They said coming back up was the hard part. Turns out, staying up comes with its challenges too — but our Men's 1st XI have done exactly that, and the boys can look forward to another season of Premier Division hockey at Sonning Lane.

Having secured promotion back into the Premier Division at the first time of asking, the aim this season was always to build and consolidate our place in the league. Spoiler: job done. Tick. Box firmly checked. Premier Division status retained. Cue the £25 bottle of something fizzy if Abdul can find it behind the bar.

Under Head Coach Todd Williams, the squad threw themselves at the top flight with characteristic determination. With a mixture of seasoned players and the injection of youth, the team showed huge potential — and under the Saturday night floodlights at Sonning Lane, there were plenty of moments to savour.

The season's structure — 19 matches, split into phases, with the top six and bottom six separated after the opening 11 games — meant the lads found themselves battling in the lower half of the table for the latter stages. But that's where character comes in, and this squad showed it in spades.

The final phase was a little nervier than we wanted it to be... or than it should have been, but the boys retained their Premier Division status with a 4-3 win at relegated Brooklands MU — the fine margins of success and failure highlighted by how tightly fought the lower pool had been throughout. It was the kind of result that gets celebrated just as loudly as a title. Honest.

So. more turbulent than planned, but no less successful than hoped, season played out against a brilliant backdrop for the club as a whole. Stories of success, promotion and leagues wins ringing through the clubhouse at the Lane. Not a bad time to be a Reading Hockey Club member.

So here we are: still Premier Division, still learning, still improving. The foundations are in place, the squad is growing in confidence, and next season the Men's 1st XI will be back under those floodlights with another year of top-flight experience under their belts.

Same time next season, then. We'll bring the champagne... you bring the noise.

Up the Ding! ?