Whitchurch Hockey Academy continues its summer programme alongside the Back2Hockey sessions.
The Back2Hockey and Academy enjoy the most of the sun.
The academy pick the name of the new club mascot “Ben the bear”
All posts by Alex Fry
Don Nairn
It is with great sadness that Whitchurch Hockey Club has to announce the passing of its longest-serving member Donald Nairn.
Don was involved with the club for many years as player, umpire, coach and committee member, and was instrumental in the development of the club’s future. Don was a pioneer, establishing links between schools and the club back in the 1980s by running an Under 13 boys tournament to encourage local schools to take up the sport.
In the 1990s he established a primary school development project to encourage players at a younger age, leading to the creation of the Whitchurch Hockey Academy for the development of junior players.
His involvement in securing funding and getting the Whitchurch astroturf pitch opened in 1999 provided a basis for the long term future of the club, and he continued to lead the way in building its development through junior coaching, the creation of the Fathom team (now the Men’s 2s) and the introduction of Rush hockey in more recent years.
Don’s involvement in hockey stretched beyond the club, providing coaching for development teams of all ages within Shropshire Hockey, and serving as a committee member of the Shropshire Hockey Association.
So many people have a huge affection for Don, from youngsters in the club today to those who were playing with him forty years ago. It’s impossible to describe the impact he has had over his time here.
The club would like to say a big thank you for all his years of loyal service, and to wish his family our condolences at this sad time.
A Thanksgiving & Celebration Service for the life of Allan Donald Nairn will take place at St Alkmund’s Church, Whitchurch at 2.30pm on Tuesday 2nd February.
U13s CVL – 20 Sep 2014
A great performance from the Whitchurch players yesterday on our first outing at the Shropshire-organised U13s Central Venue League. We were able to lend 2 players to Shrewsbury as they were short, so everyone got lots of play.
Results as follows:
Game 1 vs Shrewsbury. Whitchurch won 4-2 with goals from Ben Kimberley (3) and Morgan Chapman.
Game 2 vs Telford. Whitchurch won 3-2 with another hat-trick from Ben Kimberley.
Game 3 vs William Brooke’s. Whitchurch lost 5-2, with our goals coming from Locki Price and Morgan Chapman. William Brooke’s were an outstanding team, so we did really well with some great defending and goalkeeping from Aaron Swain.
Huge thanks to all the players and parents, and especially to Claire Hamer for running the team on the day.
Club Day 2014 – Full Report
A great day was had by Academy, Juniors and Seniors at our first Club Day (for many years) which was organised as part of England Hockey’s National Club Weekend.
The Academy kicked off the day with their first session of the new year. A lot of familiar faces missing – they turned up later on in the morning as the latest additions to our junior cohort – but plenty of new ones. Big thanks to Craig and Lee for helping out this week, and as usual to Neil, plus our ever-keen junior helper Jess!
Here’s a nice picture of the Academy players, parents and helpers at the end of the session.
It was fantastic to see such a great turnout of junior and senior players for the next session – a fitness and skills assessment. The enthusiasm and commitment to that first fitness test bodes well for the season!
And to round off the day, the Mens 1s and Fathom players hosted Northop Hall for a friendly. Some very promising spells, and some very rusty periods, ended in a 4-3 win to the visitors, and plenty of stuff to work on in training.
Well done to everyone who took part today, and helped organise it. If you have any more photos of the day, send them through and we’ll put them on the site.