Our Junior Players are the future of Bolton Hockey Club and the wider hockey family. We are a very welcoming club and have players from a diverse range of backgrounds, everybody is welcomed and encouraged to play and participate.

My child fancies trying hockey what should I do?
Monday evening welcomes players from age 5 to 15 to train and enjoy hockey. training is held on Monday nights from September to Easter at our brand new home pitch at Leverhulme Pavilion at Bolton School.
The session is divided as follows:

18:15 - 19:00
under 8 years (up to and including y3) - Run by Phillip Meachin

18:15 - 19:15
Under 10 - Run by Lee Ramagge
Under 12 - Run by Barrie Saxby

19:00 - 20:00
Beavers (U14s) (up to and including y9) - Run by Phil Morgan

19:15 - 20:30
Beavers (U16s) (up to and including y11) - Run by Jon O'Hora

Please note that your child may occasionally train with different groups/coaches to allow teammates/team managers to train together prior to matches and tournaments
This is a great way to learn and develop basic hockey skills, make new friends, participate in sport and of course keep fit and healthy.
Please come down to training and look for one of the adult coaches, we have plenty of sticks you can borrow if you need one.

All players require shin pads and a gum shield (any sports shop or Safejawz on Amazon) as we play with hard hockey balls.

As well as training we also have competitive opportunities from Under 8s up to our Badgers Teams, you can find out more about each team on the team pages.

Training
Training is split down by age and ability and is fun whilst learning we have a number of experienced volunteer coaches who are happy to help and guide newcomers and existing players. The 1st session is FREE so come on down and give it a go, the only thing you need is enthusiasm, (a gum shield and shin pads) we can lend you a stick.

Junior training is Monday evening at the Bolton School Astro pitch, Leverhulme Pavilion, Overdale Drive off Chorley New Road. There is limited parking on site. It may be easier to park on New Hall Lane or Chorley New Road.
**Please do not park on Overdale Drive**

If you have any questions or want some more information before coming down please contact Angelie Chitre through our Contacts Page
If your child enjoys their trial session and would like to return please register on our club app, pitchero. The guidance to do this is here and click on the “Becoming a member – parent support”. It is easiest to use a laptop for the registration process, then the app going forward. Don’t worry too much about selecting the teams as you can amend it later but please do select “juniors”.

What should I wear?
Hockey is played on Astro turf so trainers are ideal. The better the grip, the easier it will be and you can buy “Astro” trainers if you wish. Mouthguard and shin pads are vital. In terms of clothing, general sports wear is appropriate although bear in mind it is evening time and can get chilly depending on how hard they train.
Match day kit is red socks, dark shorts and then either a dark blue top (our home colour) or a white top (if we clash). Some people will have “proper” Bolton Hockey Club match shirts but it doesn’t matter if you don’t - we don’t have team kits for loan

In Summer 2021 we launched a new match day strip together with some great branded training gear. You don’t have to purchase any of this, but if you want to please go to our club shop

I want to keep coming and play matches – what happens now?
Please speak to your child’s coach to find which teams your child might want to play in first. Your child can then be added to the appropriate teams on our pitchero app. This allows you to set their availability for match days, receive notifications when they are selected and confirm that they can play. Unlike many other junior sports, hockey is quite relaxed about mixing ages in teams - so your child can play in older age groups if you are comfortable with that and the coaches feel they are able.

Match communications are sent out via pitchero and this is where you would show your child’s availability for the various games, however we do have informal whats app chats for each team for last-minute notices and parent queries. Please ask to be added to these chats when your child is added to a team. Matches are listed for the whole season, but don’t pay too much attention to start times until nearer the actual match – many are defaulted to a noon start which is updated once a pitch is confirmed.

How much does it cost and how do I pay?
We have annual subscriptions for everyone who comes to training to cover the training costs and match fees to cover the actual pitch costs.
A full seasons subs is £60 which includes all training sessions. You can pay in 3 instalments of £20 if you wish in September, November and February.
We also offer the option to pay £3 per week initially if you join between payment dates
Match fees are £6 per child - please speak to your coach if your child plays more than 1 match in a weekend
All payments are done via bank transfer. Please refer to our match fees and annual subscription pages for more information.

Whats App
We use Whats app extensively and there are separate groups for the different age groups / training. The main one initially would be Monday night training – talk to one of the coaches on a Monday night and we can share the link.
If you are playing in a team, please make sure you have joined the Whats App chat for that team – this is where exact details of the game will be issued,including any last minute cancellations. Talk to any of the coaches at training on Monday to be added to the groups or send a message on the Monday night whats app group.

Any questions, please contact our junior lead EIidh Chitre or age group coach, through our Contacts Page or speak to any of our coaches at the pitch.
If you have any general queries or concerns please contact us using our ask the committee facility