Kick Off Mark 2 2016
Hi everyone and welcome again to 2016. For many senior members the season commences this weekend. We have a host of hockey scheduled at Greensborough with all teams playing at home.
On Saturday the Premier League and Reserves teams take on Essendon on ground 1 and we have 3 Men’s and 1 Women’s pennant games on ground 2. The day kicks off at 12:30pm with the last matches of the day commencing at 5:00pm. This will be a great day for juniors to get down and see some top quality hockey running on both grounds.
On Sunday we have our Pennant E Women’s team and our Women’s Metro B along with 3 Men’s Metro games. I am expecting we will have a big crowd on Saturday and I am hopeful a sunny afternoon on Sunday will also provide a great day and crowd to support our up and coming players across the club.
The hockey shop will be open both days. If you require anything specific, please feel free to call or email me prior to 5pm Friday, I will endeavour to have it in stock on Saturday. For those not sure, there is now a great range of sticks, shoes, and protective equipment, along with those easily forgotten items like grips and grip tape. My mobile is 0418 240 866.
I am also seeking someone to take control of the shop moving forward. Please see me on the weekend if you are interested. This would be a great opportunity for young member to develop some business and sales skills.
Volunteers – We are still seeking volunteers to help around the club. If you have time or talents please speak to me, there are many ways to be involved and can vary in time required greatly.
Sponsors – We are finalising sponsors for 2016. The support to date has been amazing, following on from very generous support from a number of members and businesses over the past few years. Please see Stuart Young if you are interested in some form of sponsorship.
A quick note on the last two weekends of Burra hockey.
The girls have kicked the year off with a bang. Premier League have won both games and the reserves are 1 win and 1 loss. It is exciting to see the number of girls playing in our premier league team who were playing either 2nds or 3rds hockey over the past two years. Congratulations to Fiona Bathie, who made her debut in round 1. I also want to congratulate Alana Butler, who is away managing the Under 15 Victorian Girls and Karina de Vries-Apted who between them have only conceded 2 goals which in two very close games has been invaluable for the team. Congratulations also to Steph Riordan who has jumped to an early lead in the competition goal scoring, a position she has become very familiar with over the past few years. Who would have thought she started as a defender! Sorry Steph if I just let the secret out. Congratulations also to Nicola Hammond who after an outstanding game in round 1 has headed off to be part of the Under 21’s Victorian Women’s team competing in the National titles. Nicola has already scored a goal and the Vics have kicked off exceptionally well to be one of the favourites.
The Men’s Premier League results have not quite been the start the boys were looking for with two losses. The reserves, like the girls, sit 1 and 1. A really encouraging sign for the club has been the promising debuts by Matt Coen and Tom Woodman from Pennant A and the Reserves respectively from last year. It is particularly pleasing to see both Matt and Tom get their chance in Premier League as I can personally vouch for the uncompromising effort both have put in to ensure they get the very best out of themselves. Well done to you both! We have also had Ryan Nagle and Ash Bingle debut for the club, both players joining GHC this year to be a part of our very successful Men’s program. It is great to have both of the boys at the club. Ash Bingle is also currently representing Victoria in the Under 21 Nationals where the Vics have had a very promising start.
Supporter Wear – Our new and exciting supporter/off-field wear continues to be available to order. There has been great support for this to date. Please see Amy or Stuart Young for more information.
Lastly, don’t forget for all your non hockey related sporting equipment needs, please set up a GHC Club card with Rebel Sport or make sure GHC is your chosen club if you already have one. The club will receive benefits from all purchases at all Rebel Sport stores nationally when you swipe your card or get them to look up your details at the register. Feel free to join up family and friends also, they will benefit from regular club card offers.
I am looking forward to massive weekend for the club. Hope to see you all there.
Matt Trounce – President
0418240866