Girls U12 Squads
The squad
We have a thriving squad of enthusiastic Under 12 Girls including girls of all ability levels ranging from those who have played for club and school to those who are beginners and have hardly touched a hockey stick before coming for taster sessions at GHC.
The squad includes school years 6 and 7, i.e. girls who either turn 11 or 12 years old during the school year (1 September to 31 August).
Training
- Training takes place at our club which is based at Broadwater School from 7.30-9pm on Friday evenings. The first session for this season starts on Friday 7th September 2018. Please encourage your daughter to register with the squad manager at the beginning of each session.
- Our Junior Section has a comprehensive training programme for all age groups to ensure that each group is covering a breadth and depth of skills during the season. This is designed by our Director of Junior Coaching, Dan Fox, in line with the latest England Hockey techniques and is implemented by our coaches during each session and supported by Dan throughout the season.
- Our coaches work closely with the girls on Friday nights at training and also at matches on Sunday. The coaches are constantly looking at what is working well or not and identify areas for improvement, which are then incorporated in the Friday night training sessions.
- Extra mid-week skills sessions are on offer on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6pm to 7pm - starting date to be confirmed for this season (£5 charge per session).
- Holiday skills courses are also available and encouraged during school half-term breaks (see Juniors page for details).
Matches
- All girls are encouraged to play in matches. These mostly take place on a Sunday and include both the 7-a-side and 11-a-side formats.
- Our Under 12 Girls are entered into three different types of leagues managed by the Home Counties Girls League:
- Two teams in the 11-a-side League
- Two teams in the 7-a-side Development League
- Teams in the South East Mini Hockey Festivals, 7-a-side (GU12 Mini: usually with these festivals we can enter a number of teams on a given day and depending on availability)
- In addition to the league fixtures, we organise friendly matches in both formats to keep the girls enjoying the team aspect of the sport and learning how the game is played.
- We also participate in the Surrey County Cup and Plate competitions that take place towards the end of the season and can lead to Regional and National competitions.
- Girls are selected for teams based on the types of fixtures, the level of the opposition teams and the availability of the squad on the day. We strive to make sure that each girl is playing in teams and matches that will both develop and challenge her. Most girls who make themselves available for a fixture are selected to play; the 7-a-side format allows us to organise multiple teams depending on the number of girls available.
Communication
- GHC Website - Fixtures and Results can be accessed through this webpage. Coaches and parents produce some lovely and helpful match reports of the girls' matches and tournaments.
- Email - Match details and availability are managed through email. is our Squad Manager and will be liaising with parents about matches, availability, training and more. Katie will be in touch about who can play on a given day and can also help to answer any questions you may have. Thank you in advance for responding promptly to requests about availability.
- InTouch - please look out for the Club's weekly email that goes to all Club members. GU12s will be celebrated as much as our parents contribute and you can also see how other age groups and the rest of the club are doing and keep informed of upcoming events and our sponsor/partner news.
- Social Media - follow GHC on facebook, twitter and instagram and be part of our hockey network.
Coaches & Management
For the 2018/19 season we have a dedicated group of coaches and parent helpers led by Robert Manning, Katie Stewart and James Relph. We also have in place a supportive group of parents, many of whom help with time keeping, umpiring and other important aspects of running the club.
Please let us know if you have time to assist the squad in either a hockey or non-hockey role - all are more than welcome!
We run Coach Education sessions which can help you get up to speed on what and how to coach. We can help with umpiring courses/knowledge. And of course those who can help in non-hockey roles like writing match reports, sending in photographs, and ad hoc admin/coordination roles like organising a social event or extra match or tour or tournament.
