Congratulations to everyone on the great start to the season. I was very impressed by the level of organisation and there were not too many issues at a club level.
The things that impressed me were
1. The New Uniform for the girls looked great and the design tweaks seem to have worked. Thank you to Heather Hogan, and all those that assisted her with the preparation, fit outs, taking the orders and for delivery and payment. Also thank you to Darianne Willmot for the design work.
2. The Northern District Hockey League started on Monday and was a great success. Thank you to Erika Newbegin and her many helpers for getting the competition organised and started. Congratulations to all of the coaches and umpires that assist with the conduct of the League and welcome to all of the new kids and their parents. The NDHL has grown impressively and we had to move the Under 10 group to the second ground as we had so many Under 8 kids. I encourage every member to come down to the club on a Monday evening from 6-7pm and to see the NDHL in action.
3. Congratulations to all of the members who participated in the Australian Under 15 and Under 18 championships held last week. Justin Hooper, Alana McQueen and Alana Butler were involved as coaches and Meagan Lendon, Chris Spatharis, Casey Kingi and Karina DeVries Apted were involved as players. All I am sure enjoyed and benefitted from the experience.
4. The state of the grounds and the pavilion was also impressive. Thank you to the volunteers that clean up, blow the rubbish of the grounds and a special thanks to Paul DeMan and his sponsorship which employs a cleaner. Please continue to look after the amenity and clean up after you.
5. Over a dozen social members joined the club last week. Under the new constitution this category of membership has full voting rights and it was great to see so many people willingly pay the membership fee.
6. Thank you to everyone who has paid their fees to date. I cannot tell you how much this assists the committee to meet our financial obligations and to manage cash flow. If you have not paid yet please do so. The work required to follow up late payers is extensive and a burden on the time of volunteers.
7. The first Premier League Live streaming was successful. Our sponsor Quest Apartments was happy with the exposure and the number of hits. Please try to have a look on Sunday this week. You go to the HV web page and there is a link. Our home Match on May 17 will be live streamed and it would be great if we had a big crowd there for the day. Looking at the Live Streaming and attending our home game that day helps to promote the event and increases the value to the sponsors and in turn to the club.
8. Well done to teams on the field. Overall the results were very favourable and we made a good start. Good luck to all this week and a special good luck to the teams who will record their first win for the year this weekend.
9. While I really like the top of the house teams I also get a thrill watching our community teams. I went over to Doncaster to watch a girls team play and I was so impressed with their effort and comradeship. And they had fun!!!
My Hero this week
While I will not promise to write something each week when I do sit down to the computer I want to recognize a club member whose efforts warrant recognition. In doing so I am sure that I will not catch every special effort this year so I apologise if I miss you. I am also happy to take nominations.
This week I want to recognize the Ludwick family. What prompted me was seeing Ian handing out sticks and shin pads to the little Under 8 kids having their first night at the NDHL. He was so kind and patient with the little kids and they were so excited to get a stick. Not only have Ian and Catherine been stalwarts of the club for many years but the boys have the same inclination. Taking on roles as goal keepers and umpires, sometimes not the most popular of assignment, demonstrates the attitude of the family and the kind of character that makes me proud of our club. Not only does Ian help with the NDHL but he also plays in the seniors and the Veterans. He is great with young kids entering the senior ranks and happily mentors their introduction to senior hockey.
So everyone please take the time to thank the Ludwick’s this week especially but also know that every week they forsake some of their own time to give to the club and its members.
Please note that for the Anzac Day matches there will be a minutes silence prior to each match. Please show the appropriate respect when this occurs and think of the wonderful effort by the ANZACS 100 years ago.
Also please mark your calendars for the Junior Country Championships on May 23 and 24. We need over 100 volunteers to support the event and you will be asked in the coming weeks for a couple of hours of your time to help over the weekend.
Have a good hockey week.