Scottish Hockey Assistant Development Officers

Nine Assistant Development Officers, employed through the Future Jobs Fund Programme, will start this week at National Sports Centre in Largs

Scottish Hockey is to employ the 500th Future Jobs Fund employee and they will be one of these Nine Assistant Hockey Development Officers.

The Under Secretary for State for Scotland, Anne McKechnie, will attend on Thursday, whilst the new staff is undertaking their first aid training.

Scottish Hockey have received praise for the innovation and drive to get the project moving and being able to recruit and employ nine quality people at once.

The employees have a range of experience, with one currently representing Scotland at U21 level.

Ben Glencross, Development Manager said “This opportunity has helped hockey and the young people involved. We aim to develop their skills and confidence through working with a range of people, to allow them to take those skills and find further employment, whilst at the same time promoting and increasing participation in hockey.”

Once trained the coaches will work at local level, which will provide stronger links with our clubs.

Colleen Reid, Coach Education Development Manager and Steven Percy, Youth Development Officer will be at Largs this week supervising their training.

Further information of the role of Assistant Development Officers;

They will compete a UKCC level 1 coaching course, Child Protection Training and First Aid training.

They will then be deployed back to their local authority to support the delivery of hockey in the area. This will strengthen hockey’s links with the clubs in the area.

They will work with existing development staff to deliver hockey, organize activities, run festivals and promote hockey.

GB Women Help Sport Relief

Members of the Great Britain women’s hockey team rose to the challenge of supporting Sport Relief on Tuesday as they dribbled their way to the fastest mile with a hockey stick and ball in a time of four minutes and four seconds, smashing their target of Svetlana Masterkova’s one mile track record of four minutes 12 seconds.

The six participating squad members, Reading’s Laura Bartlett, Alex Danson and Emily Maguire and Leicester’s Crista Cullen, Hannah MacLeod and Kerry Williams - ‘dribbled’ the mile in a relay format in an exact time of four minutes, four seconds and 87 milliseconds.

The Sport Relief ‘Stick and Ball Mile’ took place during the squad’s training session at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre in Buckinghamshire and was filmed for the BBC’s South Today programme.

Cheered on by their watching Great Britain teammates, each member of the group ran one half of the pitch per shuttle before passing the ball on to the next athlete. In total they ran 17.6 lengths of the pitch.

Defender Crista Cullen explained afterwards why the squad had been so keen to take part: “We’re at a very exciting stage of our preparations ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games in London and it is nice to be able to take part in Sport Relief to benefit the young people of this country and others around the world, many of whom will hopefully be inspired by the Olympics.”

Forward Alex Danson added, “It was great fun doing the Sport Relief Mile in our own unique way. We were ecstatic to break the world record but more importantly we are so happy we had the opportunity to do our small bit for such a great charity like Sports Relief. It shows how anyone can take part and have a lot of fun, but best of all, it doesn’t have to just involve running!”

You can rise to your challenge by entering the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Mile on 21 March. Just 60 miles north of Bisham Abbey NSC, Milton Keynes is playing host to one of the largest Sport Relief Miles in the UK, with other Miles happening all over the UK. To find and enter your nearest Mile visit Sportrelief.com

Irish Hockey Local Lotto

The Irish Hockey Local Lotto which was launched just under 2 weeks ago has proved popular with the hockey public with over 100 people signing up to play in just 13 days.

The hockey local lotto was set up to provide the association and teams with a fun and simple way to fundraise. The lottery players also get to choose exactly where their money and support is channelled and they make this decision when they sign up to play, for example they can select senior women, u16 boys or grass roots and development" the choice is entirely up to them.

The lottery starts off with a Jackpot prize of 1,000 euro and if you match all four numbers the cash prize is yours! Also to ensure there is a winner every week the IHA will also choose two lucky dip winners to collect 20 euros each. The first draw for the Lottery will be made on the last day of the ESB & Men’s Senior Interpros on Sunday 28th March in grange road and there after the lottery will be done on a weekly basis every Tuesday starting from Tuesday 6th April.

So if you want to be in with a chance to scoop a 1000 Euro and support your favourite Irish hockey team go to Irish Hockey now!

Irish Weekend Highlights

Although the men’s IJC progresses to the Quarter finals and the ESB & Men’s Junior Interprovincials take place this weekend many eyes will be on the ESB Irish hockey league as the women progress through to the final round of the 2009/2010 Irish Hockey League. The top two of each pool will qualify for the finals weekend which is taking place on the 15th / 16th May. As a result of the IHL and Junior Interpros the women’s branch leagues remain somewhat diminished this weekend.

ESB IRISH HOCKEY LEAGUE Round 5

In pool A all matches are scheduled for a 1pm hit off and with that there are some very exciting clashes on offer. In Park Avenue, the top two clash but the curtain raiser will be an U16’s match between Railway and Pembroke at 11.00 in Park Avenue where the up and coming talent in the 2 clubs will be on show. The main event at 1pm sees the top two and unbeaten teams in the pool pitched against each other. Despite Railway having already won the group this will be a close fought game as Pembroke need to win to be assured of second place. These derby games are always fiercely contested and both teams will be hoping all their players are fully fit as the heavy hockey schedule at this time of the year is starting to take its toll. Spectators will be entertained by a ‘hit the cross bar’ competition for the colts at half time.

Elsewhere in Pool A Cork Harlequins are on the cusp of securing a place in the final two if results go their way when they take on Ards with a home advantage. The cork contingent are currently on 9 points just one adrift of Pembroke’s ten so they will be very keen to leapfrog the Pembroke side so they can secure the coveted spot in the finals in May.

The final game in Pool A is between Cork C of I and Ballymoney with both sides looking to secure their first win in the IHL this year and avoid the wooden spoon there is still plenty to play for even though the thought of qualification is off the table for both teams.

In Pool B (all start times 3pm) the big game to watch will be when Hermes will make the short journey to Rathfarnham to face their Leinster rivals and defending IHL champions Loreto in a game that will decide who progresses through to the finals weekend. A draw is enough for Hermes but nothing less than a win for Loreto will do. This match promises to be a great game between these arch rivals, however Hermes will have to cope with the loss of services from Captain Jenny Burke who is expecting her second child but in her absence International Deirdre Duke has stepped into her shoes hitting the net regularly in the last few matches the squad will also now be marshalled by Christine Quinlan who has taken over the captains armband. Loreto will be in no mood to let go of the title they won last year and with the highly skilled players and competitive nature of these two sides this is without a doubt the stand out fixtures of this pool’s concluding round.

Elsewhere table toppers Pegasus currently reside on 12 points will be quite confident of progressing through to the finals weekend when they face Randalstown this weekend who are yet to record their first win in this league. Pegasus have a perfect four from four record and will be keen to keep that in tact as they power forward towards the finals weekend. The final match in Pool B is between Old Alex and UCC neither of whom have done have done enough for a shot at a semi finals spot this year however, this year was their first foray into the Irish Hockey League and both sides have put in some fine performances.

Leinster Men

In Leinster Division One this weekend it’s crunch time for Glenanne as they face the tough prospect of three games in four days that could go a long way in deciding the destination of the title. First up for the Tallaght side is the visit of Three Rock Rovers on Thursday night. Rovers themselves could do with putting some points on the board, with YMCA and Monkstown breathing down their necks for next season’s IHL places. Saturday sees Fingal travel to Tallaght, with Sunday’s game against Pembroke completing a home triple-header for the Glens. Wanderers are the only team to register a league victory against Glenanne this season, and the Ballsbridge club will be hoping to repeat this feat as they still have very realistic title aspirations themselves. Current leaders Corinthian entertain Three Rock on Saturday as their impressive season continues. They will be very interested onlookers in Tallaght as the two sides below them play out a game that is huge for them as well. Pembroke face a difficult weekend double, beginning against Monkstown on Saturday. The Glenageary club sit just outside the IHL places as it currently stands and will be hoping to upset Pembroke in Rathdown, before facing doomed Clontarf on Sunday. The North Dubliners could have a big say in IHL qualification this weekend if they can defy the odds and take something from either YMCA on Saturday or Monkstown on Sunday.

Munster Men:

Cork Harlequins head in to a busy weekend as they look to keep the pressure on league leaders Church of Ireland, but standing in their way are UCC and Bandon. ‘Quins take on the students on Saturday in Mount Mercy College; a ground they will not have fond memories of having been dumped out of the Irish Senior Cup by Lisnagarvey on their last outing at this pitch. UCC have plenty to play for in this match as their battle with Bandon for the IHL wildcard spot continues. ‘Quins travel to Bandon Grammar School on Sunday, a venue where they know goals come at a premium. ‘Quins will have to work hard to break down the Bandon defence who are notoriously hard to score against at home.

Munster Women:

It is a battle of the bottom two as Ashton welcome UL to Ashton School in what should be a close affair.

Ulster Women:

The premier league for the women takes place both tonight and on Friday evening this week. Randalstown v Quins tonight should go in Quins favour if the league tables are anything to go by, Randalstown are just 3 from the bottom at the moment. Victorians v Pegasus should see Pegasus secure a few more points on the board and Victorians will have a very tough task this evening as they are currently facing relegation to Senior 1. Although the mighty Pegasus were held to a 3-3 with Elks at the week end which was not expected by the girls in red. Armagh who are on a high having secured a 3-0 win over Ards last Saturday will be keen to continued their winning ways when they take on Lisnagarvey who are bottom half of league.

World Cup Qualifying Games

In the 9th 10th playoff it needed a penalty shoot out to seperate New Zealand and South Africa. SA took and early lead which lasted until the 42nd minute when NZ equalised. Goals were then exchanged until the final score was 4-4. The black sticks won the penalty shoot out 5-4 and thereby finish 9th.

New Zealand 4 v 4 South Africa HT 0-1 | Flicks 5-4 | 2010-03-12 15:35
No Venue | Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 Finals (National Mens) | Match Report(s)

Argentina 4 v 2 India HT 1-0 | 2010-03-12 18:05
No Venue | Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 Finals (National Mens) | Match Report(s)

South Korea 0 v 2 Spain HT 0-2 | 2010-03-12 20:35
No Venue | Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 Finals (National Mens) | Match Report(s)

http://www.ne14hockey.co.uk/article.php?id=1327

World Cup 2010 – Semi Finals

European Champions England were brushed aside by a confident Germany and will now have to content themselves with the fight for the bronze. The Germans were 2-0 up in the first 11 minutes and 3-1 up by half time. Although England pressed hard in the second half they could not strike back and the game was decided when Germany scorded a fourth in the 60th minute. As far as England fans are concerned this is very dissappointing after sucha good start to the competition and it will be very demoralising if they leave India only in fourth.

The second semi was much closer and Australia came out narrow 2-1 winners. The game was end to end and slicker finishing from Australia proved to be the difference. Netherlands only managed to score when they were awarded a penalty stroke late in the second half. they then went all out for the equaliser but could not find the net.

So the final will be between Germany and Australia and the bronze an all European game between Netherlands and England.

Earlier in the day Canada needed extra time to beat Pakistan in the game to decide who finishes 11th and last in the tournament. They game ended 3-2 to Canada.

Canada 3 v 2 Pakistan 2010-03-11 15:35
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Germany 4 v 1 England HT 3-1 | 2010-03-11 18:05
No Venue | Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 Finals (National Mens) | Match Report(s)

Australia 2 v 1 Netherlands HT 1-0 | 2010-03-11 20:35
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2010 World Cup - Day 10 + Semi-final Draw

In the first game of the day Germany comfortably overcame New Zealand 5-2 and went to the top of the group. The Netherlands then knew a draw would do and this perhaps made them a little tentative. In any case Korea won a close affair 2-1 and a couple of more goals for Korea would have put out the Dutch on goal difference.

As it is Germany will play England and Australia will play Netherlands in the semi finals of the competition on Thursday. Tomorrow is a rest day

Germany 5 v 2 New Zealand HT 2-0 | 2015-03-09 16:35
No Venue | Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 POOL A (National Mens) | Match Report(s)

Netherlands 1 v 2 South Korea HT 1-1 | 2015-03-09 18:35
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Canada 2 v 3 Argentina HT 0-1 | 2015-03-09 20:35
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2010 World Cup - Day 9

England failed to take advantage of their previous 4 wins and let themselves down against a Spannish side that knew they were only probably playing for pride.

Australia beat Pakistan and so over haul England for the top place in the pool on goal difference. This leaves England with the probability of playing Netherlands and maybe missing out on the final.

The last game in this group does not influence the semi final outcome although Indian fans will be hoping for a home win to round off a poor tournament for the hosts.

Spain 2 v 0 England HT 1-0 | 2010-03-08 16:35
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Australia 2 v 1 Pakistan HT 0-1 | 2010-03-08 18:35
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South Africa 3 v 3 India HT 1-2 | 2010-03-08 20:35
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2010 World Cup - Day 8 Results

New Zealand's defeat and the draw between old rivals Netherlands and Germany means any 2 of 4 teams could qualify for the semi finals.
Germany and Netherlands look likely qualifiers but if South Korea lose to Netherlands and NZ beat Germany then the Black sticks will get the 2nd qualification spot, with the Dutch going through as group winners. A German win will get them through and for Korea to progress they must beat Netherlands by a clear margin and beat the Duitch goal difference to be sure. It will all be decided on Tuesday.

South Korea 9 v 2 Canada HT 2-0 | 2015-03-07 16:35
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New Zealand 0 v 1 Argentina HT 0-0 | 2015-03-07 18:35
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Germany 2 v 2 Netherlands HT 0-1 | 2015-03-07 20:35
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2010 World Cup - England book Semi-final place

England made it 4 from 4 today when they beat hosts India in the last match of the day. Earlier Australia beat Spain and look certain to fill the other semi final spot as they have the best goal difference in the group by far. If England fail to beat Spain and OZ win their last match then they will qualify as top of the group.

Australia 2 v 0 Spain 2010-03-06 16:35
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South Africa 4 v 3 Pakistan 2010-03-06 18:35
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England 3 v 2 India HT 1-0 | 2010-03-06 20:35
No Venue | Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 POOL B (National Mens) | Match Report(s)