COMPETITION TIME!!!

The club is going to start selling 1/4 zip tops intended to be worn at training and on matchdays. We would like you to design a top and then submit it to the club email account: burtonhockeyclub1899@gmail.com.

A panel will then judge the entries and choose a winning design. The winning entry will get a free 1/4 zip training top of their design and their design made available to the rest of the club.

Please use the following link to design the top of your choice: https://tagsportswear.co.uk/kit-builder/...

The only requirement for the top is that it has BURTON HC written on the back of the top.

The deadline for entries is Friday 2nd at 7pm.

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UPDATE!
We are going to return to all senior training this week. The schedule will be as follows:

Tuesday: Men's Club Training 8.00-9.30 This is for all male members in the 3s, 4s, 5s and Badgers.

Wednesday: Ladies Club Training 6.30-8.00 This is for female members in the 3s, 4s and badgers.
Ladies Advanced Training 7.30- 9.30 This is for female members in the 1s, 2s and invitees.

Thursday: Men's Advanced 7.00-9.00 This is for male members in the 1s, 2s and invitees.

If you are unsure which session to attend please ask and we can let you know.

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2019/20 proved to be yet another relatively successful season for the Burton Badgers squad (now known as Burton Rhinos after new name allocations by the league organisers!). From their 18 games played (sadly reduced slightly by the Covid-19 outbreak), the Rhinos won 9 games, drew only 1 and lost 8, scoring 44 goals in total and conceding 31 – not a bad return in only their second season as a team. Season highlights included comprehensive 6-1 and 10-0 wins in the first half of the season and a 5-1 win away in Newcastle-under-Lyme in January (where Aiden Raw and Lewis Smith both scored two quick goals and fought hard to be the first to secure a hat-trick but both ultimately failing!). Another magnificent achievement was keeping a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with a Barton team consisting of 3 adult players – including their keeper – and the odd older kid introduced during the second half. This was all the more remarkable considering Aiden Raw was a voluntary keeper and the defence included debutant Luke Dunne, who allowed very little past him! Several players had stints in goals in the second half of the season for which they should be commended. We had a core group of players this year available for most games, making it easier for us to play with a full quota of players. Indeed most of these players only missed games due to injury, illness or promotion to the Mens V. Jack Shore, Lewis Smith and Sam Johnston all made the most appearances, each only missing one game, and Aiden Raw was top goalscorer with 11 goals, with Oliver Frost second with 9 goals (in only 5 games) and Isaac Farmer third with 8 goals, including a purple patch towards the end of the season. Lewis Smith discovered he could actually hit the ball, resulting in an improved goal tally! Several players will be old enough to play adult hockey next year so we look forward to some new blood next season, including hopefully more girls. We are a mixed team but the one disappointment this year was the high proportion of girls graduating out of the Academy but showing no interest in playing for the Badgers (Freya Boldy and Megan Thomas being the notable exceptions). Thanks to all the players who participated this year and a big thank you to everyone who umpired for us and to all the parents who provided transport for the players and assisted in the preparation of home teas. Keep safe everyone and hope we can all meet up again soon.

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It was a transition season for the Burton Mens 5XI, the team started the season struggling for players and finished with a talented influx of young Academy players who turned 13 and so could start league Hockey.

 

Once again, the team was in the capable hands of captain and goal keeper, Gianni De Frary, who instils a great team ethic in the squad and this lifted the team even when short of players at the start of the season. A good start to the season in goal ended with injury and Cae stepped in to finish the season getting better in each game.

 

A strong defence of the Asker twins, Craig and Carl, or was it Carl and Craig? together with Barney proved a consistent and reliable wall throughout the season. While Joel provided the young legs at the back and he played consistently well throughout the season and started driving down the wing.

 

With the team struggling for players and even having to default one game, the call went out for former members. It was such a success the Government later adopted the policy for health workers. Back from retirement to get their aching body’s back on the pitch and help out the mighty 5th team saw the legend Niall Bradfield, one legged Steve Morrison, Richard Bullock, John ‘PUDSEY’ Glover and even Shorty came back to playing adult games.

 

An ever-changing midfield saw Trevor calling the shots, with his stunning skills and pace? He was the man building the attacks and setting the forwards free. Supported by mazy runs for Azar, even more veteran experience from Nick, James and Graham with Chris the calming influence in midfield!

 

Up front Magnus lead the line and was top scorer before Christmas in the league, then an operation slowed him down. Giving him a chase for the team’s top scorer it was a welcome return for Luke who caused total confusion in the oppositions defence. George also chipping in with some fine attacking play.

 

One of the 5th team’s goals is to support young players coming through the academy in their first experience of Mens hockey. As the season went on more and more youngsters came into the team. With Sam, Charlie, Rhys, Aiden and Oliver all showing good skills and versatility in playing in different positions as requested. 

 

The team finished 4th in the league and this was a fair reflection of their performances in the league. The real success of the team will be how the youngsters develop and if the 5th team have instilled in them the love of the game all the older players show.

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The Men’s 4s gain PROMOTION!

The Men’s 4s were in 2nd place in the league at close of play (with 2 games remaining) and following the leagues calculations, keeping their well deserved 2nd place meaning that they have gained promotion for next season. The only team in the club to have done so.

The season compromised of 13 wins, 2 draws and 4 defeats. The team scored 69 goals whilst conceding 37. The team used a large number of different players with players moving up and progressing whilst others were used from the 5th team to help support the 4s when needed.

The season didn’t start too well for the 4s having lost 3 of the first 5 games. Following that spell the team picked up maximum points on all games bar 2 (1 draw and 1 loss), going on a hot 12 game unbeaten run. Another highlight of the season was being the only team to beat runaway league leaders Beeston down at the Ellis (they did not like this!). The highest scoring game was a massive 11-1 win vs Nottingham 5s with 5 different names on the scoring list.

The team has been made up most weeks of a good blend of experience and youth and both groups have benefitted from this. Youngsters Rahul Pai, Brandon Logan, Dan Horsey Elson and William Bickerton Jones have come on leaps and bounds across the season and will be looking to push the players in the teams above for their places come next season (whenever that is).  The team had 2 goal scorers surpass double figures with one of those scoring more than 20 goals, with many more chipping in with goals across the season. 10 players in the group have played 13 or more games and that level of commitment has really made a difference to performances week in week out and we hope to see this commitment again next season.

Thank you to those that have been involved in running the team across the season.

Congratulations to the Men’s 4s!!

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We are now starting to organise groups and schedule times and dates for some lockdown hockey. Attached is the full club Risk Assessment for this period. Please can you give this a read before coming for your time slot taking particular notice of entrance and exit procedures. As we are still in very precarious times anybody not following these rules will be asked to leave and not allowed back during this phase. I'm sure everyone will be sensible and safe anyway.

To clear up a few things:

-These slots are not coaching sessions, it is an opportunity as an INDIVIDUAL to have some time on the pitch

-NO tackling or contact is to take place, even from those within the same household

-You will be asked to keep any belongings you bring onto the pitch within your given playing area (where possible just bring a stick). If the weather is bad and you have a bag with you we suggest you bring a bin bag to put your belongings in.

-There will be NO access to toilets, the lockup or the cabin

-2 meter social distancing rules are in place on and around the site so please follow them

As a final note, we are giving this opportunity free of charge but are asking you to make a donation to the club if you wish. There will be a donation box at the pitch but you can also donate by sending a payment to the club accounts. As a reference could you please put your initials and the word donation.

Any questions please do ask before you come for your time slot.

Risk Assessment

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After promotion from Division 3 in the 18/19 season, the Ladies 4s made a strong start to the season, despite not having the luxury of a consistent squad week on week. Tactical squad selections meant that we had plenty of goals and plenty of points prior to the Christmas break coming away with wins from 6 out of 9 games.

Sitting comfortably in 3rd in the league post-Christmas, we could have been accused of an element of complacency, and post-Christmas this showed in our results taking a turn for the worse. a combination of league enforced 're Registrations and poor availability across the board meant that we struggled to get a full, comprehensive squad out into a pitch for a number of weeks and this naturally had an impact on our gameplay.

The break saw us lose some of our more experienced U16s to higher squads, a great opportunity in their development, but also saw us welcome some new regulars (and adults!) into the squad.

Although the second half of the season had us in trying circumstances, and taking into account this year's squad looked very different to the the squad that achieved promotion last year we finished 7th overall.  All credit is due to the girls who stepped out every weekend and put in 100% into their game and took on board all of the constructive feedback from on field players, sideline coaches and half-time team talks.

It has been a pleasure as a goalkeeper and a captain to watch every individual in the squad develop throughout the season, from our young forwards to the (slightly) older and more experienced defensive back line who have helped me to do my job in keeping the ball out of the net!

We are all looking forward to getting back out onto the actor as soon as we can to start our next campaign!

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This was to be Ben Meir’s second term as Captain following a successful first term in which the 3s were awarded Team of the Year for the previous season.

Due to League shuffling we were placed in a different league which seemed to suit us geographically as a lot more of our games were much more local, it was also nice to face some new teams.  Both us and our illustrious neighbours Barton moved in the same geographical direction however at the last minute they appeared to grab promotion to the league above us even though we finished many league places and points ahead of them as they felt they were ‘well placed to handle a higher level’??? but more on that later…

Pre-season included a trip to new league opposition Belper 2s/3s/4s which was good as we got a good result and Craney got a notable telling off for his innocent attempt at alliteration toward an opponent.  Craney accepted his telling off while ensuring that he would be putting his name down to cook teas when they visited us.

First game of the season saw us host Mansfield a self-relegated team which had enabled Barton’s ascension.  We beat them 7-1 and we thought we were magnificent.  Next game proved we weren’t quite as magnificent as we thought as we lost to Belper 4s – our moral sank much like Belper’s pitch! What followed were a collection of draws we should have won and narrow wins which we would have thrashed 5-0 last year.  Then came the big one, probably the game of the season against League leaders Belper 3’s and a standout moment for our youngster who came of age in the match.  The moment came with Belper 2-1 up deep into the second half and Belper getting frustrated with each other for not putting the game out of sight.  A long ball and a cracker of a pass from Kev Stanyon to our young (and previously diminutive) Alex Farmer who fired into the D with the perfect pass for Tom Gibbs to put the ball away – BOOM! GOAL! It was particularly fantastic to see the shock on Belper’s faces.  The whole team was buzzing and we celebrated our draw like a world cup win late into the night. 

The numbers then – we played 20 games winning 10 of them, drawing 3 and losing 7.  Goals for - 50 with top scorer being Ike with 14 this year and 37 goals against. Bigger’s post-match teas took last year’s title from Pilgrim who came in a respectable second. A great year to look back on with goals, misses, broken thumbs, sunken cars, strops and a storming off but most of all plenty of laughs.

Due to the sudden close of play brought on by Covid-19 the league did some maths and apparently the algorithm had us finishing 5th in the league, the same as last year.  Captain Ben Meir would like to thank all of his players, the club and the coaches who have helped the 3s as he steps aside for someone to take over the pleasure of this captaincy. Oh and the Team who were ‘well placed to handle a higher level’ have come straight back down as they were clearly not up to it. Roll on next season!

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The Ladies 3s fought hard in the Derbyshire Division 1 league this season having been promoted from Division 2 last year. Finishing a respectable 7th place, the whole team should be proud of their performances, as should Captain Charlie Hughes for keeping us going.

Starting the season off with some of the toughest teams in the league we knew straight away we had to prove what we were made of, and started rather successfully! Drawing against Matlock 2’s was a surprise for the team in our first league game, but the team work and positivity shone through and lead us to a 3-3 draw. Our second league game also left us in high spirits with an excellent 5-0 win against Ashbourne 2s away.

 

Having been promoted last season, it meant that dreaded inter club league games were required with the Ladies 2’s. These games are always the hardest, having to play against friends and team mates but both teams showed good sportsmanship in both games. We definitely put up a good fight in both games against our Ladies 2s but in both the 2s were victorious (well done ladies), but we did our best to make them work for it!

 

We have been lucky enough to welcome some of the Ladies sections youngest players this year, and it has been a privilege to see their skills continually grow! They may have been quiet players when they started but they now keep us older ones on our toes! A rising star, Clara Norcross, has had a successful season as a forward, both helping set up and scoring goals! Even scoring some smashing reverse stick hits which just seem to come naturally!

 

As the season progressed we found ourselves not quite on a winning streak, but nonetheless we remained positive and enjoyed each and every game - facing yet more difficult games we knew we just had to keep pushing on, team numbers were at a steady 11/12 each week, which helped us improve our fitness and gave all players a delightful (yet tiring at times) amount of pitch time.

At times, during our toughest games, if it hadn’t have been for our keeper, Eleanor Smedley, we would have been in danger of some high goal scoring losses. Making incredible saves each week Eleanor amazed her own team and all the others, diving across the goal to save top corner shots to sliding out and taking the ball away perfectly from attacking forwards. Nothing seemed to stop her!

In the second half of the season we played our away appearance against top of the league Belper 3s, a game none of us were particularly looking forward to, but keeping our heads high regardless. We knew from arriving in the car park it was going to be a tough game with several players still recovering from injuries. During the game we had a streak of players come off to nurse a hand or foot with an icepack, leaving us at one point with 10 players battling on - our midfielder Maddy Higgins even came back on to play with a broken finger! We couldn’t be anything put proud of the team performance throughout this game.

Our best performances were against Ilkeston 1s and we were able to demonstrate quick passing and goal scoring short corner routines, winning 5-0 in the first half of the season and 9-0 in the second. Our impressive 9-0 win didn’t come without it’s challenges from the opposition getting quite rude with the umpires but Burton didn’t once drop our standard.

 

We will sadly by saying goodbye to our delightfully motivational centre back Natalie Walker who is moving to Bath (congratulations on the new job Nat!), she will be greatly missed! Singing and shouting her way through the games always added laughter to the coldest and hardest of matches.

 

Having to sadly miss out on the last game of the season we are even more excited to start again when it allows!

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Following what was a dismal disjointed season finishing bottom and confidence rock bottom, surviving in the league due to no relegations. 

This season had a make or break strategy, the plan of attack for season 19-20 was to pull up as many of the youngsters up into the squad as possible with the hope to improve them enough to be potential 1st team members in the coming years. Combine them with some battle-scarred veterans and younger experienced players the season was set rolling.

Season started not as hoped a depleted bare 11 away to a vigorous team of performance athletes Notts Trent Uni ended in a 13-0 destruction. Three defeats on the bounce before a hard fought convincing victory against Warwick was required to boost confidence in the side. Christmas break arrived with only a single victory and draw on the board, even with a disappointing tally of losses there was some decent play made and always good reliability from the squad. Results not going our way people were still confident and heads were still up looking forward to the 2nd half of the season.

Proceedings re-opened with a clinical victory over Stratford 5-1, followed by a narrow defeat to our nemesis Notts Trent Uni 4-2. Then a much closer harder fought 2nd encounter with the not so friendly North Notts. Following 3 games resulting in 2 rewarding victories and valiant draw against Sikh Union Coventry. A disappointing loss to Boots, a further victory against Rugby the side had put themselves into a decent position in the league with faith of securing East Mids Prem hockey for the 20-21 season. Both Beeston and Notts uni games ended in defeat and then the world did a cart wheel and the season was cut prematurely short for us all.

Following the leagues spurious mathematics eventually finished in a healthy 8th.

The conclude the 2 uni sides and Beeston were a class apart from the rest of the league but the side put in some great performances throughout.

Hopefully the guys had some fun and the young lads learnt something. 

Roll on normality and next season!

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