Finishing with a win

The sun shone and even though, at roughly 10.00, we had a squad of 10, by the time of push back we had 12. Our hockey matched the weather, bright and very pleasant ! 2-0 up, they nicked a goal back, we stretched it to 4-1 and then thy nicked a goal from a corner after the final whistle had gone. A fair result and it left us in a credible 5th place in the league.

Upon reflection, we were a side that could have placed higher. Other than Holcombe away where we fielded a very weakened side we were competitive in every game we played. When we had a consistency of availability and avoided injuries and covid induced absences we backed ourselves to win. We took points from 3 of the 4 above us including beating Sevenoaks twice.

Some quick mentions - Tim Sylvester scored all 4 goals today to take his league season tally to 20 ! A fine effort for one of the stalwarts of this team. Other stalwarts included Ben Edwards, Hugh Freese, Luke Barrett & Freddie Hoare who played over 75% of the games and were strong, dependable performers who were a pleasure to coach and play with.

A special thank you to captain and goalkeeper Matt Day. A real find for our club, a talented player who is a big supporter of the juniors in the side and was an exemplary skipper.

Regular guest appearances came from Simon Hare, David House, David Hemsley, Chris Pelham & Cameron Green and all made our side stronger with their applied ability and experience.

On to the key focus for this side - youth development:

Our regulars juniors were James Nicholson, Zach Olette, Seb Wright & Sam Judge. In the last 1st XI league game of the season we had 4 Academy players in the squad - Toby, Mack, Zach & James and this was so pleasing.

Zach has developed his game-craft, he is more assured on the ball and applies his obvious physical talents to become an intimidating defensive presence with a great shave tackle. Consistency of level for the full 70 mins is his next challenge and this will help him push for regular 1st XI squad selections.

James would have been promoted to the 1's on a number of occasions but suffered from being a talented dual athlete and playing school rugby in the Autumn term. We have moved James into a midfield role and he has responded admirably, strong on the ball, strong in the tackle and a real presence. He very rarely gives away the ball and is highly coachable.

Seb joined our club in September and has been a real find. Extremely skilful, can beat a man with ease and has scored two absolute worldies this season with a lob vs Herne Bay and a run from halfway vs Canterbury beating numerous players to win the game 3-2 for us with 2 mins to go. If he can harness his skill with continuing to develop his retention of the ball and his eye for a pass, he will press for selection at a higher level.

That leaves Sam and its always difficult to be objective about your own son. He has a great range of passing and sees a pass early. His lead running is highly intelligent and this ensures he sees a lot of possession in every game he plays. His next step is to develop his physicality to the next level and continue to work on his defensive skills as he has everything else. Another who will be pushing the 1's squad hard in the upcoming pre-season.

Notable mentions should also go to Ethan Gillespie, Tommy Barlow, Tim Clouston, Tom Hunt & Angus Crawford who are all 17 and under and have played for the 2nd XI this year. The future is bright with the talent of these juniors.

An enjoyable season, my only hope for next year is that we encourage consistent availability and a commitment to play when selected. If we do that, this club will continue to make impressive strides.