Olympics bring a surge of interest
The future is bright for Newark Hockey Club, according to club chairman Arran Coggan, after a huge increase in interest in the sport after the Olympics.
He said the club normally had up to five people interested in joining after the summer break, but at least 20 turned up to sessions in recent weeks.
Coggan said: “Training has gone ballistic this summer. We have had so many people turning up who are keen to play.
“We have introduced sessions on Mondays, and expanded our juniors’ training times.”
The club has almost 200 members in six teams and a host of junior players.
The Ladies’ 1sts are in the highest division in their history after two promotions under coach Paul Halfpenny.
Coggan said: “Hopefully that run of form will continue into this season.
“We would like to see them move forwards into an even higher league, but we have had some players move on to university.”
Halfpenny said: “The aim is to consolidate this season, although if we hadn’t lost some key players I think we could have managed a top-five finish.
“I have got a five-year plan to get us as high as we can, and since then we have had two promotions so there is lots of time to develop in this league.
“We have got some young players coming through who can hopefully fill the gap left by players who have moved on.”
The ladies’ success story is largely down to the club’s long history of developing players from the age of five and upwards, and Newark now boast several international players who have graced the Magnus Sports Centre.
Beeston and Great Britain star Adam Dixon came through the ranks at the club, as did England under-21 player Shona McCallin.
Coggan said: “A lot of the players who have played for the Ladies’ 1sts have come through the club system and they form the nucleus of the team.
“The way we see the whole club progressing is to make sure we have the pathway in place for our young players, who can then come through our ranks and end up as excellent players.”
The men’s 1sts kick-off their season in the East Midlands 2 tomorrow against Buxton, with experienced coach Sally Davies taking charge.
