Abergavenny Hockey Club were short listed for a number of accolades at this years prestigious Hockey Wales Awards 2014. The club has had an outstanding season across a number of areas of its club development, working closely with Monmouthshire County Council and also Hockey Wales (the National Governing Body for Hockey in Wales).
The awards evening took place in the Vale Resort in Glamorgan and was attended by both of the teams that represented Wales in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier this year, as well as Sarah Thomas who represented Great Britain in the London Olympic Games 2012.
Abergavenny Hockey Club were short listed for no less than 5 awards, recognising the current standard of our club and its ability to attract and develop new members, some of whom have never played hockey before.
The first award presented went to our Youth Section, who were awarded Youth Section of the Year 2014. The Award collected by Junior Club Co-ordinator Sharon Phillips was presented to our club for being a safe and quality club that provides opportunities across the 7-18 year old age range. Our club has age, ability and gender specific weekly training sessions for all children, the club has teams participating all across South Wales ranging from Under 9's, Under 11's, Under 13's, under 15s and Under 18s. The aim of our club is to encourage as many people as possible to participate in our sport, and to gain a safe, quality and fun hockey experience at every session. Our club also have some very talented players and have a number of its youth members winning Welsh Cups and representing Wales on the international stage within the Welsh National Age Group Squads. The club are very proud to receive this award which symbolises the amount of hard work that our volunteer members invest. Development of our youth section is at the heart of our club, and we are always keen to gain new members, especially if they have never played hockey before.
Next Up, our club was awarded Hockey Wales Tier 1 Club of the Year This award recognises the way our club provides a safe and quality infra-structure and develops and supports volunteers coaches and umpires. Abergavenny Hockey Club has experienced a significant growth in its membership over the year and now has 3 ladies teams and 1 men's side. Our men's team are pushing very hard to provide a second team, especially on the back of its promotion into South Wales Division 1 of the Davis Wood Hockey League. Over the past year we have developed a number of youth umpires and senior umpires as well as coaches, volunteers, administrators and safeguarding / child protection officers. We work very closely with Monmouthshire County Council and Hockey Wales to ensure that are club remains in good shape to increase the participation in our sport. Our club has a great social scene both on and off the pitch, and also has some very talented players at all age groups from 6 right up to 70 years old. We have a very proud history dating back to 1897. We are always looking for new players of all ages and abilities, why not come and give hockey a try?
The third award was presented to Sian Phillips - our Youth Coach of the Year 2014. Sian is one of the clubs youngest coaches but her skills, enthusiasm and professionalism ensure that she has been deservedly recognised with this National Award. Sian has attended a youth coaching course run by our club in partnership with Monmouthshire County Council and has also completed a 4689 leadership award which is a brand new way to play hockey, aimed at increasing the amount of 'game time' given to our junior members. Sian coaches our Under 9 junior side and attends both training sessions and games on a regular basis making every session fun and enjoyable for all of her young players.
Finally, Our Club would also like to recognise the huge amount of work that has been invested in our club from Monmouthshire County Council's sport Development Officer Laura James. Laura was awarded the 'Teacher / Lecturer of the Year Award 2014 for her work around the development of our club and also her role in increasing the participation in hockey within our local schools. Laura has organised and run primary school hockey festivals, set up a boys hockey club at King Henry School and also worked very closely to help train and recruit several volunteers to further improve the sport in our area. Laura provides a great link between the local schools and our club and regularly visits schools to run hockey taster sessions. Laura also organises hockey days over the half term and school holidays and also works closely with our National Governing Body.
Also shortlisted for awards on this date was our young umpire Luke Rees who regularly officiates in games at both a junior and senior levels and is already one of Abergavenny's most experienced umpires. Nick Fackrell was shortlisted for Tier 1 coach of the year for his coaching across all levels of the game.
Club President, Trevor Scott, was absolutely delighted to hear that the club had received three awards.
'As a member of Abergavenny Hockey Club since 1974 I have been privileged to be part of many club successes during that period of time.
However, these three awards show just how far Abergavenny Hockey Club has progressed in recent years in terms of senior playing strength, development of junior hockey, exemplary club management and promotion of coaching and umpiring.
It is with immense pride that I offer my congratulations to everyone who received an award and to all of those who worked tirelessly to make this success possible'.
Abergavenny Hockey Club is very proud of the awards which it has received, and we hope to engage yet even more members as a result of this recognition by our National Governing Body. Hockey is a very fast, fun and exciting game which can be played by anyone. Why not give it a go?