News for 22 June 2020
All the news for Monday 22 June 2020
New Zealand's North Harbour Hockey getting used to their new facilities
2020 was always going to be a vastly different one for the North Harbour Hockey Community. They shifted from their beloved facility on Paul Mathews Drive into the new National Hockey Centre which boasts New Zealand’s only facility with five hockey turfs on one site. Coupled that with the COVID 19 pandemic and North Harbour Hockey have had their hands full for the first six months of 2020.
Finally, after the long wait, Senior Community Hockey got underway this past weekend, and the feeling on site was one of celebration as most of the teams gathered in the impressive facility after the game to connect and share incredible stories about what has been going on.
In 2014 North Harbour Hockey had 4,343 players in their community the proceeding five years has seen dramatic growth in the Association. In 2019 they had a whopping 5,290 players and despite the delay in the hockey season and many of their community is in a very different financial situation the playing numbers at North Harbour are likely to be very similar in 2020.
The Association has sunk a significant amount of its resources into the development space in recent years. The investment in the development space has reaped some fantastic rewards for the North Harbour Community rep teams including in 2019 when their National Hockey League Teams would bring home both the K Cup and Challenge Shield as the winners of the Women’s and Men’s competitions. Despite there being no rep tournaments in 2020 the Association sees this as an opportunity to provide further development opportunities which will mean that the participants in their U13, 15 and 18 spaces will still have the chances to improve their skills and provide them with quality opportunities.
North Harbour CEO Riki Burgess commented on the return of Community Hockey in the Association “It’s really exciting to see people back on the turf. The smiles on people’s faces are what we do it for, and people are loving being back out there. Hockey is such a massive part of people’s lives, and seeing the amazing stories that were coming out during the COVID lockdown was inspiring”.
North Harbour is approaching the return to play as a phased approach, and by the start of term three, all their teams will be back on the pitch and representing their clubs and schools.
Hockey New Zealand Media release
IT’S LIVE: Community Coaching Resource Hub
Hockey New Zealand is excited to launch the Community Coaching Resource Hub.
Designed for Community Coaches, the hub will provide current resources for coaches to access and support their on-going learning. The resources will include articles, videos, templates, podcasts and webinars. The content has been developed in collaboration with association and coaching community leaders.
Each week a new article will be posted to support Community Coaches wanting to learn and grow.
Right now, you will be able to check out the following;
- Hockey NZ Podcast Episode One: Game Day Process
- Coaching Goalkeepers: Insights from Otago Hockey’s Hymie Gill and Video Resource from Vantage Black Sticks Assistant Coach Jude Menezes
- Registration for Upcoming Webinar: Live Q&A with Bay of Plenty Hockey’s Jamie Carroll and guest coaches Jason Butcher and Mark Borgers
- Sign Up for the Newsletter: Released twice a year, the first one will be released in August with a focus on the Secondary School Space
Hockey New Zealand’s Community Coaching Manager Nicole Youman said “It’s great to see the Community Coaching Resource Hub live. In listening to our community coaches and our coaching leaders, we designed a hub to share current resources to spark learning and have one place to access everything coaching.
“This initiative is a clear reflection of the strength of our coaching network, their passion and drive to support coaches and grow the game we love.
“We will be capturing insights from the hub to learn more about how our community coaches learn and continue to adapt the hub to best meet their needs.
“I would like to thank and recognise everyone that has been involved in the creation and on-going development of the hub, particularly our Hockey New Zealand Trainers network, Association Coaching Leads and the wider Hockey New Zealand team. We hope our coaches enjoy the hub”.
To access the hub, you can go through the Hockey New Zealand website under coaching or click on the link below. Remember to keep an eye out each week for the latest articles and information.
Hockey New Zealand Media release
How do I become a better hockey defender?
Brooke Neal steps out to defend against Kathryn Slattery PIC: FIH
Our resident coaching expert Todd Williams has been giving the best advice for budding juniors since 2017
Q: My favourite player is Hollie Pearne-Webb. How do I become a better defender?
That’s great that you identified such a fantastic defender as Hollie as your favourite player. My first piece of advice would be to watch the as many of the GB games in the FIH Pro League as you can and after that, any game that she is playing in on YouTube. Make some notes on the many good things that you see her do.
I’m sure you’ll find things like her instinct and commitment in her tackling. Hollie is one of the best at reading when and where she either can make a tackle or needs to make a tackle.
And that awareness almost always gets her to the right position quicker than most defenders. After that, you’ll see how strong and balanced she is when tackling, and for that you should look closely at how good her footwork is as she approaches the player with the ball.
As a defender, the other side of your role is helping get the ball forward. Here you’ll see how good Hollie’s flat passing is when the ball is being transferred around the back as the defenders try and create gaps in the opposition’s press.
Most importantly, you’ll also see how she is always looking for the opportunity to pass forward through the first line of players to her strikers and midfielders. That pass is invariably firm, flat and accurate – exactly where her teammate wants it.
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The Hockey Paper