During the summer the Youth section of TRRHC, sponsored by Sherry Fitzgerald, have been very busy. With the introduction of our new Junior Co-ordinator, Chris Steele, we have also registered the following number of certificates:

Fundamentals – this is the prerequisite to the Level 1 qualification and everyone who coaches will have this as a minimum – 22
Safeguarding 1 – an introduction to the Code of Ethics that all coaches follow – 15
Level 1 – 9 New qualified coaches to lead and assist the youths squads this season.
First Aid – 15 now qualified to treat basic first aid and use the defibralator.

It’s been busy and we haven’t even started yet!

As it’s the start of the new season and please see below regarding some important information about this weekend:

Friday
Under 16 Boys – 6.30pm to 8.00pm. Parental meeting about GAISCE and the rest of the season at 8.15pm.
Under 16 Girls – GAISCE meeting at 7.15pm, parental meeting at 7.30pm, warm up at 7.45pm, training 8.00pm to 9.00pm.

Saturday
Under 8/10/12 Boys – 9.00am to 10.30am. Parental meeting at 10.45am.
Under 14 Boys – 5.30pm to 7.00pm. Parental meeting at 6.30pm.

Sunday
up to 6th class- 10.00am to 11.00am with parental meeting at 11.15am.
1st and 2nd Year – 11.00am to 12.30pm with parental meeting at 12.15pm.

All parental meetings will be in the clubhouse.

The shop will be open.

There will be a lap top for any parent wishing to register and pay subs for 4th year (all of this is done on-line).

Chris, Niall, Siobhan and Brona will be about to help with any questions that you may have.

Supercup 2016 returns this year on the weekend of the 9th – 11th September! We welcome two mens teams from across the water, Oxted from the Premier League in England and Grange Scotland return after their last visit which was the Euros in 2015. We have six mens teams – Oxted, Grange, Rovers, UCD, Annadale and Monkstown. On the ladies side we have ourselves, Pembroke, Monkstown and Leinster U16 girls.

As part of our five year plan we are focusing on development and we see the Supercup as one of our most important resources for this. We are therefore linking with the Leinster Hockey Umpires Association to develop new and up and coming umpires.

We would also like to open the opportunity to any of our club members that might be interested in getting into video coding and analysis. It is a great opportunity to work with high level teams, with opportunities at junior international and regional levels all the time. We need a few games videoed during the tournament so if anyone is interested please contact Ali (ladies captain email) or Chris (ctsteele01@gmail.com) and we will take it from there.

If anyone else has the availability to help out over the weekend let us know. A schedule will be on site in the next week or so for those looking to watch.

Congratulations to Mitch and the rest of the Irish hockey team on their performance in Rio! Unfortunately their goal of a quarter-final was not reached however they certainly brought it to some of the world’s top teams, missing out narrowly 3-2 on a few occasions. The teams performances saw them climb to 10th in the FIH world rankings – the highest ranking for Irish men’s hockey to date! Well done to Mitch for scoring two goals during the tournament, one stormer against the Germans and another against Canada. We are so proud and look forward to welcoming you back!

Juniors
Registration is now open with the season kicking off the weekend of 4th September! The newly formed junior committee which is headed up by Chris Steele have hit the ground running – a coaches room has been set up at the end of the clubhouse and the coaches have all met to run through procedures for the upcoming season. A pitch session will be done to ensure all coaches are up to speed technically, with all our coaches qualified in level 1 or fundamentals.

Senior 2016/2017 Season
Fixtures for the men’s side kick off on 24th September, followed by the ladies side a week later on 1st October. All league fixtures are now on the website in each teams area. All teams are back to pre-season with men’s 3rd XI to 5th XI starting next week. In the coming weeks, we will be announcing the upcoming social events for the season!

Don’t forget you can pay your subs online at: https://www.threerockrovershc.com/a/subscriptions-27478.html

Impact Gumshields are designed to give maximum protection, comfort, and fit. Anecdotal evidence also suggests it helps in the prevention of concussion whereas the standard boil & bite shop bought ones offer none of the above.

Impact Gumshield prices start at €49 for a gumshield which is about half the price of what a dentist would charge for the exact same product.

Impact Gumshields will be bringing their fully qualified dental team to Three Rock on Sunday 4th September 2016!

Their dentist will take impressions of the person’s mouth for their custom fit gumshield
before taking the impressions back to their dental lab, where they make up the individuals custom fit gumshield. 7 working days later your new gumshield will be back in the club

If interested in booking a fitting slot please register at http://impactdental.eu/threerock16/

Saturday, 3pm Irish time, history will be made as the Irish mens hockey team steps out onto the pitch in Rio for the first of their games!

The lads take on India, with the game shown live on RTE. Our own Mitch Darling, TRRs most capped international, will line out in this huge occasion. To mark it, we are opening the bar in TRR for this game, and all other Irish games for the Olympic games.

All friends, family and kids are welcome, so come to HQ on Saturday and support the boys in green!!

The season kicks off at the end of September for all our senior teams, meaning we have just under 2 months to go and that the much loved pre-season is back with a bang!!

The mens 1sts/2nds kick off on Tuesday the 9th of August with Niall Denham returning for a second year with the lads. They kick off their EYHL campaign on September 24rd/25th with a double header.

The ladies 1sts are already back in fitness action but return to the pitch August 29th under new coach Simon Lowry. Simon comes to Three Rock with a wealth of experience despite his young age. He is Leinster u18 boys assistant coach, u17 development coach, a level 2 qualified coach and has spent a year in France both playing and coaching. He will be joined with the ladies 2nds coach Nick Dee. Nick plays for Monkstown, and is also an assistant coach for the Leinster u18 boys, along with a wealth of experience coaching at schools hockey.

The ladies 2nds-4ths return to pre-season on the 15th of August. Times for the first two weeks are Monday 7-8.30, Wednesday 8.30-10pm, before the seconds return to normal training times on the 29th of August. The 3rds are once again coached by our own Stephen Roberts, who is making his way up the ranks both on the senior and junior side of coaching. The 4ths this year, will be taken by ex-Rover Stu Ronan, who now plays for Glenanne 1sts.

The mens 3rds-5ths will now train on Tuesday evenings 8.30-10pm on the front pitch, and return to pre-season on the 30th of August.

We will everyone the best of luck for the upcoming season!!

Mitch has played for the club since U8 level, making his way through all interprovincial and international age levels before making his senior international debut at just 18 years of age back in 2006. This year Mitch became our most capped international athlete, and at this stage has amassed over 170 caps, captaining the national side on numerous occasions this year.

To reach this dream he has played abroad for clubs including Leuven, SCHC, Den Bosch and Rotterdam, some of the most prestige clubs in European hockey.

The Olympics is the pinnacle of most athlete’s careers. Simply making the numbers at this year’s event is not the gameplan however, as this team has made history at every step to Rio.. European bronze, beating teams ranked higher than them, and becoming the first irish hockey team there since the early 1900s. We could not be prouder of Mitch, and anyone else involved in this set up over the last number of years. It has been a squad effort with notable names associated with Rovers including Kyle Good, Jonny Bruton, Stephen West, Luke Chadwick and Jamie Carr.

Please come and support the squad as they make history in Rio. We will be opening the bar and clubhouse for every one of the group Olympic Games and we welcome every one of our members and children up to join us. We wish the whole squad the best of luck as they embark on their journey!

Thinking about watching the Olympic hockey and wondering where to watch the games? Lets celebrate history at HQ and support our very own Mitch Darling and the rest of the squad.

Bar will be open two hours before each game starts. Bring along your flags, hooters, and everything else Irish to have the best atmosphere in the best facility in Dublin!

Irish match dates and times (Irish time)

Sat 6th August 3pm v India
Sun 7th August 10pm v Netherlands
Tues 9th August 4.30pm v Germany
Thurs 11th August 3pm v Canada
Fri 12th August 11.30pm v Argentina

**Image courtesy of Andrew McKibbin Photography

Subscriptions – Online System Open for Coming Season
Subs for the coming season can now be paid online through MyClubFinance, and there’s even a financial benefit by paying online!

Irish U16 Boys
Best of luck to Nick, Rob, Harry, Luke and coach Niall Denham travelling with the Irish U16 boys to Antwerp this weekend #Osaka6Nations

Leinster U16 Boys Training Panel
TRR have 10 boys who have made it on to the Leinster U16 boys summer training panel – wow! The panel will train together in July & August before taking part in a tournament in Mossley HC, Newtownabbey on the 20th/21st August. The boys are Calum Adair, Max Collins, Ethan Flynn, Evan Jennings, Hugh Johnson, Harry Lynch, Jamie Pullen, Scott Ruttle, Matthew Sweetnam and Adam Walker – well done all!

First Aid Course
The club will be hosting a first aid course on the 24th August from 6.30pm – 10pm. If you are interested in attending please contact Chris Steele (csteele01@gmail.com) Places are limited.

New Arrival
Congratulations Alan Bothwell and Jean Roulston on the birth of baby William last week!

Are you having a summer clear out?
If so the club is looking for the following…
3 x computer desks
2 x small cabinets (use for storage of stationary etc)
3 x office chairs
1 x bookcase (similar to "Billy" from IKEA)
Circular meeting table (I know you may not have one of these at home, however your place of work may be getting rid)
1 x lockable filing cabinet

If you have any of these or you know of anyone or any business that if getting rid please let me know. These pieces of furniture will help to transform an under used room into a vibrant work place for our coaches. If you think you have anything else that you no longer need that may help as well, please let me know – csteele01@gmail.com

Thanks to anyone who can contribute.