For those interested there are plans for a mixed social league to run between July 17th and August 31st.

This will be open to players in Men's Division 1, Men's Division 2 and Ladies Division 1. 

This is a good chance for some different preseason hockey and playing alongside some players you would not normally see. This would be a slightly more serious mixed league in comparison to the currently running Corporate league which is about introducing new players to hockey.

Attached is a copy of the registration form that needs to be returned by June 30th if interested.

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Sorry for the delay in posting having been off island again I am only now catching up

Nomads 2s continued their season on Sunday with a rematch against Quackers Development.

After a slow start by both teams Nomads took the lead with Gabi Knight opening the scoring just before the end of the 1st half

Quackers came back strongly in the second half and equalised with an early goal from Holly Garnett. 

But the momentum swung back to Nomads with a goal shortly after from Rachel Haws and then another from new Nomads member Olivia Maryon.  Great defence from Nomads Holly Stearn and Kate Jubb kept Quackers out despite Jubb getting struck in the chest with ball.

​A final goal from the ever determined Olivia Besant secured the win for Nomads.

Nomads started the season brightly with an impressive opening 5 minutes forcing the opposition into a few saves and created 2 short corner opportunities.

Unfortunately for them the 2nd of which was well defending by the boys who used their pace and skill to counter attack quickly and despite the best efforts of the defence and keeper Nomads feel behind against the run of play. 

This start set the scene for the rest of the 1st half, with Nomads having the better of possession and territory but looking vulnerable when the Dragons pushed forward.

Nomads drew level midway through the half with Steph Edge striking well from the top of the D to beat the Dragons keeper. However the lead lasted only a short time before a quick passing move by the boys broke through the Nomads Midfield and Defence to leave Bronte Kellett with no chance.

After a short break for half time the 2nd half was a complete reverse with the boys increasing pressure but Nomads regularly breaking on counter attacks as the heat took its toll.

Despite good strikes from the edge of the D by Lilly Wysmuller, Lisa Grant-Phillips and Janoun Dunleavy it took a moment of luck to bring Nomads level, with a deflection off a Nomads foot not spotted by the umpires drawing the side level. A short time later it took a fantastic diving save by Bronte Kellett to prevent the side falling behind again.

With stand-in Captain Janet Hall having to go off injured after a nasty fall it wasn't looking good for the team but they managed to find a goal after a good pass to Joni Gorman, despite a good 1st save she reacted fastest to put away the rebound for her 2nd goal.

Despite a tough final 10 minutes under pressure where Jess Watling made a number of saving tackles Nomads somehow held on to win.

While there are a number of areas to work at in training all players can be incredibly proud of their work rate which brought them back into the game. 

In energy sapping heat, Nomads started well with an early goal from Olivia Besant in open play. This settled the team who grew into the game keeping shape and passing well before Olivia added a second although the shape was lost a little in the latter stages as the heat took its toll. 

In the second half Nomads kept discipline and passed it nicely using width and with the rolling subs giving them a breather and the chance to try new positions Nomads added two further goals from their hardworking captain Emily Genee finishing the game 4:0 winners. ​

In just under a week Jersey Hockey will undertake a 24 hour hockey match raising funds towards building a clubhouse.

This would be a really positive step forward for hockey in general.

If you would like to help please see the below page

https://race-nation.com/sponsor/t/2113

I am unfortunately away with work but have started it off with a small donation of my own.

There is also a taster session from 1pm on the 10th for anyone that wishes to give hockey a try.

Also affected by the lights situation Nomads 1s had an adapted training session.

The 1st 10 minutes involved playing 1 touch passes in a circle, players were encouraged to think on the different ways this could be completed. This helps to improve technique for deflections but also to teach players what sort of ball would be required for a 1st time pass.

That was followed by the drill below but with an emphasis on how changing body position changes your options and the passing angles that you have.

Finally they finished up by a game of keep ball with 1 touch passes worth double.

With the floodlights out of action this weeks session had to be adjusted to try and maintain safety as the light faded.

While it has been adjusted for hockey purposes and has some minor tweaks to how it works this is based on the regular football warm up. To see it in action on a football pitch see the below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VveIVcGtDI0

​Having completed that they moved onto a conditioned game as shown below.

The 1st team session started with a focus on goal scoring as an area that has been an issue for some time.

​This started with a close in game using the 3v3 in D drill below. 

Once players had warmed up we transitioned into using the Creating Chances using deflections drill, this was kept simple with the emphasis on the angle of the run and deflecting the ball into a dangerous zone in and around the goal.

​For some further guidance on the deflection see the Hockey Australia video below. This shows that the process can be simple. While the angle is slightly different the technique remains the same.

I am struggling to find a video of the variation where you use the pace and angle of the ball in a disguised slap.
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For the opening Nomads 2s session the primary aim was for players to get as much time on the ball as possible while still focusing on passing and movement.

The main drill used was variation 1 below. Please see the notes next to this for some information on the various coaching points