2. Junior hockey for 2023/24 - how to join, training dates and contacts

For general information about our Junior Section, see the page 'Junior Hockey at DRHC'. This page relates to the 2023/24 season only.

What are the costs of participating?
New joiners are welcome to attend a couple of sessions as guests, by arrangement with the relevant session manager or the Junior Co-ordinator (but note we nevertheless need the parent to register themself and their child on the club's Pitchero database beforehand for safeguarding and administrative reasons).

After that, we ask that those wishing to continue participating to join the club: this requires the payment of an annual membership sub and there are different subs for various age bands.

For those attending Otters, Beavers & Badgers, and league training, training fees are rolled up into the annual membership sub (which can be paid in instalments).

For primary school age children attending Sunday sessions, training fees are instead charged on the gate as we recognise that attendance may be more sporadic at this age (although we hope to see them at every session!). Annual membership subs for these age groups are corresponding lower to reflect that they do not include training fees.

Finally, match fees are charged via Pitchero to players in inter-club matches.

Details of current annual membership subs, training fees and match fees are available from the Junior Co-ordinator. As a members' club, we aim to keep all costs as low as possible, whilst ensuring quality coaching and the long-term sustainability of club-owned facilities for our members' enjoyment.

Registering your child for the first time?
PLEASE (please, please, please) take a moment to read this page in full. In particular, please don't just 'have a crack at' registering your child without reading the instructions below about how to do this correctly on Pitchero. Most people who don't read the instructions do it wrong and end up having to do it all again...

New players (who have not attended the club previously)
Anyone wishing to come and have a go, you'd be very welcome to join in one of our training sessions on a trial basis. We welcome children of all ages from reception upwards, and all abilities including complete beginners. Please contact the relevant session manager (details below) before attending for the first time. And see the Junior Hockey at DRHC page in this section for some general information, and also the Frequently Asked Questions page for details of what equipment you need.

Before attending any junior sessions, new players must have registered with the club using our Pitchero membership database, so that we have all the relevant emergency and contact information for the player. Registering with the club does not imply a commitment to join the club and pay a subscription – but it does allow us to communicate with parents quickly and easily. Please read the attached document 'Signing up your child with Pitchero – a guide for parents’. It is really important to follow the steps carefully and so sign up an adult in the role of ‘parent’ before signing up a child in the role of ‘player’. The two roles are separate and mixing up the parent and child data may mean you don’t receive information you need.

Returning players
Please check over your data on Pitchero and update as necessary. Please refer to the attached document 'Updating info for start of a new season'.

Does my child need to be registered on England Hockey's Game Management System?
All players in league matches, or competing in EH junior championship competitions, must be registered on GMS for the club to be able to select them and put them on a team sheet. We recommend all players of secondary school age, therefore, register on GMS at the start of the season to avoid last minute hitches in selection. This is usually done by the parent registering on the child's behalf. Full instructions are available on the England Hockey website under 'Game Management System'.

Training

Training sessions restart as follows. If you wish to attend one of the sessions, or have a query about the relevant age group, please get in contact using the details below.

Otters (u11s), Beavers (u12/13s) & Badgers (u14/15s)
Training takes place on Monday evenings, starting 04 September 2024.

There are 2 sessions: one running from 6-7:30pm, and one from 7:30-9pm. Each session is sub-divided into 2 or 3 sub-groups, based on age and experience, so that each child gets attention and training appropriate to their stage of hockey development. The coaches keep under review whether to move children between groups to assist this process.

Generally, the earlier sessions is for the Otters and some Beavers. The later session is for older/more experienced Beavers and Badgers. Returning Beavers will be informed before the start of the season which session they should attend initially. If you are new to the club, please check with us which session to attend.

u6s, u7s, u8s and u10s (including all children from Reception upwards and beginners in year 6)
Please see the attached Briefing Note for Parents.
Sundays 10:30am – 12pm
Starting 10 September 2023

For all enquiries, please contact drhc.juniors@gmail.com.