Category Archives: Committee News

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Match reports 24-02-24

Whitchurch ladies 3’s 0 Sandbach ladies 2’s 6

Whitchurch 3’s were expecting a hard match with top of our league sandbach 2’s.

The first half Whitchurch were able to keep Sandbach at bay with pretty even possession, with Isla
Gregory getting a good shot on goal.

0-0 at half time, Whitchurch were optimistic but also not complacent at the half time team talk. Whitchurch were right not to be as Sandbach came back even more determined and feisty, scoring a whopping 6 goals in the second half. This determination meant keeper Alice Snaith was kept very busy but her impressive save in the last few minutes, almost doing the splits, showed the commitment and resilience that all the 3’s show every week.

Whitchurch Men’s 2s 2 Macclesfield Men’s 3s 3

After the heavy loss earlier in the season Whitchurch didnt know what to expect from the travelling Macclesfield team.

A highly competitive game followed as Whitchurch again continued to improve but still lacked the clinical finishing in front of goal. Will Edwards again provided the much needed goals for the Whitchurch team with a run and shot in the first half and a neat deflection from a penalty corner in the second.

Whitchurch travel to Winnington Park next week to get points looking to build on their continued improvements.

Match Reports – 09-12-23

Whitchurch ladies 3’s 0 Runcorn ladies development 3

The match was a very evenly played game with free runs made by both sides but no goals scored from these. Runcorn scored 2 goals from short corners just flicking the ball into the back of the goal. The third came from a long corner and that crept past the goalie. There were lots of runs made but Runcorn’s defence kept our girls away from the goal. With only 11 players all were very tired by the end but continued to grow as a team. Some fancy footwork was shown from our player of the match Jan Teggin with a brilliant run down the wing. Some very accurate passes and skills were exhibited.

Whitchurch Ladies 2s 4 Wilmslow ladies 4s 2

Whitchurch had first pushback and started with some good passing across the middle  between Rachel Chesters , Bella Morris and Maisie Bennet. The ball was pushed up towards the forwards with a shot on goal by Heidi Groom, unfortunately missing the post.

Wilmslow made a quick recovery and pushed up into Whitchurch’s dee with some good defence by Hermonie Ball and Catherine Reece-Gresty. Wilmslow managed to score a goal. This made Whitchurch more determined so the play was pushed up towards the opposition dee with lots of pressure on by Lexi Morgan and Nipper leading to the second goal scored by Rachel Chesters. However Wilmslow made some shots on goal with some good saves by Phoebe Gregory, but they managed to get a goal off a short corner. This was the end of the second half.

After a motivational team talk by Emma Stubbs, the second half commenced. Nipper made some nice runs up the middle passing with Bella Morris. Whitchurch had a few shots on goal but were saved by the keeper. This led to a short corner for Whitchurch. This allowed for the goal to be scored by Nipper. Whitchurch remained a strong structure with good communication across the pitch. Heidi Groom had many good tackles leading to Whitchurch’s 4th goal scored by Freya . Whitchurch remained strong throughout and ended on 4-2 to Whitchurch. A great end to the season

Chester Ladies 3s 4 Whitchurch Ladies 1s 10

Whitchurch started off strong with the first pushback yet blinded by the bright sun. Centre forward Georgia Munro and centre mid Lisa Sullivan worked together to push the ball up the pitch towards Chester’s Dee. There was some excellent passing up front between Poppy Huxley, Poppy Gilbert leading Munro to score her first goal. Soon after, Chester had some lucky hits down the pitch and made way into our Dee scoring their first goal, but this didn’t stop Whitchurch. With goalie Caz Wynn shouting her famous new phrase “stop being a ball watcher”, this pushed everyone to get stuck in with defence India Freer Carmichael and Katie Laffey leading the way. Shortly after they cleared the ball to Georgia allowing her to score another goal. Hayley Kellet and Holly Edwards made some amazing runs and beautifully passed between each other to reach Chester’s Dee. This enabled Whitchurch to gain multiple short corners, which unfortunately weren’t successful. However, Whitchurch stayed strong with Sarah Kay pivoting the ball up to Jasmin Williams who scored our third goal. This pushed Whitchurch’s confidence allowing Poppy Gilbert to gain possession of the ball, passing to Poppy Huxley then to Jasmin Williams who drove into the Dee and scored just before half time. This made the score 4-1 at half time.

A quick start to the second half was made with Georgia Munro running the ball from the halfway line into the Dee and scoring another goal chipping it over the keeper’s head. Some beautiful transfers were carried out around the back by Katie, India, Hayley and Poppy meaning we could use both widths of the pitch to our advantage and wear the opposition out. The ball in Chester’s Dee again with a rebound from the goalie allowed Williams to score Whitchurch’s 6th goal. Chester continued to push up the pitch and managed to pass through the strong defence and score 2 more goals. This only made Whitchurch work even harder with passes from the mids allowing Munro to score again making the score 7-3. With a little distraction of Whitchurch receiving 2 green cards, we held the strong defence to prevent Chester entering the Dee. Lisa Sullivan gained possession of the ball and hit up to Munro who scored another brilliant goal. With everyone slowly tiring towards the end of the game, Chester scored a lucky 4th goal. But this didn’t phase Whitchurch, as goalie Wynn continued to make some amazing saves preventing Chester scoring any more goals. Finally, Munro and Williams scored two more goals making the final score 10-4. A well-deserved win for Whitchurch!

Chairman’s Newsletter

Hello to all WHC Members,

I hope you’ve all had a restful and relaxing summer break, but now it’s time for the fun to really begin. Welcome to September and the start of our 2023/24 season! For those of you who played in the Summer Hockey League at Deeside, well done, some good results against some strong opposition and while not all fixtures could be fulfilled, to be unbeaten in those we played is an excellent showing. To the ladies who took part in the Telford League and only went and won the whole thing a huge congratulations – we are very proud of your achievement.

First league fixtures are on 23rd Sept but there are 1 or 2 friendlies and other things leading up to then, I’ve listed these below but get on to TeamApp and see what else is happening around the club. I know there are plans afoot for drinks and a curry after the club day so speak to your captains and get signed up.

Dates for your diary:
Training starts w/c 4th September (see TeamApp for more details)
Academy starts Saturday 9th Sept. at 10am
Club Day on Saturday 9th Sept. (12 – 3pm @ SJT – please sign up on TeamApp)
Race Night coming up in October – more information soon
Xmas Do on Saturday 16th December – save the date and get your sparkle on!

As a committee we have been working tirelessly over the summer to ensure the club provides what our members expect, and ensure that facilities and the club itself are ready for this new season. We remain affiliated to Whitchurch Rugby Club and I would always encourage our members after games to get over there and show our faces, the more we do this the more it begins to feel like a combined sports club and our home too. I know many of you are hoping for a new pitch at SJT and we are aware it’s seen better days. We’re working with the school, local council, Shropshire council and England Hockey to try and make this happen. When we get closer the whole club will have a role to play so we will be in touch with more information as soon as we have it, but I might advise not holding your breath – these things can be a drawn out affair.

This club is run purely on volunteers and their support is what makes hockey happen for us and this town. Maybe there’s something you can do or would like to try and support the club with. Please reach out to one of the committee and let us know how you might be able to support. Any and all help is always welcome.

We are pleased to say that, in these financially uncertain times, the membership fees and match fees for this season will not increase on last year. However, it is important for the continuity of the club that we pay on time and when asked. Membership fees are available to purchase right now on TeamApp and Whitchurch Hockey Club remains one of, if not the cheapest club to play at certainly in the region and maybe even in the country. Should you be impacted by financial hardship at this time then please I urge you to speak to your captain or one of the committee so that we can help – we do not want to lose anyone from the club and financial hardship should not be a barrier to playing sports ever.

There have been some changes to the committee so as a reminder I share the below positions:
Chair – Martin Beecher (me)
Vice-Chair – Cath W-Gresty (also Ladies 1’s team captain)
Treasurer – James Partington
Secretary – Alex Fry (also team and academy coach)
Development Officer – Craig Hockenhull
Protection Officer – Suzanne Foulkes

If you have any comments or suggestions for the club please reach out to one of us as we are always happy to receive feedback and improve the club for all.

I look forward to seeing you all on the 9th at the Club Day, if not earlier at training and wish you all the very best for the upcoming season.

Martin Beecher
Chair

Under 16 – University of Birmingham Hockey Club Coaching Sessions – June 2023

University of Birmingham Hockey Club are running coaching sessions throughout June 2023.

These sessions will be led by current members of the University of Birmingham Hockey Club Women’s 1st Team, with multiple players achieving international junior and senior caps from a range of nations, including England & GB, USA, and South Africa.

Below are the dates that we will run sessions throughout June. The sessions will be held on the Bournbrook Pitches at the University of Birmingham, and are available to anyone under the age of 16. Please respond to the date(s) your children would like to attend, providing their name and age.

Sunday 11th June, 9-11am

Sunday 18th June, 9-11 am

Sunday 25th June, 9-11 am

The cost will be £10 per person per session.

Please confirm attendance for the first session (11th June) by Thursday 8th June

For further information see the Clubs teamapp new page or contact

Coca Hall bracebridge.coca@hotmail.co.uk