I wonder .........?????
Watching from the sideline as our daughter played her first game of Ladies Hockey four years ago got me thinking. If I was going to be her taxi driver for the next few years, perhaps I could join in…. I guess I must have verbalized these thoughts as the next week the team were short and I found myself hunting through the depths of my cupboard to find 20 year old hockey boots and a stick. And so began my ‘Back to Hockey’ adventure.

And what an adventure it has been. Our daughter had joined Reading Hockey Club as a colt because her friend played there. This was my first bit of good fortune, as with 7 Ladies team ranging from premier league to the lower divisions of the Trysports League players of all abilities can be accommodated.

I was in the Ladies 4’s (actually Reading’s 7th team), a team mostly made up of more mature ladies returning to hockey after starting families or having stopped playing for other reasons but also a few youngsters starting out in ladies hockey.

And so the journey began……
In the first year we clung to the bottom of Division 3, falling out of it the following year and despite finishing just outside the relegation zone the next year, the divisions were reorganized to allow for another division and we found ourselves in Division 5 this season! So in two years were dropped three divisions!!

Some of you might be thinking that at this stage we might have concluded that hockey was not for us, but you clearly have not met any of the Ladies 4’s!
First and foremost we are a social side, and if you can vaguely run and hold a hockey stick, you are most welcome. If you are young and fit you are even more welcome!

And so we began the 2014/15 season in Division 5. Our core group was joined by 2 more very experienced, goal scoring players, another true ‘back to hockey’ lady and a 14 year old taking her first steps into ladies hockey. Having decided we would stick to one formation to keep it simple for all, and having made a few key positional changes from the previous season, we soon found that we were scoring lots of goals and winning games.

Success bred success, the goals kept coming and come Christmas we had played 10, won 9 and drawn 1. February drew to a close and we still hadn’t been beaten in the league. Tension was mounting and we still had the division-winning contenders to play again. Sheer determination and a never say die spirit amongst the team saw us through and so we ended our league campaign as undefeated champions.

Success is rewarded…….
Not only were we champions and gained promotion, we also won Reading Hockey Ladies Team of the Year for our endeavors – beating our very successful Ladies 1st to the crown!

A ‘mere’ 36 different players played for us at least once, we scored 84 goals between us and even managed the same starting line up on 3 occasions.

Enjoyment for all…….
We have a large squad as availability, and remaining injury free can be problematic (in 2013/14 an astounding 57 ladies played at least once for the 4’s). The core of the team is a group of friends who met at university or through mother and toddler groups and while most have played hockey before – some to a very high standard – we have others who are new to the game. Many of us are highly competitive and refuse to believe that we are not quite as fast or flexible as we once were.

In conclusion……
If you are thinking of coming ‘Back to Hockey’, don’t delay. Dust off your stick, pick one up for the first time, find a club and throw yourself into it.
I have loved rolling back the years and playing a game that gave me so much joy as a child.

I have also had the enormous privilege of playing a team sport with my daughter (albeit only for a few months as she soon moved up the teams), meeting a new group of friends and encouraging a new generation to play the game.

Reading Hockey club welcomes players of any age and ability to come along and “Give it a go!” it really is fun to come Back to Hockey and meet / reunite with friends and have some fun getting fit and having fun on a Saturday!

www.readinghockeyclub.org.uk