GBHI NEWSLETTER
Posted by Claire Dibb on 6th October, 2009
1. MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Welcome to the first edition of GBHI’s Academy newsletter for parents and players to read on what’s been happening and will be happening during the coming season. Our GBHI GB teams had a very successful trip to TORHs. The TORHs competition took place in Florida during June and July 2009 in West Palm Beach. The event was well organised and the GBHI teams were made to feel very welcome by the TORHs staff. Our teams played good hockey and found their opponents capable of a high standard. The older players enjoyed an evening’s training and scrimmage with CJ Yoder and the younger players met up with him and obtained autographs. Ian Mackie, one of the TORHs managers said that be believed he had made friends for life with the Brits and we all agree. Congratulations to the 18 and senior teams who brought home bronze medals, a first for GBHI at this competition. Well done to all the teams, we were very proud of your performance and commitment to the tournament.
2. ACADEMY NEWS
The academy is committed to providing an opportunity for it’s talented players to join a squad and train together with the aim of improving throughout the year. We want to look for tournaments for our teams to compete in and give as many of our squad the chance to play as possible. We recognise that not every talented player can afford the cost of crossing the Atlantic to compete, so if you hear of European or more local events let us know.
We are looking for volunteer coaches and managers of all age groups to take these players to TORHS AND NARCH in 2010, so if you are up for the challenge and want to join our committed team let us know.
Email gbhiacademy@yahoo.co.uk with the following information: Name and contact details, Age group you want to volunteer for and manager or coach volunteer.
3. ACADEMY - WORKING WITH PLAYERS & PARENTS
One of the most important relationships in kids hockey is that which exists between parents, player and the volunteer staff. If the relationship is poor then an atmosphere of tension and conflict may arise. If WE can develop a good working relationship with parents and players many problems can be avoided and the experience in hockey for parents and players will be rewarding and enjoyable for everyone involved. This overall aim is that members of GBHI have fun while enjoying and playing hockey. WE want to help develop the player’s skills both on and off the pad for the benefit of all the Academy and for the ongoing development of inline hockey. So please work with us, alert us in a constructive way to any concerns you have and please remember we are all volunteers committed to GHBI players.
4. ACADEMY TRAINING DATES
We are pleased to announce our first round of academy training sessions for all age groups. These training sessions are a good value for money at £10 per session - nobody can beat that price – I can promise you that! Any player who wishes to attend the next age group’s training session can if they would like to – this may also give them the opportunity to play up an age group in tournaments abroad. We will be arranging these academy training sessions every 6-8 weeks for the all age groups – watch this space!
Age group training sessions at Queens Road are as follows:
- UNDER 10’S TBA
- UNDER 12’S 4-5.30PM – 24.10.2009
- UNDER 14’S 5.30 – 7PM – 24.10.2009
- UNDER 16’S 4 – 5.30PM – 7.11.2009
- UNDER 18’S 5.30 – 7PM – 7.11.2009
- UNDER 21’S 4 –5.30PM - 17.10.2009
- SENIORS 5.30 – 7PM – 17.10.2009
All Academy players must email gbhiacademy.yahoo.co.uk with – name, current club, age group, attendance or non attendance at the above dates.
5. GB NEWS
We are very pleased to be able to announce that GBHI has been invited back to compete in the TORHs tournament that will be held in Detroit at the Taylors Sports complex in July 2010. We also have an open invitation to compete in NARCh - likely to be San Jose (California) or Fort Meyers, Florida 2010. So we are investigating the possibility of doing both. Our Academy players will be asked if they would like to be considered for a TORHs team, a NARCH team or a team that will compete in both. We realise that cost will be a major fact in deciding, but our preliminary costs for flights show that it does not add a major additional cost. We are committed to offering the best value trip we can for players and are sure those who participated last year will agree it was good value. As a parent you can choose to book your own flights and accommodation – just as long as you are flying out prior to the tournament dates – so the cost is entirely up to you. 3*, 4* hotel or sleep on the beach is your choice.
We have also taken on board last years feedback of “there was not enough hockey” so we are planning to play at AA level and then A level in the next age group – so there will be plenty of hockey for the kids.
Don’t forget to email your details and attendance at your next training session, the email address is gbhiacademy@yahoo.co.uk.
6. OTHER
Please feel free to email your enquiries to the above email address for the Academy Unfortunately we can only deal with Academy queries
Thank you for reading and happy hockeying From the Academy Team.