Plymouth Lions Hockey Club
Plymouth Marjon Hockey Centre Plymouth Marjon University Derriford Road Plymouth PL6 8BH
– Chairs Report 2024/25
The first season of the newly formed Plymouth Lions Hockey Club has proved to be one of small steps, but we are moving in the right direction. At the heart of the new club is still our commitment to promoting hockey in the community and creating a club that encourages a warm and welcoming social environment where players young and old can thrive, developing their hockey skills at the right level and within the right playing environment.
Our first job was to find sponsors for the new club so that we could provide new club shirts at a reduced cost and we are very grateful to Crow Hockey, BuildX, Salcombe Rigging, Hemisphere Rigging, Fay Pedler Physiotherapy, Tax Assist and ReTest Group for their contributions, and to Dave Smith for his work in securing the funds and creating the new logo.
The men’s sides have prospered through having more members to choose from, but at times getting teams out has still proved a challenge. We are grateful to those members who play for the club and will help with other teams when needed. The more members that have this ethos the better the experience will be for all members.
Player commitment continues to be a challenge in all sections of the club, with members being less regularly available or keen to totally dedicate themselves to hockey, so being able to offer flexible membership options, although difficult to manage remains essential.
Team’s successes and challenges can be found in the Club Captains reports. But I would like to take this opportunity to thank Nicky Widdecombe, Pete Sandry and Liam Jonas for their unwavering commitment to making sure that the club fields teams weekly and that the overriding influence in selection is what’s best for the club and not necessarily individuals or a particular team. Not always very easy and members need to appreciate that this is a difficult role and very time consuming! Next season we hope to make things easier and the process of selection and communication of selection more efficient. Obviously if you have any suggestions to support this process, please talk to one of the Club Captains.
The senior teams have been coached by Matt Bell, Ash Hough, Nick Clooke and Nicky Widdecombe (keepers). Other members have stepped in when needed and the club is grateful to them all! We are lucky to have such well qualified and committed coaches. However, members can help make life easier for them by turning up on time with the right at ude to make the most of each session. Respect and self-motivation are key!
Games would not be possible without our team of umpires, who give of their time to support the club. We could not manage without them! A big thank you to Rob Logan for taking on the Umpire Development role and for organising the pool of umpires on a weekly basis. We have managed to provide umpires for all league games which is a great achievement! However, having more umpires would reduce the need for some or our umpires to do more than one game each week! If you are interested in getting involved, please talk to Rob! Congratulations to James Hulbert who completed his Level 1 this season and is currently our youngest umpire!
hello@plymouthlionshockey.club
www.plymouthlionshockey.club Registered Charity no: 1131988
Plymouth Lions Hockey Club
Plymouth Marjon Hockey Centre Plymouth Marjon University Derriford Road Plymouth PL6 8BH
Thanks go to Rob Logan, Stephen Murphy, Nicky Widdecombe, Chris Coles, Alun Woodcock, Mike Timson, James Hulbert, Liam Jonas, Andy Dawe, David King, Graham Smith, Sarah Harris, Daisy Murphy, Phil Mutlow, Steve Tew, and Lisa Bruckner who have all found time to umpire for the club or support with umpire development.
We have continued to promote hockey within the community and offer opportunities for members to enjoy an activity that enables a variety of ages, genders, and abilities to take part. We have again increased our junior membership, thanks largely to our links with a local Primary School with whom we have worked to provide hockey for children who would otherwise be unable to access it. Our school’s membership with Horrabridge Primary School means children of lowincome families can access hockey for free, which has had a huge impact on both the club and the families of those involved. Next season we want to extend this opportunity to other schools through a school’s programme which is funding dependent. We are currently working on this. The future of the club is reliant on increasing our junior numbers and developing the talent that we already have.
We are very proud of the fact that our U10 and U12 Boys teams again reached the regional finals in the In2 Hockey competition as County winners and runners up respectively. Both teams competed well at the finals with the U10s finishing 4[th] and the U12s finishing as West Champions! A massive achievement for a small club with limited resources in comparison to others in the competition. The U12Bs went on to the National Finals, a first for the club! Finishing 6[th] out of 8 Nationally cannot be underestimated. The club should be very proud of the squad. Thanks must go to the coaches and parents involved with both squads - John Flippance as lead coach and Ash Hough as part of the performance group for the U12Bs and, Mike Timson and Tom Bell for the U10s. The club is lucky to have a group of members who give of their time to support and develop young players ensuring they enjoy their hockey and keep coming back!
Jo Clews, Donna Lancaster (U8s) Mike Timson and Tom Bell (U10s), John Flippance, Ash Hough (U12Bs), Ash Hough, Alun Woodcock and Simon Fraser U14s, myself and James Hulbert the U12/U14Gs and Nicky Widdecombe the keepers. The junior coaches have been supported by a number of young leaders and they have been fantastic in their commitment and enthusiasm. Big thanks to Harry Timson, Lily McKee, Ella Short, and Wes Flippance.
Some of our youth players have also achieved individual success through representative hockey. Talent Academy – Ella Short, Maggie Haffenden, Rueben Keeling Talent Academy currently under assessment – Olivia Lennard, Will Fraser. West Panthers U13 Cup team – Ernie Hunt
West Panthers U13 Trophy Team – Oliver and Oscar Hulbert
West Panthers U12 Cup Team – Oliver and Oscar Hulbert
Devon U17s – James Hulbert, Ollie Houlberg, Jack Lennard, Rebecca Boyd, Maggie Haffenden Devon U15s – Olivia Lennard, Lily McKee, Isabel Erasmus, Freda Jameson, Rueben Keeling
Devon U14s – Lucy Hulbert, Will Fraser, Oliver Hulbert, Oscar Hulbert, Rueben Keeling
The Primary School Festival ran again in early June with children from local schools taking part. Continuing to engage with the local school community is paramount in the club moving forward. As part of this we are also improving our link with
hello@plymouthlionshockey.club
www.plymouthlionshockey.club Registered Charity no: 1131988
Plymouth Lions Hockey Club
Plymouth Marjon Hockey Centre Plymouth Marjon University Derriford Road Plymouth PL6 8BH
Plymouth College and Ash Hough will be going in in September to support with hockey in the curriculum and an afterschool club which we hope will in turn increase our number at the OPM Puma satellite club. We have also received a request from Devonport High for Boys about supporting them with hockey development. Lots of positives around junior development.
Master’s hockey continues to grow and as a club we have again been successful with our women’s O45s again reaching the quarter finals of the EH Tier 1 cup and our O35s who competed in the Tier 2 competition. The men combined with other local clubs to play but we didn’t enter any age groups as a club side. Nick Carter, Mike Timson and Pete Sandry were part of the Sea Dogs team (Ocean City, Lions, DS combined) team that lost in the tier 3 semi-finals at O55s. We have 3 members playing international master’s hockey for England:
Matt Bell and Ben Blundy at O40s and Paula Clough at O55s. Jackie Anning is a non-travelling reserve at O55. Paula Clough was part of the England O55s team that won gold at the World Championships in New Zealand in November. Huge congratulations to her.
Alun Woodcock has represented the Welsh Dragons at O45s and has recently been to Valencia playing in the Tier 2 European Masters tournament.
Pete Sandry has represented England LX O60s at various Masters Tournaments and managed the England LX O70s. A number of our women have represented the West at varying masters age groups.
Jo Clews and Dee Brunt at O40s, Bev Urbans at O50s, Jackie Anning and Paula Clough at O55s.
On the men’s side Matt Bell and Ben Bundy at O40s, Nick Clooke at O50s and Nick Carter the O60s.
As well as players, coaches and umpires the club needs someone to actively promote the club through social media platforms! It is essential we showcase the club at every opportunity and the efficiency of Laura Bale, who is responsible for this, is second to none! This season Jo Loughran joined Laura to link in with the men’s section and further develop the social media posts with a clear plan of what goes out and when. With the addition of a number of club sponsors we needed to ensure coverage for them was at the forefront too. The club data shows an increase in views month by month with the new weekly team sheet posts being the most popular.
Captains are important in the week to week managing of teams and are essential to the running of the club. A big thank you to Matt Puttock, Rachael Stannard/Donna Lancaster, Sam Hewitt, Evan Cox/Kieran Davey, Hobson Ward, Amelia Gledhill, Izzy Severgnini and Tom Peirson alongside the respective Club Captains who are the link between the players and the committee.
So finally, the committee! Again, a big thank you to Becky Hart, Nick Clooke and Rob Logan, fellow Trustees, Nicky Widdecombe (Welfare/Safeguarding/Club Captain), Pete Sandry and Liam Jonas Men’s Club Captains, Mel Hulbert (Fixtures), Mike Timson (Membership), Hannah Bagshaw-Bale (Secretary), Dave Smith (Sponsorship), Tom Peirson (Website).
hello@plymouthlionshockey.club
www.plymouthlionshockey.club Registered Charity no: 1131988
Plymouth Lions Hockey Club
Plymouth Marjon Hockey Centre Plymouth Marjon University Derriford Road Plymouth PL6 8BH
A group of people who are responsible for the day to day running of the club and who ensure that all members are able to play hockey when they want to with transport to matches covered, pitch bookings made, umpires provided, teas and kit available, affiliations paid, insurance sorted, GMS system updated and managed, invoices paid promptly and finances managed, meetings attended at every level from club, through to the national governing body!
It’s a big-time commitment and they do so as volunteers alongside full time jobs and in some case young families! There is always room for more! No matter how small a job, every little helps as they say!
Please if you feel you can help in anyway, please let us know! The more people that are taking on small roles, the less we all have to do! And the bigger the club gets the more people we need!
Next season sees the introduction by England Hockey of a new membership fee for all senior and junior members. This will have far reaching implications for everyone playing hockey across the country as clubs look to cover this cost and still maintain affordability. However, because of the new pitch at Stoke Damerell, Plymouth is set to see some benefits of this through funding state school hockey development. Any development programme for hockey will be a benefit for all Plymouth clubs, a much needed boost.
Jackie Daw Chair/Trustee/Junior Lead
hello@plymouthlionshockey.club
www.plymouthlionshockey.club Registered Charity no: 1131988
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