Both other English teams are also drawn to play at Terrassa – with East Grinstead facing Barcelona’s Polo club and Kelburne of Scotland, while Beeston will take on host club Atletic Terrassa and CA Montrouge of France (spookily the exact same two teams that Reading faced at this stage of the competition last year!)

The full draw and all Euro Hockey League news can be found at www.ehlhockey.tv

The focus for the weekend was getting to know each other on and off the pitch, and we wasted no time on Friday evening with some singing on the bus, ably led by Joey and Chloe, and some highly entertaining teambuilding games organised by Lisa. RHC’s Got Talent watch out this year!!! Saturday morning dawned rather earlier than the younger members of the squad were happy with and we headed to the pitch. Again our focus was getting to know each other and the system we will be playing this season. Saturday afternoon brought our first game against Mannheimer MC, with Sam Q, Sam D, Chantal and Becky pulling on a Reading shirt for the first time and Briony making her first team debut. The game was a chance for us to put the morning’s work into practice and with only 12 players available it was certainly a test of our fitness and resolve. It was an impressive first performance and though there were many areas for development, it gave us a lot of confidence that our ambitions for the season are achievable. We were able to put into practice a lot of the structures and ideas we had discussed through preseason and play close to the level of intensity we aspire to this season. Despite tiring legs late in the second half, we were pleased with the final result, winning 4-1.

Some tired bodies returned to the pitch early on Sunday morning to run out the previous day’s efforts and continue to develop our penalty corner repertoire. We utilised the impressive facilities on offer to watch and discuss some video clips of Saturday’s game, hoping to build on the previous day’s performance. Now down to 11 fit players Sunday’s game was less intense and a very poor start saw Reading 2-0 down within the first ten minutes. A timeout and some strong words from Simon helped us rediscover something close to our form from Saturday and after some impressive anti-skill from Anna we found ourselves back at 2-2. Though not the most complete performance, there were definite improvements in specific areas of our game and we were disappointed to lose 4-3, letting in a goal with just minutes to go. Sunday evening was spent in a pizza restaurant in Mannheim. This was our first real test of using our German language skills and Lisa gamely stepped up to translate the entire pizza menu. Half way down the first page, we realised that with 5 pages of pizzas this could take a while! We finished the evening supporting Beth, Kate, Hels and Alex playing for England in their opening World Cup game, beating Spain 3-2.

Overall it was a fantastic opportunity for us to grow as a team and has really set the standard for the season. Special thanks must go to Simon and Steve for their organisation and coaching, Liana and Abi who were unable to play through injury but ably manned the very high video tower and MMC for their hospitality.

Reading continue their preseason preparations this weekend, taking on Old Loughts at 12.30pm on Saturday 4th September and St Albans at 2pm on Sunday 5th September.

We boast 11 men’s teams and 8 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 and the new season HERE.

Congratulations to Alex Danson, Helen Richardson, Kate Walsh and Beth Storry on their selection for England at the Commonwealth Games.  The Reading quartet are also part of the squad that has travelled to Argentina for the Women’s World Cup which starts this weekend – their first game against Spain is on August 29th, and you can watch all the games online at www.laola1.tv. For more information on both competitions, follow the links below…

Women’s World Cup News

Commonwealth Games Squad – Women

Richard Mantell is set to make a dramatic comeback to the International scene having been selected in the England squad for the Commonwealth Games – returning to Dehli where he suffered a horrific ankle injury against Pakistan in the World Cup just 6 months ago. Richard is joined in the squad by two other Reading players – his brother Simon and Iain Mackay – with both Nick Brothers and Jonty Clarke being named as travelling reserves for the Games.

Commonwealth Games Squad – Men

We need to give the club some ‘freshening up’ for the new season, so we are inviting all members to spare a tiny piece of their time this Monday 30^th August to come and help maintain our lovely RHC…

Where & When: 10:30am – 1:00pm at Sonning Lane

What to Bring:  Any gardening tools you may have hidden away - we will be trimming hedges, cleaning up the flower beds etc (all outdoor stuff)

Whether you can spare 30 minutes or an hour or 2 we’d be very grateful for any time you have to spare - plus for everyone that comes to help there will be a yummy BBQ provided afterwards….

See you there…

General Training Sessions

General training has now started for the season.  The sessions are as follows and are open to all whether old or young (capable of playing in an adult side, if you want your child to play junior hockey only please see the Youth Hockey section), whether you play representative hockey or haven’t picked up a stick since school and want to try again, whether you have been playing for us for decades or are interested in joining.  Just come along and give us a go.

Men: Thursdays 7pm to 9pm
Ladies: Wednesday 6.30pm to 8pm

You are welcome to just turn at one of these sessions and try hockey at Reading.  If you are unsure what happens when you turn up just ask for one of our friendly captains/coaches to get you started.  At the mens sessions ask for Johnny Downer, Reza Ansery or Ahmet Tuney.  At the Ladies sessions ask for Sue Newman, Alison Pope, Karen Clack or Gemma-Louise Notman.

Club Day

Club day this year is on Saturday 4th September.  The day provides a few trial games to help judge initial selection, an opportunity to watch the 1XIs in action and a sociable welcome BBQ as an introduction to our clubhouse and bar.

Mens Trials 2010

Saturday 4th September 14:00 (registration from 13:00)

Ladies Trials 2010

Saturday 4th September 09:00 (registration from 08:30)

Trials Information

You will need to bring yourself and your kit. The trials will consist of a series of games.
There will be a charge of £3 to cover pitch costs for the day.

Membership Form

Every member needs to complete a membership form.  You can download it, print it and complete it beforehand if that helps.

Download the Membership Form

Subscriptions

Subscriptions have been frozen so it costs exactly the same as last year to play.

If you want more information you can check out our Join Reading Page.  If you have an further questions just shout, or come along and ask us in person.

We look forward to seeing you at The Lane this season.

Did you also know that current and ex Reading players Nick Brothers, Jonty Clarke, Iain Mackay, Simon Mantell, Richard Springham, Nick Catlin, Alex Danson, Jo Ellis, Helen Richardson, Beth Storry and Kate Walsh could well find themselves in the squads selected to take part?

From 10th to 18th July the England Women’s Hockey Team will take on Argentina, China, Germany, New Zealand and The Netherlands in a battle for the coveted Samsung FIH Women’s Champions Trophy at Highfields Sports Club, Nottingham.

But that’s not all…the Great Britain Men’s Hockey Team launches their London 2012 Olympics campaign with a series of matches against Germany, New Zealand and Japan from 11th to 17th July. Same time, same place, same price.

Tickets start from £7.50 and there are great group deals available. But the best news of all is that Saturday 10th July is FAMILY DAY and children under 18 go in free!*

Six of the Best Women’s Teams in the World! PLUS Fantastic Four of the Men’s Teams.

This is a fantastic opportunity to see World Class Hockey on home soil and we know that the British teams would really appreciate having a huge enthusiastic crowd supporting them.

To book tickets please go to www.wct2010.com/tickets.

*Free entry if accompanied by an adult.