Why Join Wychwood Ladies Hockey Club
Great Leadership
Wychwood has a dedicated and passionate committee who represent the interests of every member, from under 18s to over 60s. The committee collaborate closely with our excellent coaching team, Fraser and Jacob, who work tirelessly to ensure that all members are motivated and committed to achieving their full potential but, most importantly, enjoy playing hockey!
Appropriate & Sustainable Facilities
We have weekly access to quality facilities. We train at the AstroTurf pitch at Wood Green School in Witney and play our home matches on the AstroTurf pitch at Cokethorpe School. During the summer, we also play at Tilsley Park in Abingdon when participating in the White Horse Cup Summer League. We have strong links with Minster Lovell so in the off-season use Wash Meadow Cricket ground in Old Minster for pre-season fitness sessions.
Inspired and effective people within the club
At Wychwood, every member is valued and plays an important role in driving the club to success. We work effectively as a team and draw inspiration from each other. Within the club, you will find motivated individuals who work hard to keep us moving forward; come and meet us to find out for yourself.
Provide different ways to play that meet players' needs
We have a diverse range of players of all abilities aged from 13 to 60+! The needs of every player are met through the provision of a variety of activities every training session and the opportunity to play competitively and/or in a social setting. Activities can range from consolidating basic stick skills to learning new skills entirely, as well as set plays and game play practice. We also provide individual goalkeeper training.
Our 1st XI play in division 1 of the Womens South Central League and our 2nd XI team in the Womens South Central League division 3.
We are working hard to develop our Back to Hockey and Junior section in order to engage an even broader range of ladies and young people in our sport.
Friendly, welcoming and social
We pride ourselves on being inclusive, supportive and a hockey family. We aim to have fun both on and off the pitch with organised socials to suit all members, from bowling and laser quest nights, to race days and nights out for older members. We actively encourage new members to join and we would all be delighted to see you at our next training session.
Strong community connections
With our long-standing history, the local community is very important to us. We have our match teas at the White Hart pub in Minster Lovell who are very generous supporters and one of the sponsors of our club.
We involve ourselves in local events such as Minster beer Festival and Witney ParkRun. Running our own events to engage the local community in hockey is also a focus of ours. In 2018 we held our first HockeyFest event which was open to everyone in the local community to come along and have a go at hockey.
Wychwood also maintains strong links with the local schools through the use of their facilities and we actively promote our club in the community to encourage local people to get involved and come and join us.
Stretch and develop
With such a diverse range of ages and abilities our Head Coach, Fraser Barnard, understands the importance of differentiation in training. Training is set up to provide each individual with the opportunity to become a better hockey player and grow in confidence, irrespective of their ability. As well as learning new skills and perfecting existing ones, he encourages the development of your 'hockey brain'; the ability to make appropriate decisions in match situations and keep cool under pressure.
We also provide opportunities for development off the pitch. Our Umpires Secretary promotes officiating courses which a number of our members have taken part in. They are well on their way to becoming Assessed Club Umpires and will hopefully progress further.