Somerville will require a new Youth Club Captain from December 2025 as John Williams, who has spent 4 years in the role, has confirmed he will not be able to assist the Club from then.

Youth hockey is for players in years 9-12 at school. Somerville has 10 teams in this grade (about 150 players), up from 8 in 2023, and we compete very successfully across all levels, regularly winning several divisional championships each year.

John’s experience on key to success:

  1. Top notch communication and organisation skills - far more important than hockey knowledge. You do not need to be a hockey whiz - we have people who know hockey. You can coach if you want - but it’s not essential.

  2. A patient and empathetic perspective - remembering the players are 13-17 years old, and parents may not have familiarity with the hockey scene.

  3. Time to do the job justice - it would be difficult to do this job well on top of a full time job. The 4 weeks from trials to teams being named (early March to early April) does entail a heavy workload. Outside of that, the time demands are much less - perhaps 5-8 hours a week for the rest of the season.

Who would suit this role?:

The role is ideal for someone who is working part time or who has recently retired and wants to remain active, engaged and contributing meaningfully.

John has found it an immensely rewarding role – giving back to the Club, getting to know the players and their families, and witnessing their enthusiasm as they play hockey, form friendships and improve their skills.

Through the rest of the year, John is available and keen to facilitate a smooth transition. He’s also keen to talk to people who could assume responsibility for some of the tasks that can be split off and undertaken by assistants — see details of responsibilities in below section.

If you want to know more, please get in touch with John at somervilleyouthhockey@gmail.com or 021 725 181

Responsibilities

Leadership of the overall youth programme each year, includes working with the Club’s Management Committee collectively to ensure the club thrives, and working with volunteers within the youth programme (selectors, coaches, managers, admin help) to run the programme smoothly.

Key activities include

  • Organise pre-season academy (registrations, coaches, logistics);

  • Enable and monitor season registrations and subscriptions;

  • Appoint and induct selectors, coaches and managers;

  • Organise and run trials (supported by admin volunteers);

  • Conclude and announce final team selections, and pairing of coaches and managers with teams;

  • Purchase, distribute and recover all gear, including first aide;

  • Ensure umpiring gaps each week are filled (liaise with senior teams covering);

  • Interface with AHA on competition organisation and any disciplinary matters;

  • Communicate with the youth community, and Somerville community more widely, as required; including website updates and social media;

  • Lead resolution of issues that are escalated outside of the team environment;

  • Organise and lead end of season prizegiving;

  • Complete annual report on youth and participate in AGM.

The ones that are ‘italics’ can be undertaken by delegated admin volunteers.