Welcome to Bridgwater Hockey Club

West Clubs Women's Hockey League

Bridgwater Ladies 1st 3, Taw Valley 1st 0

The Ladies 1s started strongly against their opposition Taw Valley with a game plan in mind following their friendly against Taunton Civil Service the previous week. With a strong squad of 14, the team were ready to work hard for a positive outcome in their first league clash of the season.

Bridgwater had the starting push back and attacked the Taw Valley defence repeatedly in the first half of the game. With attackers Lucy Burridge and Sapphy Reed-Jang passing the ball across the “D” to the penalty spot and putting Bridgwater ahead. Following the restart, Taw Valley came back with a counter attack which was successfully held back by defenders, Sue Chaplin, Charlotte East, Cass Walker and Julie Morrish. The midfield players then worked together and passed around players to attack the goal again. This attack led to a team goal with a final touch by Grace Popham putting Bridgwater two ahead at the half time whistle.

At the start of the second half and after a good discussion at half time, the team were ready to hold off their opposition. Heidi Martin, Laura Coles, Megan Smith and Emma Hill worked tirelessly in midfield to connect play from the defence to the attack. With three substitutes, Bridgwater worked hard and replaced tired legs with fresh, with Sheila Burridge and Kath Briggs playing multiple positions. The final goal was scored by Grace Popham assisted by Cass Walker after a penalty corner had been awarded. In the final few minutes the Bridgwater defence was put under increasing pressure from the opposition leading to Amy Burridge having to make a number of saves before the final whistle. Overall, a very strong game for Bridgwater and a great start to their season.

Next week will see the team playing away to Weston-Super-Mare.

West Clubs Women's Hockey League

Bridgwater Ladies 2nd 0, Taw Valley 2nd 5

After the game had completed, a 5-0 win was awarded to Bridgwater as Taw Valley had fielded unregistered players.

The Ladies 2s travelled to Barnstable to play Taw Valley who attacked from the start with an experienced team. Jenny Hayden Briffet and Rachel Higgs held the off the attacks with Sue Durkin making some good saves in goal, but Taw Valley broke through to score early in the game. They continued to attack Bridgwater and gained several penalty corners. Lauren Morrish and Kashi Morrish did well to get the ball away to the wings. Rossy Sheppy and Clare Wilson did their best to stop the ball coming through the middle but Taw Valley were too strong and scored two more before half time.

Bridgwater started the second half wanting the game more and Beth Porter, Tracey Gue and Kate Ward were driving down the wings, getting some great passes towards Karen Chilcot, Jess Shobrook and Danni Morgan. Rose Baker played extremely well in an unfimilar central defence role throughout the second half but Brigwater were unable to stop Taw Valley scoring another two goals.
The final score of 0-5 didn't reflect the well fought game. Next weeks the Ladies 2s take on Weston 3s at home.

Joint players of the match were Tracey Gue and Kate Ward.

Friendly

Devizes 9, Bridgwater Mens 1st 6

A late afternoon start to play against another team that are in a higher division in the last friendly before the league starts. Bridgwater started very slowly and found themselves 2-0 down in the first five minutes - just as they did the previous week. After a few substitutions Bridgwater started to play some telling hockey and managed to pull a goal back through Todd Barrett with Tom Lott assisting. The next goal was for Devizes before Bridgwater were to pull a goal back near the half time break through Jordan Rawles.

A fast start to the second half by Bridgwater enabled them to draw level right from the restart - this time a strike by skipper Lott who struck home from a penalty corner. The second half proceeded to bring a string of goals, with Devizes pulling two clear again to look comfortable at 5-3. Bridgwater were to get the next two and draw level - both scored by Lott with two booming strikes to get his hat-trick. Devizes got ahead again only for Bridgwater to level this time a cracking strike from Rawles. During this period Bridgwater were to lose a few players to green and yellow cards - some slightly unfortunate - and had to play the remainder of the game with 9 or 10 players. Devizes took full advantage to score three more to finish a good game of hockey winning 9-6. The past two weeks have been a good test for the young Bridgwater 1st team and if they are able to play this way in the league from next week, they should start to achieve some positive results.

Friendly

Bridgwater Mens 3rd 6, Taunton Vale 4th 4

Bridgwater Mens 2s team faced Taunton Vale 4th team in their final pre-season friendly. The questionably paced game (much slower compared to the normal standard of previous weeks) saw plenty of goals for both sides with Bridgwater eventually coming out on top in a 6-4 victory. Richard Payne stood out for Bridgwater with five goals in the game, with the other goal coming from Paul tilley with a powerful drag flick. Overall it was a positive performance with new and old faces in the side, and made it three from three victories in the pre-season games, leaving the team feeling positive about carrying the strong form into the league season.

Friendly

Bridgwater Mens 3rd 5, Torbay 2nd 5

The game started late due to the major traffic hold ups throughout the town and county. Bridgwater only had a base eleven at the start due to several illness drop outs and a player caught up in the traffic melee. All the fitting of square pegs into round holes led to the Bridgwater team having no real shape. Torbay were 2-0 up inside the first ten minutes. Bridgwater borrowed Rich Payne and Will Kelly from an earlier game (this being allowed as a friendly) and they made an immediate impact.

Will Kelly scored and Simon Burland scored to level the scores at half time.

Just as the second half started Steve Turvey turned up from his slow trip from llminster to Bridgwater. Before he had entered the fray Bridgwater were 3-2 up. Burland getting his second. Within seconds the score was 3-3. The game ebbed and flowed a while before a moment of déjà vu. Rich Payne looked to make it 4-3 but just as the ball was crossing the line Steve Turvey touched it in 'to make sure’! Iit took Payne six months to get over it the last time it happened!). But within seconds it was 4-4.

Not to be outdone within about a minute it was 5-4 as Elliott Fitzmaurice deflected deftly past the keeper on the right post. But following the pattern of the game it was swiftly 5-5. Torbay probably had the best of the last ten minutes as Bridgwater had to work to hang onto the draw.

Selection Policy

As part of the preparation for the new season, the team selection policy has been updated and re-issued by the Committee.

It is available on the website here, and is used as guidance to all captains when selecting players for Bridgwater teams.

Membership Forms for this season now online. If you're an existing member, and you've signed up to emails from the club, then you should receive an email from Sue Chaplin, the Membership Secretary. If nothing has changed, then if you confirm by email, then there is no need to complete a new form.

Level 1 Umpiring Course comes to Bridgwater!
This is a one day course in Bridgwater, at Chilton on Sunday 10th September.
It really couldn't be nearer.
If you fancy taking the first steps and qualifying as a Level 1 Umpire, then this would be the perfect course for you.
Members have to book and pay for the course themselves directly at England Hockey at the link below, but if you end up umpiring for the club, then the club will reimburse course fees, depending on the number of games you do!
http://www.englandhockey.co.uk/courses.asp…

Also remember that umpires are rewarded for their effosrt on a Saturday, offsetting the costs of match fees.

Pre-season Training starts Tuesday 1st August (7:00pm-8:00pm) at Chilton Trinity

Pre-season training for all starts on Tuesday 1st August at Chilton Trinity. Let's see how many people we can get to attend to start the preparations for the 2017/18 season. Even if you can't attend for the whole session, the captains will be pleased to hear from all those who plan to play next season so that planning can begin on selections for the league season which starts in September for the Ladies and October for the Mens teams. Cost will be £2:00 per player

Updates from the 2017 AGM

Club Officers 2017/18
President	Sheila Burridge
Chairman	Alan Baldwin
Vice-Chairman	Carwyn Jenkins
Treasurer/ Membership Secretary	Rachel Higgs/ Sue Chaplin
Secretary	Bridget Hedaux
Club Captain	Steve Turvey
Fixture Secretary - Men	Rob Morrish
Fixture Secretary - Ladies	Julie Morrish
Umpires Secretary	Julie Morrish
General Committee	Geoff Banham
Equipment	Dan Pigden
Press and Communications (Social Media)	Alan Baldwin (Duncan Morrish)
Social Secretary	Karen Chilcott
Welfare Officer	Sheila Burridge
Youth Representative	Will Kelly
Disciplinary Officer	Marcus Blyth
Team Captains
1st Men	Tom Lott
1st Ladies	Cass Walker
2nd Men	Mike Morrish
2nd Ladies	Clare Wilson
3rd Men	Phil Morrish
4th Men	Kev Hicks *
5th Men	Steve Morrish
* co-opted by the committee after the AGM

Financial Decisions

It was decided that subscriptions should not be increased for playing members, and that subscriptions and match fees should stay the same as last year. In summary:

Subscriptions
Adult Playing Member	£70 *
Non-playing/social Member	£25 *
Student member	£40 *
Juniors	£25 *
		*to be paid or standing order in place by 31 October
Match Fees
Adult Member	£8
Students and Juniors	£5
Umpires Payment
Per match	£8