Reading Hockey Club » Thames Valley Minis

In 2007/08 a number of clubs in Berkshire and on its borders will be hosting monthly tournaments at Under 8, Under 10 and Under 12 level. These are designed to support the development of young players by allowing them to put into practice the skills they learn on the training ground practice, and have fun playing against other local clubs.

These tournaments are by invitation only. For further details please contact the Thames Valley Minis co-ordinator, Richard Higginson at Reading (see Contacts).

Dates and Venues

2007-08	U8	U10A	U10B	U12A	U12B
14 Oct 07	Marlow 2.00pm	Wokingham	Bracknell	Maidenhead	Reading
18 Nov 07	Reading	Bracknell	Maidenhead	Sonning	Marlow 2.00pm
09 Dec 07	Maidenhead	Phoenix & Ranelagh	Reading	Marlow 2.00pm	Sonning
20 Jan 08	Slough	Maidenhead	Reading	Phoenix & Ranelagh	Henley
24 Feb 08	Reading	Sonning	Henley	Wokingham	Maidenhead
16 Mar 08	Maidenhead	Henley	Phoenix & Ranelagh	Reading	Bracknell

Tournaments start promptly at 9.00 or 9.30am unless otherwise indicated. Occasionally pitch availability dictates a later start but this is to be avoided where possible. Depending on the number of matches scheduled they take between 1 and 2½ hours. The exact times for each tournament will be sent out by host clubs a week or so in advance and if there is time they will be posted on this website.

Directions

Bracknell HC

Birch Hill Recreation Ground, Ringmead, Birch Hill, Bracknell, RG12 4AQ

http://www.bracknellhockeyclub.co.uk/Frames/directions.htm

Henley HC

353 Reading Road, Henley on Thames, Oxon, RG9 4HE
http://www.henleyhockeyclub.co.uk/directions.php

Maidenhead HC

Altwood School, Altwood Road, Maidenhead, SL6 4PU

Braywick Sports Centre, Braywick Road, Maidenhead, SL6 1BN

http://www.maidenheadhc.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=149

Slough HC

Slough HC, Upton Court Road, Slough, SL3 7TL
http://www.sloughhc.org.uk/home_pitch.htm

Sonning HC

Reading University Astro, Whiteknights Campus, adjacent to Wolfenden Leisure Centre, off Shinfield Road, Reading
http://www.sonninghockeyclub.co.uk/colts/pitch.htm

Wokingham HC

Cantley Fields, Twyford Road, Wokingham, RG40 5QG
http://www.wokingham-hc.co.uk/contact/location.htm

What to bring

Hockey stick
Shin pads
Mouthguard (recommended)
Plenty to drink
Snacks
Something warm to put on between matches
Reading Colts: please see Club Kit

Contacts

Club	Contact	e-mail	Telephone
Bracknell	John Sellwood	juniorbhc@hotmail.com
Henley	Trish Heggie	barnard@bannerhomes.co.uk
Maidenhead	Jim Thompson	jim.thompson@bbcl.co.uk	07748 062783
Marlow	Richard Clee	richard.clee@hitachi-eu.com
Phoenix & Ranelagh	Pat Murphy	patricia_murphy@brushwellman.com	07831 163457
	Becky Alderton	david.wilkinson@blueberrygroup.net
Reading	Richard Higginson	richard.higginson@towrylaw.com	07809 194899
U8 Coach	Charlie Lowe	charlesrlowe@btinternet.com	07881 765347
U10 Coach	Nick Hooper	nhooper@marsandco.com	07970 662434
U12 Coach	Bev Thompson	beverleyt@humanics.co.uk	07899 910868
Slough	Amrit Bason	abason@hotmail.com	07818 098398
Sonning	John Flint	johnflint70@hotmail.com	0118 931 4890
Wokingham	Michele Morris	michelemmorris@yahoo.co.uk

Tournament objectives

Emphasis on fun and safety – winning is secondary
Support development of players – put skills from training ground into practice
Straightforward planning and organisation for clubs
Logistically easy for parents
Standard format so tournaments are easy to run
Players graded by age and ability

Tournament structure

Tournaments will be held one Sunday per month, October to March.
Under 8, Under 10A and B, and Under 12 A and B – each group at a different venue.
Tournaments held on Sunday mornings with preferred start time 9.30am – due to pitch availability, start times may vary from 9.00am to 10.30am.
Mixed teams, with no minimum number of boys (or girls) in each team. If one single-sex team is slaughtering everyone every month we shall re-think this.
U10 and U12 Teams/matches divided into A level and B level.
U8 and U10 play 10 minute matches (no half-time) with 2 minute changeover – ie 5 matches per pitch per hour. U12 play 12 minute matches with 3 minute changeover. If there are too many teams at a tournament this will revert to 10 minutes.
4-6 matches per team.
Tournaments should not last longer than 2½ hours and should preferably be shorter.
U8 play on half ¼ pitch. U10 and U12 play on ½ pitch wherever possible, preferably narrowed by 5m on one side with cones or tape (ie the full pitch will have a 10m zone coned or taped off across the half way line).
No recording of results or winners.

Tournament rules

1. Mini Hockey rules, to be interpreted sympathetically according to the age and ability of teams.
2. Usually 7-a-side, but 8-a-side with prior agreement of both coaches. Reducing to 6-a-side is at the sole discretion of the team with 7 players.
3. Team coaches will umpire (unless host club can provide umpires).
4. If a circle is not marked out, cones will be laid on the side lines 10 yards from goal line to mark a rectangular scoring area.
5. The use of goalkeepers is encouraged, particularly at U12, but it remains non-compulsory.
6. Short corners for U12 and U10 A level matches, only if both teams have a goal keeper. If both teams have goalkeepers but there is no circle marked, an imaginary one will be used to encourage teams to learn the skills and routines needed. If one or both teams has no goalkeeper an indirect free hit from the 10 yard will be awarded.
7. If a team leads by 3 goals one of its players will be retired. The full team may be restored if the scores are levelled.

Organisation

Reading HC website will be used to post dates, times, venues and host club organisers.
Host clubs may invite other sides to join their tournaments (space allowing and not to the detriment of regular participants).
Number of teams entered by each club to be confirmed 2 weeks ahead of tournaments.
Host clubs publish match schedule 10 days in advance.
Photography rules will be the responsibility of the host club. The guideline is that if a professional photographer has been invited to cover the event this presents parents with a good alternative to using their own cameras and they should be asked to refrain. If no photographer is present, the host club should provide a registration sheet for parents who are using cameras just as schools do. Parents who do not want their child to be photographed by professional photographers should make this known at the start and ensure the child is clearly identifiable throughout the tournament, eg with a sticker. This is simpler than identifying the other 99 children.
It is the responsibility of the host club to ensure that a qualified first-aider is present. This may be from the club’s own membership or from a visiting club but it is up to the host club to check who is coming.
All costs associated with hosting tournaments, such as pitch hire, are the responsibility of the host club.

Help for tournament hosts: schedule examples

Schedule A

U10: ½ pitch, 6 teams, 5 matches each x 10 mins, 1½ hrs
U12: ½ pitch, 6 teams, 5 matches each x 12 mins, 2 hrs

U10	U12	Pitch 1	Pitch 2
9.30	9.00	A v B	C v D
9.42	9.15	A v C	E v F
9.54	9.30	D v F	B v E
10.06	9.45	A v D	B v C
10.18	10.00	A v E	C v F
10.30	10.15	B v D	C v E
10.42	10.30	A v F	D v E
11.54	10.45	B v F
11.06	11.00	End

Schedule B

U10: ½ pitch, 8 teams, 5 matches each x 10 mins, 2 hrs
U12: ½ pitch, 8 teams, 5 matches each x 12 mins, 2½ hrs

U10	U12		Pitch 1	Pitch 2	*Team*	*Oppos*
9.30	9.00		A v B	C v D	A	BCDEF
9.42	9.15		E v F	G v H	B	ACDEF
9.54	9.30		A v C	B v E	C	ABDGH
10.06	9.45		D v G	F v H	D	ABCGH
10.18	10.00		A v D	B v F	E	ABFGH
10.30	10.15		C v H	E v G	F	ABEGH
10.42	10.30		A v E	F v G	G	CDEFH
11.54	10.45		B v C	D v H	H	CDEFG
11.06	11.00		A v F	E v H
11.18	11.15		C v G	B v D
11.30	11.30	End

Schedule C

U8: ¼ pitch, 6 teams, 5 matches each x 10 mins, 1¼ hrs

U8	Pitch 1	Pitch 2	Pitch 3	Pitch 4
9.30	A v B	C v D	E v F	-
9.42	A v C	B v E	D v F	-
9.54	A v D	B v F	C v E	-
10.06	Break
10.16	A v E	B v D	C v F	-
10.28	A v F	B v C	D v E	-
10.40	end

Schedule D

U8: ¼ pitch, 8 teams, 5 or 6 matches each x 10 mins, 1¼ - 1½ hrs

U8	Pitch 1	Pitch 2	Pitch 3	Pitch 4	Team	Oppos
9.30	A v B	C v D	E v F	G v H	A	BCDEFG
9.42	A v C	B v E	D v G	F v H	B	ACDEFH
9.54	A v D	B v F	C v H	E v G	C	ABDEGH
10.06	Break				D	ABCFGH
10.16	A v E	F v G	B v C	D v H	E	ABCFGH
10.28	A v F	E v H	C v G	B v D	F	ABDEGH
10.40	A v G	B v H	C v E	D v F	G	ACDEFH
10.52	end				H	BCDEFG
	Or drop the last slot for 5 matches

Download

Thames Valley Minis tournaments 2007/08 (MS Word)

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