Junior managers

Thank you for volunteering to manage a junior team!

We’ve written this to help you to manage your team and have also pulled together a checklist which we hope will ensure that you have everything sorted. It looks a lot but, once you’ve done it once you’ll find it’s pretty straightforward. You will always be supported by at least one experienced player who will umpire your team’s games and provide advice and guidance on technical hockey matters, including rotations. It’s a good idea to make contact a few days before the event to check all is well.

Age Groups – Player Eligibility

Different age group rules are applied to player eligibility for junior hockey competitions based on who has organised the event – England Hockey (national) or Devon Hockey (county):

National Competitions. The players year of birth is used for events organised by England Hockey, i.e. a player’s age at their next birthday from 1st Jan – 31st Dec (see table below). The same rules also apply for nominations to the England Hockey Talent System.

County Competitions. The club enters junior teams into events organised by Devon Junior Hockey (see table below).

Venue

You can find more details for venue locations here.

Kit

The Club plays in dark (black or dark blue) shorts/skort (even if it’s cold or raining!) and black socks which the juniors will need to provide. The Club provides a playing shirt. We also provide a goalkeeper kit for each team. You might need a set of bibs in case of colour clashes.

Please ensure that you collect and check all kit – Club shirts, goalkeeper equipment – for completeness and condition on receipt and before you return it. You will need a helmet for if you need to play a “Kicking Back” (an outfield player that has goalkeeping privileges in their own “D”) – see Checklist. You’ll also be given a first aid kit. Finally, you’ll need to take a match ball.

Players must provide their own personal protection – gum shield and shin pads. Please ensure that you inform all players and parents/carers of this requirement well before the event and before each game – without it they cannot play. See the guidance we give to parents and juniors on personal kit, clothing for all weathers, etc.

Selecting your team

We aim for fair and transparent selection and development opportunities throughout the Club. For juniors playing for age group teams, the Club Development & Selection policy applies. You will receive contact details of all registered players from our Membership Secretary.

The following additional guidelines will help Team Managers apply the policy:

Selection guidelines

• Team selection is made by the team manager advised by Club Coaches
• All junior players must be Club members (i.e. registered and fully paid up) to be eligible for selection
• Junior players must attend and train with the Junior Academy regularly to be eligible for selection
• A player’s attitude in training and on the field of play is as equally important as ability and potential when it comes to player selection. This must be in accordance with the Club’s Code of Behaviour
• Players should, as a rule, be selected to play for their respective age group. Some players may be ready to play in an older age group – this decision will be made by the team manager and Club Coaches
• If we have more than one team in each age group, players will be selected on performance merit. This will ensure that players are selected to their team in accordance with their current ability. By selecting teams in this way means that the Club is as competitive as possible against the other teams in the tournament
• We anticipate that there will be movement between the teams according to performance and as players develop through the season
• Players cannot play for an age group below their own (see above).
• Players are selected to the squad for a game or tournament and not to a particular position on the pitch
• Team managers should give their players experience in every position on the pitch to support their development. Players should therefore be prepared to play in any outfield position
• Teams can play without a goalkeeper and can instead play with 7 outfield players. They may choose to nominate a “kicking back” = an outfield player with the privileges of a goalkeeper in the D. To do this the player must wear a helmet to defend penalty corners (= Short corners). The team manager will explain the options
• A 10 player squad is suggested as a practical maximum to allow player rotations to be managed as effectively as possible
• Players should be encouraged to take turns as goalkeeper, where this is practical to do so
• Players should receive equal pitch time, less goalkeepers – unless there are two goalkeepers in the squad. This will need to be carefully planned, as far as is possible, so things run smoothy.

Safeguarding & protecting

It is a critical requirement to keep the young players in your charge safe and protected. To ensure this:

• All Club coaches and other volunteers confirm they will follow all relevant Club codes, policies and procedures.  They do this when registering with the Club on Pitchero
• Key role and appointment holders, including team managers and coaches:
  • Undergo a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check
  • Complete basic on-line Safeguarding awareness training.

DBS Check. We require that all Club volunteers aged 16 years and above with regular and significant access to young people to undergo a DBS check. Please note that we’re not able to receive DBS checks from other settings, e.g. from another club, sport or education.

Contact Lizzie Celi Parr, our Club Welfare Officer, to initiate the process.

England Hockey Safeguarding on-line training. All team managers are required to complete a short England Hockey on-line safeguarding course. There is a £10 fee which we ask you to pay upfront and then recover the fee paid from the income from tournament fees. Please include the receipt when you handover your team’s tournament fees to the Treasurer.

Incident/Accident Reporting

You must use this form to record and report any Incidents/Accidents to the Club Welfare Officer. Print off copies ahead of time to use pitch-side, as required. You should record the information clearly and accurately as soon as possible after the incident/accident as it might be used in the event of an investigation.

Emergency Contact Details

You will be provided with contact and Emergency Contact details for all players in your squad by our Membership Secretary. This information should be available to you at all times and be kept secure for data protection reasons.

Player Rotation

In hockey, players can roll-on and roll-off through the game. This means that a player can return to play after having been substituted. Recognising that all players should be given equal pitch-time, you need to have a plan to make this work without unsettling the team. Your plan needs to take into account the number of players in your squad and the length of each game. You will work out what works best for your age group but whatever you decide to do, it’s best to work it out before match day and then be prepared to be flexible, as necessary, on the day.

Match/Tournament fees

Collect matches/tournaments fees in accordance with the Club’s Annual Subs and Match fee policy using Pitchero. This applies to all junior players.

Tournament/Match Report

Please write/have a match report written for publication on the Club website and in the local media. A team photo or actions shots are always good. Please send your report direct to the Sidmouth Herald and to our Webmaster.