 from Trust House Foundation in October last year which was used to purchase some new practice gear: new balls and cones for all the teams as well as junior bibs for the 6-aside and our youngest 11-aside teams.
More recently, the Martinborough Community Board approved a grant of $2,157 which enabled us to purchase a new set of junior goalie gear for the goalie in our youngest 11-aside team – not cheap at $750 a set – as well as new senior bibs for our 1st XI team, and some smart new coaching bags, first aid kits, coaching folders and drink bottle holders for all teams.
We are so appreciative of the support from these two community organisations. All of the new equipment is being used every week at practices and games – so a big shout out to Trust House and the Martinborough Community Board for helping us out. The kids are loving all the new gear, the coaches are now better equipped to give more effective training sessions, and everyone is having fun!
We are also extremely grateful to all the coaches and managers of the teams, all of them volunteers who put a huge amount of time and effort into practices each week, as well as refereeing the games at the Clareville turf, often in freezing winter conditions.
Thank you also to the parent and family supporters of the teams who transport the children to and from the weekly practices and games. The good news is that we get to sleep in for two weekends of the July school holidays before getting back into the second round of the competition next term. Enjoy the break and keep practising kids – who knows, one of you may be a future
