Hi everyone,
Welcome to 2012 and the beginning of another hockey season. During the summer months the committee has been busy putting things into place for the new season and I’m happy to report that we have most key positions filled. It is certainly a massive eye opener to be part of the organisational team and experience the logistics involved that make our club run. I would urge you all to consider getting involved this year, in some capacity, as our club does not run without volunteers (150 or so) and we never have enough.
I am pleased to be able to advise you all that our senior coaching positions have been filled. They are as follows:
- Men’s elite group – Craig Wilson
- Men’s 2s – Robbie Idle
- Men’s 3s – Craig Seddon
- Women’s elite group – Phil Hulbert Head Coach/Jimmy Miller Assistant
- Women’s 2s – Tom Edwards
- Women’s 3s – Kailen (Sheep) Sarre
- Women’s 4s – Kim Johnstone
The committee believes that the club is extremely fortunate to have such quality people involved at these levels and we hope that all of the above (and their support staff) have an enjoyable and successful season. On behalf of all members I would like to thank you all for getting involved.
The club has identified a couple of areas that we believe needed a little more focus and so we have put some resources into these. They are:
3’s Men
The 3s men have been without a full time coach for some time although Ryan Willis has done a great job over the years. Craig Seddon, who has coached the 2s girls for the last two years, has gone across to the boy’s program and will coach the 3s boys. This is a massive plus for the club and we hope it will create more depth and continuity in the men’s program.
Turf training for 3’s Men and Women
We believe that the 3s men’s and women’s teams need to be training on turf and so are attempting to book turf trainings for these teams. With the availability of turf being limited, this is difficult, but remains the intent of the club to get turf training sessions for these teams once a week.
Development/Pathway Coach
With the rapid development of our women’s program and the girl’s juniors the club believes it is an appropriate time to appoint a development/pathway coach to help our athletes between 15 and 18 years of age make the transition to senior hockey and, in general, develop their hockey. It is easy for this to be on a clubs ‘wish list’ but to find someone with the necessary skills and passion to do so is the difficulty. Chris Ahrens, who played his junior hockey with VPXHC, has offered his time to take on this role. Chris, his wife Gail and their three girls have returned to the club after being a pivotal part of developing the Willeton juniors program. Chris played many years of first division for both Fremantle and Vic Park and then went on to coach at the same level and we believe he is the perfect person for this role. We hope this position will be of significant assistance to our kids, their parents and all coaches involved.
Finally, I ask you all to support our registration day. This is one of the most important days for the club and is a key day in regards to the club’s planning for the year. Please get down to the club on Sunday, February 19 between 9am and 12 noon.
Go the Mighty Panthers
Damo
