After a few weeks off hockey, my son Charlie was very excited to get his kit ready and be back on the pitch, writes Hockey Mentors parent Sarah Y.
We headed to Surbiton with Charlie chatting happily about the boys he would be playing with today – some he knows well and others he has not met before so it is always fun to see how everyone will come together as team.
It is already busy at Surbiton when we arrive, and the girl’s competition is in full swing. We find the rest of the Mentors team and Charlie is instantly off catching up with his friends which gives me time to catch up with some of the parents I have met along the way for his Mentors journey so far.
It is the first match of the season for the boys under 14s competitions team, so the first job is to get them all in their new kit and they are all absolutely delighted with it, particularly having their names on the back! Although one boy has the number ‘67’ which obviously gets a few jokes.
Once they are all kitted up and ready to go, Mike (their coach) gets them warmed up and in for a first team talk. The excellent organisation behind the scenes from Jack, the founder of Hockey Mentors, means that positions are already arranged, and we know the subbing plan so even if a coach does not know all the players on the team yet there is a plan to work with.
Our first match of the day is against host club Surbiton, who are keen to finally strip Mentors of the cup title. It’s a really close match and I have to be honest it is a little bit of a slow start from the boys but that is not a surprise when some of them only met for the first time an hour before! But they get into their stride in the second half and manage to take home the win 6-3. We have 2 more matches that day against London Wayfarers and Sevenoaks, winning both comfortably to finish the day top of the table. The boys are pretty tired after 3 matches but also very hungry so most of the team stay to have some food in the clubhouse and there is a lot of chat about the day’s hockey.
The second day starts with top of the table Mentors playing bottom of the table, but it was an early wake up call for the boys with Wayfarers coming into the second day strong. But they managed to pull together and finish with a 3-2 win but they really had to work for it! This took them through to the finals – facing up against Surbiton again. Another really close match that did get a little feisty – but Mentors managed to secure the win and take home the cup. This was topped off by Zoro winning top goal scorer of the tournament and Milo being selected as Player of the tournament.
As Team Manager for the weekend, my role was manage the subs and provide support to the boys and Mike. I actually really enjoyed it, as sitting on the bench gave me a chance to properly get to know all the players. As is the case wherever you go, there was a whole variety of characters in the team – some confident and chatty, some quiet and a little nervous. But what amazes me about Mentors is how a group of children who don’t know each other can come together and play so brilliantly, having never played together before. Their shared passion for hockey and genuine joy of being on the pitch brings them together instantly and I only ever heard positive and supportive conversations between them – ‘did you see when Sameer ran the whole pitch carrying the ball in the air’ or ‘that top bins goal was amazing!’. The boys that were less confident to start with were chatting away happily with everyone by the end of the tournament and some really good friendships are building within the team.
Hockey Mentors really is more than just about hockey – it also pushes them out of their comfort zone but in an arena where their love of hockey makes them willing to push themselves. It builds a real network of friendships from across the country – we had boys from all across England and Wales playing together and playing brilliant hockey in a really supportive environment.
Charlie had a brilliant weekend seeing friends he has made along the way as well as making new ones, all whilst doing the thing he loves most – playing hockey. And to top it off by winning the cup really made for a weekend he and the rest of the boys will remember.
