Our season has commenced and is in full swing. There is a great atmosphere at Stead Park with much excitement about what is ahead for hockey in Geelong and the Surf Coast.
We wish to thank all the players, umpires, coaches, managers and families for their support and cooperation.
Being Kind
Last week I attended the funeral of Carol Mitchell a lifelong hockey person and a good friend of many. It showed what a difficult eighteen or so months its has been for our community.
We have lost several significant people and there are others facing major health struggles. This impacts not just not individuals but those around them. It shows how fragile life can be and for me allows me to see what I should be grateful for while grieving for those no longer here. I hope we all see the positive benefits of being kind to each other and taking that time to really ask “how are really going?”
The Hockey Geelong community sticks together in tough times, please ensure we do so in the good times. A simple thank you for someone who is just doing their volunteer job makes a difference.
JCC
The successful JCC has been posted elsewhere but I wanted to mention the incredible work by people like Gavin and Nette as well as so many others. The coaches, players, umpires and families have all played an important role to ensure a great hockey experience for all from Geelong. There was much success on the pitch.
Hockey Geelong Membership Card
Thank you so much for all those who have joined the Hockey Geelong Membership Card program. For $25 it allows you a 10% discount at the canteen and you choose which club is to receive $10 of the joining fee. The remaining $15 goes to our Junior Development Coach, Nic Brydon who is doing a
fantastic job.
If you have not joined then we encourage you to do so.
Regional Coach and Umpire Development Program
Hockey Victoria received a grant of $450,000 over three years to develop coaching and umpiring in Regional Victoria. Geelong is in the South West region along with Hamilton, Warrnambool and Ballarat.
HV has appointed Paul Schram to lead the coaching and Samantha Giorlando for the umpiring. Hockey Geelong has advertised for the local role of Association Developer for Coaching and another for Umpiring. There is a yearly $2,000 allowance for the role. This has been posted on our webpage and socials.
We encourage suitably qualified and interested people to apply. The applications are due COB Thursday 5 th June to our secretary.
Junior Development Coach
We have seen Nic Brydon have an instant impact in her role as Junior Development Coach (JDC). Clubs have taken the opportunity to have Nic at their training and games to support and lead.
The two roles Nic has are to walk alongside players of any experience and help them develop their skills and instill a sense of fun. The other part of her role is to assist the coaches in how to develop skills and provide resources. After each session Nic emails a summary of the session, what she did, along with suggestions of further drills and tips.
Please see Graeme Dent if you wish your club to avail themselves of Nic’s services.
Redevelopment at Stead Park
The redevelopment is progressing and our meetings are now focusing on how the redevelopment may proceed and what that looks like for HG who will still have a competition to run.
The overall plan for 2026 is to still use the Lynette Williams (pitch 2) pitch and also the one at Torquay.
One challenge for HG is where to store our present memorabilia and what is to be displayed in the new pavilion. At this point we are unsure of how much space we will have. There will be a move to display some of our history and memorabilia digitally. We still wish to display our main pieces in the new pavilion. Please see me if you have any specific thoughts or wish to gain a better understanding.
Torquay Pitch
The Torquay pitch has commenced and we are all excited about what that will bring to hockey in the Surf Coast area. How the new pitch there will change hockey at Stead Park and Lloyd Reserve is a question we are discussing at present. Again, if you have thoughts then please see me or any member of the executive.
Hockey Geelong the Future
Another aspect we are discussing is how the future structure of HG may be:
AIM:
It is our future and aspirational aim to have a consistent presence in Premier League for both the
men and women as well as having a vibrant, sustainable and growing local competition
QUESTION?
What structure would best achieve these two aims?
How many Sharks teams? What level?
How many local clubs? Where should they be located? Size?
Where should the games be held?
Chris Thompson has been asked to lead this and is to email a range of people to gauge their thoughts. If you have any views then please see Chris or myself. We welcome your views.
Kings Birthday
HG has entered a women’s master’s side the Kings Birthday Championships in Bendigo as well as a men’s division 2 side. The women are being led by Georgie van Beek and we thank her for her efforts. The men are being led by Cass Calder, Shannon Calder, Hugh Dreher, Peter Hill and Daniel Glenn. If interested please contact any of them from Geelong Jaguars.
Streaming of Games at Stead Park
It had been our intention to connect the NBN to Stead Park to allow the live streaming of games from the Lynette Williams pitch. We could not find a solution for reliable connectivity so we have cancelled this pursuit.
The new pavilion will have the NBN connected as part of the redevelopment and then that is when we shall be live streaming games.
We thank all for their efforts.
The executive wishes you and your families well.
Graeme Dent
President Hockey Geelong
