Andover Hockey Club were one of 213 organisations with a total of 1500 people who joined the England Hockey campaign to encourage local people back to the game.

They ran sessions over six weeks on Saturday mornings and were joined by a total of 15 players, some returning to the sport they last played during education and others just wanting to give the game a go. On average the club had eight players each week and they were joined by a number of club players to add to the fun and give them some challenges when participating in drills.

The England Hockey campaign was primarily targeted at women (sponsored by Berlei) but at Andover they invited both men and women and everyone enjoyed the first session although some hurt more than others! They all came back the following week a little fitter and ready to learn more skills. By the end of the six weeks they had learnt/remembered enough skills to take part in a short game of hockey. A number of the players played in the club’s friendlies with teams from neighbouring towns.

A good number have shown interest in joining the club in the new season especially as Andover Hockey Club have entered a ladies’ team into a new development league introduced by Hampshire Hockey to run on Sundays or weekdays, allowing experienced players to play alongside these new players and develop their skills and assist their game play.

Andover Hockey club will be holding their annual Clint Dickie Memorial charity day on Saturday September 6 with juniors from 9am and adults from noon at John Hanson School which is a fun day with children taking part in skills exercises and short games in the morning and adults are put into mixed teams and play tournament style hockey games in the afternoon. Refreshments are available, it’s a good way for new players to come along and get to know the club and an enjoyable and fun day’s hockey. The club will be holding its trials the following day (Sunday Sept 7) again at John Hanson School pitch. Check the club’s website for details of times.