As the season has finally drawn to a close we wished to take a moment to recap on all that has happened in what has been a great year for Three Rock Rovers Hockey Club.

The year started off in early September with the return of the Supercup where we hosted 8 mens and ladies teams for a weekend of quality hockey and social events. This was the first time in over 5 years that we hosted this tournament, so it was great to see it back with a bang with some great feedback from all who participated. Initial plans for the same again next year are already taking place

Pre-season did not just extend to the two 1st XIs though as Jonny Bruton of SMART Training provided a Bootcamp for anyone interested, Selection Saturday for the ladies took place, while the mens 3rd- 5th were selected with the re-introduction of the Johnson-Walker Cup. We continued to set up the umpire rota for the ladies 1/2s this year but aided the girls in this task by Ali Keogh who ran an umpiring clinic for the girls early in the year. A similar clinic was also held later in the year for the u16s and junior coaches to introduce them to the rules.

As the season kicked off and the normality of league games took place, the focus turned to our social occasions! The cocktail party proved to be its usual success as this year the Great Gatsby theme brought the glad rags out in force!

In November we had a truly remarkable turn out as we hosted the Dream Auction. Thanks simply isn’t enough to all who participated, donated and supported the event as we raised in excess of €14000 in one night!! It was a clear indication of the club spirit that exists within our club and the desire that exists to ensure our hockey club remains as a premier venue. Every cent from that evening was transferred to the sinking fund to go towards our new pitch which is being laid in May of this year. The contractor has been selected and will be publicly announced soon, with the aim of completing this existing project by mid-August.!

December saw the second year of our annual juniors Christmas parties as the 16/14 boys and girls, and the 8/10/12s were all mixed and treated to games, and plenty of treats by the senior members of the club. We hosted the first of our supporters lunches, along with a mulled wine and mince pie day for our last weekend in December as everyone donned their festive attire for our Christmas Jumper Day!

The New Year saw the focus remain firmly on hockey as many of our teams fought various promotion and relegation battles. On the mens sides the 2nds fought hard and secured their position in Division 2 once again next year before going on to win the Railway Cup on strokes! The 3rds and 4ths mens teams have both been promoted, with the 3rds making their move up for the second year in a row. The 5ths were unfortunately relegated having made the move up to Division 8 last year. The 1sts meanwhile finished 2nd in the Leinster league for the second year in a row. The highlight of their season will have been the end of the 40 year wait for another Irish Senior Cup win, with the lads beating Pembroke dramatically on strokes in the final, and ensuring they get a European trip next season. The Mills Cup was a second piece of silverware to add to the trophy cabinet.

The ladies side have come through what has been a very difficult season with each of our senior teams being relegated. The issues facing the ladies side of the club have been identified and steps have been taken to ensure these are solved for the coming years. The making of a ladies development committee made up entirely of players from different teams is just one way that the gap is looking to be fixed. Their first task was the running of our Here Comes the Girls day as our senior girls ran games and welcomed the u16s who will be stepping up to the senior side of the club next year. More work is continuing on this committee throughout the summer.

On the juniors side the u14 boys won the Indoor Cup this year while the u16 boys were unlucky against Monkstown in the Benny Atkinson Cup on Paddys Day. For the first time in 3 years the u16s are going on a mixed trip to Barcelona, while the u14 boys made their way to Lisnagarvey for the day in March.
This year we say goodbye to Wendy Lee from the girls side after countless years running the junior section. She is truly irreplaceable as 3 people are taking over next year..! Niall Denham, Siobhan Madeley and Suzanne Lowe will step in next year as we look to restructure our juniors and build a solid foundation for the club for years to come. A presentation was made to parents on the final day to explain the plan going forward.

Back to the senior side of the club and as the season began to wrap up we held the second of our supporters lunches for an IHL home game, while 2 days later the club buzzed as we hosted the LHA Finals Day on St.Patricks Day. Our annual dinner was held 2 weeks later in the Stillorgan Park Hotel. Our awards for the evening went to Stephen West, Julie Garvey and Ali Keogh for male player, female player and volunteer of the year respectively. We also honoured two of our most valued members as Wendy Lee and Geoff Brooks were presented with Honary Life membership.

To finish off the season last week the Captains Challenge was held with over 60 players, including many of our u16s making their way out for mixed hockey followed by food and fun which lasted very long into the night!!! We still have more to come as the Vets fest is still to take place on the 24th-25th of May in what will be the final send off for our old pitch!

These are just some of the moments that have occurred through the year, with countless more hours being spent by a huge number of people in terms of registrations, fixtures, team management, videoing games, coaching, umpiring games, organizing sponsorship, developing budgets, collecting subs, etc. Its impossible to name and thank everyone but we hope you know how grateful everyone within the club is for the time you give. Its not always clear what goes on behind the scenes although with our newsletter we aim to keep everyone as informed as possible.

Throughout the season we have continued to be represented at the highest level through our player participation at inter-provincial and international level. Since the summer Mitch Darling has surpassed 100 caps for his country, which at 25 is a phenomenal achievement. He has been joined on the international board by Jody Hosking who received his first caps for South Africa in December and by Stephen West who achieved his first cap against Spain in January.

On the junior side of our representatives Harry Morris was our sole player at the u21 interpros, although team-mates Daragh Walsh, Johnny McCormack and Ben Mc Crea lined out for the Irish u18s in the same weekend. Freddie Morris has also since returned to the Irish u18 squad. Following their impressive displays Luke Madeley and Daragh Walsh were brought into the national u21 panel, with final selection for their European trip being announced over the summer.

The u16 boys are also well represented, with Gavin Gibney making the Irish u16 panel, while Conor Empey, Harry McMahon, Ben Walker and Gavin all played in the Leinster u16 squad.

And there it is…the season in a nutshell! Lots done and lots more to do…! Projects which didn’t happen this year include more junior trips, a bar rota for teams, and perhaps a few more social occasions. Please know that all feedback we have been gathering over the last few weeks is being considered in next years plans. There is an awful lot of work being done already for next season to not only match this years activities but to grow them further! Should anyone wish to be a part of some of these, no matter how small a role you wish to play, please contact either mens.captain@threerockrovershc.com or ladies.captain@threerockrovershc.com .

We are already excited to return next season with a new pitch and a refreshed looking clubhouse and we hope you are too. Keep an eye on the site for updates throughout the summer!