Thames Valley Minis

In 2012/13 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, and have fun playing against other local clubs. This is the fifth season of the Thames Valley Minis.

These tournaments are by invitation only. For further details please contact Nick Hooper at Reading HC (see Contacts).

Dates & Venues

2012-13	U8	U10A	U10A/B	U10B
14-Oct	Wokingham	Marlow	Bracknell	Reading
	10am			9.00am
11-Nov	Henley	Maidenhead	Slough	Newbury & Thatcham
				10.00am
02-Dec	Maidenhead	Marlow	Sonning	Phoenix
			9am	12.15pm
03-Feb	Marlow	Reading	Maidenhead	Henley
		9.00am
03-Mar	Reading	Slough	Wokingham	Phoenix & Ranelagh
	9.00am		10am	12.15pm


2012-13	U12A	U12A	U12B	U12B
14-Oct	Newbury & Thatcham	Slough	Maidenhead	Sonning
	10.00am			9.00am
11-Nov	Reading	Sonning	Phoenix & Ranelagh	Marlow
	9.00am	9.00am	12.15pm
02-Dec	Henley	Bracknell	Reading	Wokingham
			9.00am	10am
03-Feb	Wokingham	Slough	Bracknell	Newbury & Thatcham
	10am			10.00am
03-Mar	Maidenhead	Newbury & Thatcham	Henley	Bracknell

Tournaments are held on the first Sunday of the month (except October). Note there are no January tournaments.

Tournaments start promptly at 9.30am unless otherwise indicated here or advised by hosts/club coaches. 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 2 hours. The exact times for each tournament will be sent out by host clubs a week or so in advance.

Contacts

Club	Contact	e-mail	Telephone
Bracknell	Jon Brayshaw	jbrayshaw@salesforce.com	07919 488411
	Matt Wakefield	matthew_wakefield@live.com	07796 173881
Henley	Patricia Heggie	barnard@bannerhomes.co.uk
Mini Manager/U8	Patricia Heggie	barnard@bannerhomes.co.uk
U10 Coach	Cleo Lyn	looneycleo@btinternet.com
U12 Coach	Martyn Watkins	martyn@martynwatkins.com
U12 Coach	Ian Rechner	rechner@doctors.org.uk	07835 140414
Maidenhead
U8 Coach	Jim Thompson	jim.thompson@bbed.co.uk	07748 062783
U10 Coach	Tim Cracknell	tcracknell@sky.com	07973 131837
U12 Coach	Michael Salmon	Michael_salmon_2000@yahoo.com
	Russ Armstrong
Marlow	Bernard Tyler	bernardhockey@virginmedia.com	07884 475051
Newbury & Thatcham	Agnes Carlisle	agnes@falklandcc.co.uk	07775 504421
Phoenix & Ranelagh	Hugh Hamilton	hamilh@matthey.com	07941 648056
U8/U10	Andy Haynes	Andrew.Haynes@networkrail.co.uk	07799 718285
U12	Lyndsey Redford	lyndsey.redford@hotmail.co.uk
Reading	Nick Hooper	nhooper@marsandco.com	07970 662434
Mini Manager	Nick Hooper	nhooper@marsandco.com	07970 662434
U8 Coach	Simon Rooke	simon.rooke73@virginmedia.com
U10 Coach	Rob Thompson	Rob.Thompson@IrwinMitchell.com	07407 733372
U12 Coach	Jeremy Sandell	jeremy.sandell@live.co.uk	07557 352900
	Phil Crosby	philipcrosby@gmail.com	07910 188990
Slough	Sunil Kapur	sunil_kapur@hotmail.com	07785 316141
Sonning	Nick Digby	Nick.Digby@virgin.net	07766 634295
Wokingham	Jenny Barlow	jennifer_barlow@hotmail.co.uk

Directions

Bracknell HC

Birch Hill Recreation Ground, Ringmead, Birch Hill, Bracknell, RG12 7AQ

http://www.bracknellhockeyclub.com/pitch_location/pitch_location.htm

Henley HC

353 Reading Road, Henley on Thames, 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

Marlow HC

Marlow Sports Club, Pound Lane, Marlow, SL7 2AH

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?q=pound+lane,+marlow&hl=en&cid=13123989950443285050

Newbury HC

Henwick Lane, Thatcham, RG18 3BN

http://www.nt-hc.org/nthc/directions.asp

Phoenix & Ranelagh HC

Rivermead Leisure Centre, Richfield Avenue, Reading, RG1 8EQ
http://www.pr-hockey.org.uk/directions/

Reading HC

Reading HC, Sonning Lane, Sonning, RG4 6ST

http://www.readinghockeyclub.org.uk/club/directions/

Sonning HC

Royal County of Berkshire Sports & Social Club, Sonning Lane, Sonning RG4 6ST

http://sonninghc.clubhouseleader.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=10

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

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 Guidelines

Tournaments will be held one Sunday per month
Under 8, Under 10 A and B, and Under 12 A and B – each group at a different venue. Two venues each for U10B and U12B and U12A.
Clubs should end sides to the relevant level tournament not just where is most convenient. B tournaments are fine for beginners, A ones are not. Equally experienced players should not be going to B tournaments.
Tournaments held on Sunday mornings with preferred start time 9.30am – due to pitch availability, start times may vary from 9.00am to 11.30am.
Mixed teams, with a minimum of two girls in each team.
Matches should all be 8-10 minutes (no half-time) with 1 minute changeover but is at the discretion of the individual tournaments to make sure that the kids play the maximum amount of hockey. For U12 tournaments the ideal number is 8 teams at any venue – more than 10 is too many. Teams should not be resting more often than every other game.
4-6 matches per teams.
Tournaments should not last longer than 2½ hours and should preferably be no more than 1½ hours.
U8 play on half ¼ pitch. U10 on 1/3 or ½ pitch and U12 play on ½ pitch.
Normal weight balls at U12 and U10. At U8 lighter balls can be used as it makes little difference.
No recording of results or winners.

Tournament rules

Mini Hockey rules, to be interpreted sympathetically according to the age and ability of teams. The two new Mandatory Experimental Laws are mandatory at all levels of hockey from 1st September and will be applied until further notice.
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. 8-a-side is not discouraged, particularly in cold weather and at B tournaments, to keep everyone involved. U8 should be 5 or 6 a side.
Age qualification (Under8/10/12) is at 1st September in with EH age groups for clubs.
Team coaches will umpire (unless host club can provide umpires).
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.
The use of goalkeepers is encouraged, particularly at U12, but it remains non-compulsory. Goalkeepers are usually more than happy to guest for other clubs between their own games.
Short corners will be awarded in U12 and U10 A level matches only if the defending team has a goalkeepers. If there is no goalkeeper, then an indirect free hit from 10 yards out in line with where the offence was committed.
If there is a goalkeeper but no D is marked, an imaginary one works fine, to encourage teams to learn the skills and routines needed.
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 (not if the trailing team scores once).

Organisation

Reading HC website will be used to post dates, times, venues and host club organisers. http://www.readinghockeyclub.org.uk/ng/minis
Host clubs may invite other sides to join their tournaments (space allowing and not to the detriment of regular participants).
Hosts need to know well in advance how many teams are coming from each club. A minimum of one week’s notice is needed and it is not fair to call a few days before a tournament to change the number of teams (up or down). “We’re not sure how many teams we are bringing” is never an option.
Host clubs publish match schedule 5 days in advance.
The two clubs hosting B tournaments on the same date should work together to ensure roughly even numbers at each venue. “We don’t want to travel to Newbury” is not an option.
The relevant age group should be specified in the header of all e-mail about tournaments.
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.
Clubs sending one coach for three or four teams causes problems, for example teams not being ready for games to start or no-one quite sure who should be on the pitch or in what colour shirts. Clubs should try to appoint enthusiastic parents to “manage” each team, hockey experience not required.
In the event of ice or snow on the morning of a tournament, while the host will make every effort to contact visiting clubs, it is the responsibility of the visiting clubs to contact the host to find out whether or not the tournament will go ahead. If in doubt please assume a tournament is going ahead.