Welcome to Reading Hockey Club, the country’s premier Hockey Club, sponsored by adidas.
We run 11 men’s teams and 7 ladies’ teams, with both elite squads at the very pinnacle of the domestic game and brimming with international talent. Our thriving Next Generation youth section attracts hundreds of youngsters to participate in our exciting sport, and ensures the future strength of Reading HC.
Whether you are an existing member or new to RHC you’ll find some useful information on the club HERE.
Congratulations to Chris Withers
Chris Withers, our umpire coordinator is short-listed for the Club or HUA umpire of the season award at the England Hockey Awards 2014. Well done Chris, and thank you for all your hard work this season.
The awards evening is on May 24th at Bisham and celebrates the achievements and contributions of volunteers, umpires, coaches and players over the past nine months. The Club or HUA umpire of the season award is one of of 17 categories.
Link to EH press release on Hockey Centre website
Finalists and Judges announced for Reading Jazz Talent Competition
THREE finalists have been selected to perform in front of a panel of judges on Thursday 1 May at The Jazz Café, Madejski Stadium in Reading.
Organisers of the Reading Real Ale & Jazz Festival launched a competition at the start of the year to find fresh new talent and for one lucky jazz band or performer, to have the chance to play live at the festival taking place in July.
The finalists performing at the grand final on 1st May are Nicole Johnson, The Mills Tones Dance Band and Stephane Harivelo.
Nicole Johnson is originally from Los Angeles California. Nicole’s musical background hails from the American church gospel tradition. Her earliest performances were to church congregations as a very young child and she later moved on to direct community gospel choirs and gospel music workshops throughout California. ?In 1999, she came to Reading , UK to study English Literature and joined the University of Reading Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Patrick Kelley as its soloist. This led to the beginnings of a jazz solo performance career, which would span England, Los Angeles and Paris. In 2009, Nicole obtained a diploma in jazz vocal performance from Trinity Guildhall London. Nicole lives in Reading with her husband Zaránd and young sons, Peter and Emil.
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RAAJ- we need your help
The Reading Real Ale & Jazz festival (RAAJ) has been running for 25 years as one of the key fundraising events for Reading Hockey, and depends on the help and support of volunteers from the membership for it’s success.
This year’s event runs from 17th, 18th, 19th July 2014 – for those who don’t know much about it or how important it is to the club, or visit the RAAJ website for more information.
Get your name down early to help out the event by filling in the sign up sheet now!
Awards Dinner 2014 – 26th April 2014
Just one week stands between now and the Awards Dinner to rival all Awards Dinners and the social team have been working hard to bring you the best event yet and with 150 tickets sold…it is the biggest Awards Dinner Reading HC has ever put on!
The black-tie evening will kick off at 1830 and all guests must be promptly seated at 1915 for dinner with carriages at 0130.
We have an excellent evening lined up including some excellent drink deals at the bar, the Men and Ladies section reports, numerous awards, a prize raffle, a disco and for just £10 you also have the opportunity to win your membership subscription for next season!
We look forward to seeing you on the 26th April.
The evening is a sell out and is strictly guest list only. Please ensure that you have had confirmation of payment prior to attending.
Steve Bayer is stepping down
Reading Hockey Club regrets to announce that Steve Bayer, the Ladies 1st team head coach has decided to step down after 4 successful years at the club.
Steve has been a committed member of the club, guiding Reading Ladies to winning the Investec Women’s Hockey League Finals in 2013, the England Hockey Indoor titles in 2013 and 2014, the European Club Champions Trophy in 2013 along with silver medals at the EuroHockey Indoor Club Trophy in 2014. He has also helped the club win many awards within the local area, including Reading Sports Personalities Coach and Team of the year in 2013.
He has been a keen supporter of the club at all levels and especially within the Ladies section.
Steve has asked for the following message to be posted:
After 4 years at Reading I decided at the end of last month to move on. We have been very successful during those years and I have some great memories. It’s never an easy decision to take but I know it’s the right time to move on to new challenges.
I would like to thank all the players and management who I have had the pleasure of working with during these last 4 years. The management team and support staff have been excellent and should be praised for the professionalism and energy they committed to the club.I wish the club and players all the best going forward.
The club has great potential and I hope they fulfill all their aspirations. It has been an amazing journey and no doubt I will see you on a hockey pitch somewhere next year.All the best,
Steve.
The Ladies team and the Club would like to thank Steve for all his hard work and effort during his time at the club and wish him all the best in his future plans.
Further information regarding the appointment of a successor will be sent out in the next few weeks.
Reading is one of the premier hockey clubs in the country. Winner of the Reading Club of the Year Award, the hockey club enjoys a high profile through the national and local media. With two elite teams in the English Hockey League the club’s playing representatives cover the length of the country. The club runs 11 men’s teams, 7 ladies’ teams and has a flourishing junior section. The club has over 300 senior and 500 junior members and is based at a top class facility in Sonning Lane with 2 Astroturf pitches on site.
Thank you to the Volunteers
I want to pass on to all the Volunteers the huge number of people who came up to me from England Hockey, the teams and the Spectators, wanting to pass on their thanks and congratulations to the club who, yet again, facilitated a great couple of weekends – here are some of the comments :
A few special mentions from me as the RHC Event Manager:
It was made all the harder when volunteers didn’t turn up or decide they didn’t like that job and want to do something nicer and just walk off! I am grateful to all those who didn’t take that attitude.
And finally to the rest of the Playoffs Committee – Rachael Marriott, Rachel Mann, Judith Barton, Tim Hamilton and Chris Davey, (not forgetting Sue Newman, Lucy Scott, Grace Lawes and Tony Cook) – who all worked tirelessly to make sure their areas of responsibility were successful. No doubt I have forgotten someone, so thank you to you as well!!
For those who know me, they will know that I don’t like taking the credit for anything, but for once I will actually pat myself on the back – for two reasons:
- For having a great team of people helping me –many hours were spent sorting all of the above out and I thank them for making my role on each of the days a lot easier.
- I will also pat myself on the back for making the decision 20 years ago to join this fantastic club which I am incredibly proud of.
It is the members who make a club, and the members who came down and really helped these past few weeks did the club proud –Well done and Thank you.
Liz Spencer
A very proud Ding, and Vice Chair of Hockey.
The Finals Weekend from the Volunteers View
Well the past few weekends have been incredibly busy for the club and its members hosting the Now Pensions Mens playoffs , the England v Ireland international and the Investec Women’s playoffs.
This report is not to give you a rundown of the games, results etc. – you can find all that out on the various websites (England Hockey, Top of the D, Reading Chronicle, various other hockey websites) but hopefully it will give you an insight into what it takes to get the club ready for these events and also the roles that club members play in making it such a success. It is also a way for me, the assigned RHC Events Manager for the weekends, to say thanks and well done to everyone.
For everyone who came down to the club for these events, you will have seen a transformation. Even though it is the responsibility of England Hockey to ensure that the infrastructure, stands, marquees and branding are in place, there is also a huge amount of work that needs to be done behind the scenes by club members.
Believe it or not, there are no magic fairies who click their fingers and it is all done!
It started back in December with the Club Clean-up day, when some club members gave up some of the Christmas holidays to come down to paint the Ladies changing rooms, small corridor and the foyer. There was also a huge amount of leaf collecting, car park cleaning and tidying up around the grounds. These activities were just the start of things to come, and it helped enormously in getting the club ready for the events.
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It was quite a weekend for Reading Colts
Boys U18 EH Plate winners
Reading were very dominant in their first game with a 5-1 win over Neston, as two early shots from the top of circle ensured an early lead going into the second half, where they carried on in fine form. Their Plate final was equally decisive, as Reading followed on from their previous 5-1 win with a 7-1 victory against Yateley.
Girls U16s finished 4th in the NATIONAL GU16 Championship – which is no mean feat
In pool C, Reading got off to a good start on the opening day, which saw them draw 1-1 with Southgate before defeating Buckingham 3-0. This set up a tense final pool match between Wakefield and Reading, which the latter had to win to qualify for the final. However, they were unable to find a goal as they came up against a resilient Jess Walsh in the Wakefield goal as the match finished 0-0.
Reading were thorough to the play-off for third place,where Bowdon scored the only goal of the game and Reading took the fourth spot.
Girls U10 became South Champions
Boys U10 won the Plate competition
In other games:
GU16 Dev 2 – 1 Guildford
GU14 Dev 0 – 1 Maidenhead
GU12 1 – 0 Surbiton
GU12 Renegades 3 -1 Maidenhead
Easter Coaching Camps
Classic Camps – Junior & Senior
After the success of our February camps, this Easter sees the return of our camps at Reading. For the first time, we will be running two camps during the holidays to ensure players don’t miss out on the chance to be a part of the hockey experience here at Reading Hockey. ??Join our high quality coaches, including Steve Hardy (England Hockey Coach Assessor) and Jess Brooker (Bradfield College & Reading Ladies 1s) as they focus their coaching on honing those core skills, as well as trying out some new more advanced techniques. Also, Goalkeeping coaching from Sarah Ellis will be offered on both Mondays of the camps. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn from the best in the business!?? If you are between 8 to 12, you can sign up to our Junior Camp. For those a little older (up to 18 years) can sign up for our Senior Camp.
7th – 8th April
14th – 15th April
(GK Coaching on 7th & 14th)
Performance Camps – 14+ and minimum JAC level
We are also presenting ambitious young players with two opportunities to learn from the best in the business! For the first time, we are offering two days of Performance Hockey Camps in the Easter holidays. These camps are aimed at players between 14-18 years old who have reached JAC or higher in the England Single System, and focus on the skills and tactical knowledge to reach the very top level of the sport. Our coaches have expert knowledge in this area, with many of them having played or coached at not only the England Hockey Single System level, but at the height of international hockey.
10th April
16th April
So don’t miss out, get yourself on these camps today to avoid disappointment! Book today at camps@readinghockeyclub.org.uk
