Over the past month, a number of clubs’ U-14 teams have been learning the boards in the past month as part of an indoor hockey initiative put together by Portrane’s Adrian Henchy and Suttonians’ Conor Gillett.

They took part in an initial training day in early December at Donabate/Portrane Community Centre, learning new techniques, tactics and skills for indoor before implementing those skills over a couple of tournament days.

Last Sunday, Three Rock, YMCA and Clontarf played each other twice in the second round-robin group. In the first series of games, Three Rock edged past YMCA 3-1 before getting a couple of late goals to claim a 5-0 win over Tarf.

And they notched another two wins in the second series to be in good shape to progress to the finals weekend. A further two weekends of group stages will take place on January 13 and 20 with four sides progressing to a finals weekend, likely to be played on February 3 between 2pm and 4pm.

Well done lads, following in the senior side’s footsteps as indoor kings! Deryck Vincent took some great pics of the lads in action which you can see here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesofsport/sets/72157632450257421/with/8354800214/

A Youth Leader Workshop will be held at the Enniscorthy Astro Centre on
Sunday 13th Jan from 1pm to 5pm.

The course is for young people aged between 15 to 21 years who are
interested in learning coaching, umpiring and team management skills. It
costs €10 per person and will be delivered by Leinster RDO (Regional
Development Officer) Sue Haslam.

To book onto the course, please contact Sinead Dempsey (Wexford Hockey
Club) at codd.sinead@gmail.com

If you require more information regarding the course, please contact Sue
Haslam at rdo@leinsterhockey.ie or call +353 1 716 3266

An Introduction to Hockey Coaching Course for Volunteers will be held on Sunday, 27th January in the Donabate Portrane Leisure Centre. This course is ideal for students and parents interested in improving their knowledge of the game and those who would like to get started on the coaching ladder. Places are filled on a first come first served basis upon receipt of the course fee. The course will be held indoors.

Course date : Sunday 27th January
Venue : Donabate Portrane Leisure Centre
Time : 10 am to 4pm
Cost : €50.00

For more information email coaching@hockey.ie or call Vivienne at 01 716 3267

Tickets are now on sale for the club dinner on the 26th of January.

Ali can be found wandering around the club with a large bunch ready to sell them! She will be at the start of ladies and mens trainings for the next few weeks so bring money along. Alternatively contact herself or Rob at the following details and we will organise tickets for you:

Rob Johnson (mens.captain@threerockrovershc.com/0863875017) or Ali Keogh (ladies.captain@threerockrovershc.com/0863762075).

Attendance at the event will be by tickets only and so these will need to be purchased prior to the night.

This is not an exclusive event so please bring partners and friends. We wish this to be open for all members, including the parents of our junior sections.

It promises to be a great night, hope to see you all there!

After a long Christmas break its back to action for most teams this week as we look to kick the New Year off by banging in a few goals!

The mens indoor team set the pace last weekend by beating Glenanne 6-2, and Clontarf 8-0 in the group stage of the competition. This Saturday sees them take on Clontarf again, along with NICS from Ulster. Should they win they will progress to the semis on Sunday where they will hopefully bid to win their 3rd title in a row, and 5 within the last 6 years.

The indoor competition means the 2s will have to wait another week before returning to their league campaign. The 3s/4s/5s are back though,with all 3 facing a double weekend! On Saturday, the 3rds taking on Monkstown at home at 12.45 on the front pitch. The 4s will play UCD away (time tbc), and the 5ths are away to YM at 2pm. Sunday will see the 3s and 4s compete in the Inter Cup against North Kildare and Naas respectively. The 5ths will play Clontarf away in the minor cup at 2.30pm.

The mens u21s play their 1st game in their cup game on Sunday. They face Pembroke away at 2.30pm, with a strong panel hoing to do well in the competition.

On the ladies side the 1s unbeaten run will face a stern test by table toppers Pembroke at 3.30 away on Saturday. They too face a double weekend as they play North Kildare at home in the Leinster Senior Cup at 3pm on Sunday. This is a game that was postponed numerous times prior to Christmas. The winner will take on Hermes 1sts.

The 2nds return to action away at 3.30 on Saturday to Botanic. The 3rds and 4ths are both at home, playing Weston at 10.45, and Malahide at 12.30 respectively.

The junior girls were back last weekend for training and will play a number of matches this Sunday. The 12s will play Sutton both home and away, the 10s take on Monkstown at home, while the u8s will host Rathgar.

The u14 boys recently competed in their own indoor competition against Clontarf and Pembroke. Pictures by Derek Vincent can be seen at this link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesofsport/sets/72157632450257421/with/8353707449/

We would like to wish all our members and their families a Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

We hope everyone has enjoyed all that the first half of the season has had to offer.

We have a lot to look forward to in the New Year including the club dinner on Jan 26th, an end of season club day, another junior event, a fundraiser (venue tbc) and hopefully another pavilion lunch. This is before we even think of the hockey!!

We look forward to seeing everyone back in January

Results
Teams did their best to finish the first half of the season on a high last week, with the ladies 1sts getting the pick of results. In a game that saw our two mens 1sts players square off their coaching skills, Jodys team narrowly game out on top, getting the better of Railway 2s 1-0. When combined with Wednesday evenings 1-1 draw with a strong Loreto side, it means the girls remain unbeaten within the league.

The mens 1sts were free of league competitions but were due to take place in the IHA indoor competition. Unfortunately due to other teams pulling out this round was cancelled. The IHA will confirm how the competition will now progress.

The ladies 2s came out strongly against Genesis and went 1-0 up before eventually succumbing to a 3-1 loss.

The ladies 3rds early morning game to Skerries was canceled. However, they finished well by beating Our Ladys 2-1 away on Wednesday evening.

The mens 3s had to endure a feisty battle with YMCA but comprehensively beat them 7-2, with Freddie Morris bagging a coupe of goals.

Congratulations
A huge well done to Freddie Morris and Daragh Walsh on their call up to the 23 man Irish u16 panel. Great achievement!

Junior Parties
Over 130 of our juniors came together over the weekend to enjoy some mixed fun prior to Christmas. Games such as ‘The big egg drop’, ‘welly wanging’, ‘the human knot’, and ‘aardvark’ were all enthusiastically participated in. Santa even paid a visit to the u8/u10 session on Saturday morning. Thanks to all for attending and also to the senior members who helped out. We hope to have another mixed event at the end of the season. Some pictures can be found in the photo section of the site….apologies if blurry, theres some very quick up and coming players out there!

Good luck
Best of luck to Alan White on the mens 1sts as he embarks on Erasmus to Canada in January. His presence on the squad will be missed but we look forward to seeing him back at the start of next season!

Fixtures/Results

The cold weather continues to wreak havoc on a number of club fixtures this week. The ladies 1s was called off early on Saturday and they will hope their refixture against Loreto will go ahead tomorrow at 8pm. They then take on Railway away at 5pm this Saturday before breaking for Christmas.

The ladies 2s have also had a number of games affected by frost, most recently Monday nights game v Swords. They will hope their 2pm time for Saturdays game against Genesis will be late enough to see them play.

The 3rds will not have as much hope, as their 10.30am game away to Skerries has the potential to be affected. They will also hope to get through Wednesday nights re-fix against Our Ladys away at 7.45pm. They narrowly lost to Pembroke 1-0 on Sunday, so will be looking to end the year on a high.

The ladies 4ths have finished their half of the season and will enjoy a weekend off this week. They had mixed fortunes last weekend, losing firstly 3-0 to Loreto on Saturday. The scoreline in no way reflects the game as many teams could learn from their work ethic. Hannah O’Byrne put her body on the line countless times, while Katie Dowling made frequent 75m solo runs. Unfortunately they were not able to captailise on their chances, and were unlucky not to be given a stroke. However, they bounced back magnificently on Sunday, thrashing Guinness 6-0!

Mixed fortunes also followed some of our mens teams. Despite over 48 circle penetrations the 1sts couldn’t find the back of the net against UCD, losing narrowly 1-0 on Saturday. They responded instantly on Sunday though, overcoming Railway in the Leinster Senior Cup in a tense battle. Initially finding themselves 1-0 down, the lads came back to lead 2-1 before Railway equalised. A Shane Madeley corner flick with only 2 minutes remaining saw the guys through to the quarter finals on Jan 20th.

Their focus switches to the indoor game this weekend. With Liam Canning once again at the helm, the lads will look to get through the initial preliminary round in Gormanstown before returning again in early January.

The 2s were without a game last weekend but play at home at 12.30pm this Saturday.

The 3rds won their 3rd game in 4, beating North Kildare comprehensively 6-1.

The 4ths narrowly lost 1-0 to top of the table Railway, with the lads unable to convert 2 last minute penalty corners. They play early at 11.45 on the back pitch at home.

Sam Gilmore was a hat-trick hero for the 5ths meanwhile as they beat Clontarf 6-0!

The mens and ladies vets enjoyed a meal courtesy of Rachel, last Wednesday night. While the weather meant that their mixed game was called off, they didn’t let this put them off enjoying their annual social event.

Junior news

A reminder that the junior mixed Christmas events will be held this weekend.

Friday
6.30-8pm u16s

Saturday
9.30-11 u8/u10s
5.30-7 u14s

Sunday
4-5.30 u12s

Congrats

Apologies for forgetting to congratulate Mitch Darling and all within the Irish team for their recent achievement in the Champions Challenge. Even with little preparation and financial trouble within the IHA, the lads finished 3rd, 3 places above their ranking. Well done to everyone involved!

Club dinner

Please contact Rob Johnson or Ali Keogh should you wish to purchase tickets for the club dinner on Jan 26th.
Tickets are €50 but are €40 for students and pavilions. Music following the meal will be by the Dark Horses. Dress code is formal.

A number of teams, especially on the ladies side will be hoping that the frost stays away this week as a number of re-fixes are already building up on the back of a few reset cold snaps.

The ladies 1s will be one such team as they are due to play Newbridge away in Naas at a very early time of 10am. The girls were without a game last weekend due to Irish Junior Cup matches in their division.

The ladies 2s are due to play a refix tonight (Wednesday) at 8pm against Naas but will be awaiting a pitch inspection to confirm this. They do not have a game this weekend due to cup fixtures. Last weekend in the IJC Ulster Elks proved to be too strong as the Northern side won 3-0.

The ladies 3s are another frost affected team as their game last Saturday was called off when the far end of the back pitch was deemed unplayable. They have reaffixed this game for Sunday at home at 5pm Unfortunately the 3s will not be playing this Saturday as a mark of respect for one of the team members, who’s father passed away during the week. All at the club pass on our deepest sympathies to her.

The ladies 4s will take on Loreto away at 1pm, hoping to build on last weeks narrow 2-1 defeat to Genesis. They have a double weekend, with Guinness away on Sunday at 2pm in the Iveagh grounds.

On the mens side of things, the mens 1sts bid for the league title took a step backwards following their 5-3 loss to Railway last weekend. All is not lost though as nearest competitors Pembroke were also defeated, falling to UCD, the team our lads take on away at 1pm this Saturday. They have a chance on Sunday to immediately respond to Railway as they meet them in the first round of the Leinster senior cup at 2.30pm in Park Avenue.

The mens 2s have no match this weekend as UCD have exams and so received a postponement. They mirrored the 1s 5-3 loss last week, losing out to Pembroke in the IJC, in a match that was closer than the scoreline suggests.

The mens 3s. 4s and 5s are all at home in back to back fixtures playing at 12.30, 2 and 3.30pm respectively. The 5ths 3-0 win away to North Kildare last weekend moved them to 2nd in Divison 8. The 4ths lost 4-1 in their cup fixture, while the 3s lost 3-1, with club captain Rob setting very high standards by breaking his nose while playing in the game!

The junior girls have some matches scheduled too for this weekend. The u12s will be both home and away to Avoca, while the 14a’s take on Monkstown.

For all junior players, a reminder about the Christmas fun days! Please take note of the dates below. No need for hockey gear!!
For any of our senior members who wish to get involved please contact Siobhan Madeley on 0879066379 if you can give any time. We already have a number of volunteers but more would be very welcome!

Friday 14th Dec
6.30-8pm u16s

Saturday 15th Dec
9.30-11am u8 & u10s
5.30-7pm u14s

Sunday 16th Dec
morning – hockey as usual for the girls
4-5.30pm u12s

We are delighted to announce all the details for this seasons Club Dinner

We have decided this year to host an event open to all club members, friends and partners. Our aim is to have over 200 people coming together for a great night for all those associated with Three Rock.

The dinner will be held in the Royal Marine hotel in Dun Laoghaire on Saturday the 26th of January.

Tickets are €50, but are €40 for student and pavilion members.

Music after the meal will be provided by the Dark Horses.

Dress code is formal and this will be strictly enforced.

Attendance at the event will be by tickets and so these will need to be purchased prior to the night.

If you wish to buy a ticket please contact either Rob Johnson (mens.captain@threerockrovershc.com/0863875017) or Ali Keogh (ladies.captain@threerockrovershc.com/0863762075).

This is not an exclusive event so please bring partners and friends. We wish this to be open for all members, including the parents of our junior sections.

This night will be replacing the traditional mens and ladies dinners. Please contact either Rob or Ali should you have any questions.

Increasing membership
Following from last months discussion in relation to increasing membership and awareness of the club, it was decided to trial Rush Hockey this summer. We will investigate how it is running in the UK first, then aim to introduce it to the end of season captains event. The aim is to use it as a form of summer hockey which will be open to all ages and levels of play.

Roles
A new club secretary will be required after Christmas. A mens vice captain is also required. Rob and Ali will begin to investigate the potential of having some members help out behind the bar at weekends in a more formal arrangement than currently exists. They will meet with Derek to discuss the same

IHA SGM
Rob and Siobhan attended the IHA SGM on behalf of the club and raised a number of questions and points. Feedback to follow

Ladies traksuits
The ladies 1sts and 2nds approached the committee looking for approval of tracksuit design. A sponsor may be able to help with the cost. Ali Keogh will follow up on the same.

Social events
The curry night made over €1100 in profit, which will go towards the indoor trip to Budapest.

The club dinner will be held in the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire on the 26th of January. Tickets will be €40 for students and pavilions and €50 otherwise. The dress code will be formal. We have booked Alan Roberts band , ‘The Black Horses’, for the night. We are hoping for over 200 at the event, with friends and partners welcome.
This will replace both the mens and ladies dinners for this season.

Siobhan has organised Christmas events for the juniors. These will be held on the following dates
Friday 14th Dec:
6.30-8pm Under 16’s

Saturday 15th Dec:
09.30 – 11.00 – Under 8 and 10. Santa will be here making a quick stop during this session!!

5.30-7pm – Under 14’s

Sunday 16th Dec:
Morning – hockey as normal for the girls
4-5.30pm – Under 12’s

Mayfest: Contact has been made with a UK company to help get teams over for the weekend. Require 1-2 more volunteers from club members to put things in place

Coaching
A new u14 girls coach will be needed after Christmas.

Suspension
An internal one batch ban was placed on one of the mens 1st XI players for receiving 3 yellow cards during the course of the season so far.

Committee members: Alison Keogh, Rob Johnson, Siobhan Madeley, Wendy Quill, Peter MCConnell, Wendy Lee