GDHC Junior Report 2013 - Glebe District Hockey Club

Glebe Junior Report 2013till the end of the season. The players should not look back on this season as an unsuccessful year.While wins on the board didn’t come our way, individually player’s skills and consistency improvedthroughout the season as did the side’s team work and structural play. By season’s end playerswere trying new things and were constructing plays rather than the plays occurring byhappenstance.I believe we would have enjoyed a couple of wins this season if not hampered by injuries todifferent players and if we were able to field the same team throughout the season. The side used19 players this season and it is very hard to produce consistent performances when you are unableto field a core group of players for every game. Another aspect that hampered the team was thestructure of the competition. A draw which seemed to evolve throughout year leading to onemonth of no hockey during the State Championships and school holidays in the middle of theseason. This kind of scheduling may not have affected some of the top sides in the competitionbut for a side such as ours which is developing, it is a major barrier. Such a large break fromplaying does not help a team or kids learning the game to maintain any sort of continuity in theirtraining and development. This is something that needs to be addressed by the governing body.Looking forward to next season I believe this team can continue to improve and can produce thekind of hockey to play in the finals. For this to become a reality a few little things must happen. Agreater attendance at training is required so that they can continue to work on their teamstructures and players need to think more about what they are doing on the field. All this requiresis some application and players realising often that they have more time than they think on theball.All in all I think there is a lot to look forward to from this team and I look forward to coaching theteam again next season.Thank you to the Under-13 players Angus Baird, Hugh Dallen, Tim Pritchard, Alanna Howe andJackson Howe who all filled in and helped us throughout the season. They all displayedtremendous skill and never let the team down. I hope everyone enjoys the off-season and comesback to the hockey season refreshed and injury free!Sam Alexander-Prideaux, CH: Is a player with plenty of skill and potential. As the seasonprogressed Sam developed in to one of the side’s primary attacking forces and was alwaysdependable in defence.Catherine Barlin, W: Is an athletic winger who beat many a halfback thanks to her swift turn offoot. If she can keep her speed and get stronger as she grows she will be a great asset upfront foryears to come.Grace Dallen H/IF: Grace possesses good skill and a powerful shot. She has the ability to play inmultiple positions and I believe if she backed herself more she could surprise herself with whatshe could accomplish.Litiana Field, FB: Our rock in defence. Litiana caused every forward in the competition headacheswith her tackling and intercepts in defence. As the year went on Litiana also developed in to anattacking player who made incisive passes to the midfield and forwards.Glebe District Hockey Club 83nd Year Page 7