Introduction to
Junior Hockey
Overview | Fun Sticks | Mini Sticks | Kiwi Sticks | Kwik Sticks | Player Pathway | Expectations & Commitment
Overview
Somerville Hockey Club offers children in school year 1-8 to learn and play hockey at all levels of ability. Our teams play in the Auckland Hockey Junior Competition against other Auckland Clubs and schools, with games on Saturday mornings during May-September.
We offer the following competitions
Fun Sticks | School Year 0-2
Hands-on hockey programme designed for children 5-6 years who are new to hockey.
Mini Sticks | School Year 3-4
We offer various grades from beginner to experienced.
Kiwi Sticks | School Year 5-6
We offer various grades from beginner to experienced.
Kwik Sticks | School Year 7-8
This competition is split into Development and Premier Grades.
Fun Sticks
Year 0-2
A hands-on hockey programme designed for children aged 5-6 years who are new to hockey. The Fun Sticks competition aims to introduce kids to hockey with an emphasis on having fun while developing fundamental skills. We offer an Advanced and Beginner Grade for Fun Sticks. They play with a modified (light) ball and play on an 1/8 of a turf.
The Advanced Grade is for kids who have played in this grade previously and this is now their 2nd year of hockey. In the Advanced Grade teams play 2x 20 minute games in a 6 a-side format against other Clubs and schools.
The Beginner Grade is for kids new to hockey. They do a fun sticks training session followed by a 20 minute game in a 6 a-side format against other Clubs and schools.
Fun Sticks play 8.00am or 8.50am on Saturday mornings.
Mini Sticks
Year 3-4
We offer various grades from beginner to experienced in Mini Sticks. They play a 6 a-side format of 1x match broken into 2x 20 minute halves against other Clubs and schools.
During this time they should be rotating positions on the field. They play with a modified (light) ball and play on a 1/4 of the turf.
Mini Sticks play at 8.00am or 8.50am on Saturday mornings.
Kiwi Sticks
Year 5-6
We offer various grades from beginner to experienced in Kiwi Sticks. They play a 6 a-side format of 1 x match broken into 2 x 20 minute halves against other Clubs and schools. They play on 1/2 a turf.
During this time they should be rotating positions on the field. Goal keepers can be optional in this grade. Hitting, penalty corners, auto pass and standard hockey balls are introduced.
Kiwi Sticks play at 8.50am, 9.40am or 10.40am on Saturday mornings.
Kwik Sticks
Year 7-8
The Kwik Sticks competition is split into Development, Experienced and Advanced Grades.
Development | 6-a-side and transition to 11-a-side
This grade is for beginner and early developing players in school year 7 & 8 students.
Experienced | 6-a-side and transition to 11-a-side
This grade is for developing to experienced players in school year 7 & 8 students.
Advanced | 11-a-side
This grade is for experienced players. They play the 11 a-side format of hockey on a full field. They have 1 x match broken into 2x 25 minute halves and a 5 minute half time. The standard rules of hockey apply.
Kwik Sticks play at 9.40, 10.40am or 11.40am on Saturday morning.
Junior Player Pathway
Somerville has teams at all grades across the Junior Auckland competition. There may be more than one team in each grade. Parents are asked to support team/coach objectives around availability, timekeeping and practice regimes. The Club recognises the delicate balance that must be achieved with regards to development and performance (age and stage).
In March of each year, we run skills trials for each grade where each player is expected to complete a set of skills for their grade. The mean results of the skills are used to place our children into teams of similar ability. We recognise that players in this age group are heavily reliant on parents for transport and support, where able, we’ll support friend or carpool requests from the registration form.
Beginners to the sport will have a Hockey introduction muster during the skill trials and only complete skills where comfortable.
The following skills are:
Kwik Sticks | - Push Receive , Push Power, Hit Power, Slalom
Kiwi Sticks | - Push Receive, Push Power, Hit Power, Slalom, Star Dribble
Mini Sticks | - Push Receive, Push Power, Slalom, Star Dribble, Yard Stick
Contact
For further information or any queries, please contact:
Abbie Gunning | Junior Club Captain
somervillejuniorhockey@gmail.com
