POTTERS BAR HC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Potters Bar Hockey Club held at 8.00pm on Thursday 30th April 2015 in the Clubhouse, The Walk, Potters Bar, Herts.

Attendees: Kelly Hutcherson (KH), Katy Francis (KF), James Daniels (JD), Sarah Withers (SW), Richard West (RW), Mark Turpin (MRT), Anthony Levy (AL), Caroline Pickersgill (CP), Gary Langthorne (GL), Mo Umney (MU), Chris Smith (CS),Paul Brady (PB), Miles Tomkins(MEST),Dave Blakemore (DB)

1.Apologies for Absence were received from:

Lorraine Paul, Graham Paul, Sarah Woollatt & Chris Edwards

2.Chairman’s Report (RW):

The Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and then signed and approved the minutes of the previous AGM as a correct record. RW advised that he had no formal report other than to pass on to the respective reports of the main officers.

3.Secretary’s Report (AL):

AL advised that since the last AGM, the committee had held 7 meetings, usually well attended, and that all of the minutes had been distributed, approved and signed as a correct record except for the minutes from the last meeting held on April 15, which have been distributed and will be approved at the next meeting. There is no correspondence outstanding.

RW thanked AL for his efforts in this role, particularly the speed of production and communication of the minutes.

4.Treasurer’s Report (MEST):

The Chairman thanked MEST on behalf of everyone for his efforts in keeping the hockey club records correct and his continuing work in liaising with the main club. MEST then provided his report:

‘There was an operating surplus of about £2,000 over the season although we still have some bills outstanding and some money to be collected in. We had to adjust our budget pretty drastically after the Ladies’ 3s collapsed but we were able to save some money in a few areas (including teas, pitch hire and coaching) and the captains did a great job of collecting money. The raffle at the end of season social also was a big help.

It should be noted that a few people still have unpaid debts (we still have about £350 to come in) which they haven’t paid despite prompting. This seems to happen almost every season and it’s pretty disappointing that, more than a month after the season, people are still being chased. I am sure that this is nothing more than a slight lack of organisation from a few people, but a club like this relies to a great extent on trust and goodwill and it puts people in an awkward situation if some people slightly abuse that.

As we said last season, we’re putting some of the money that we’ve accrued towards doing up the clubhouse kitchen facilities. This is an ongoing job which will hopefully start being put into action soon. We’ll also be looking to put some more money into club kit and, after the success Amy Kee has had on a Monday night, into coaching.’

MEST was asked about the level of subscriptions for the coming season and he advised that he was looking into various ideas but it was unlikely that annual scubscriptions would rise by more than a few pounds.

5.Captain’s Reports:

  • Ladies Section (CP):

Overall it has been a slightly disappointing year for the ladies with the folding of the 3s early on at the start of the season. Unfortunately we saw a number of players retiring, heading off to University or having babies, which led to reduced availability as compared to previous seasons. On the positive side there were fewer occasions when players were required to double up and both teams were able to go out with subs most weeks. Additionally at the start and over the course of the season we did welcome both new (and returning) players to the club.

The 1s saw a shortage and reduced consistency of availability of regular players which often meant bringing in players from the 2s. However those who came in always integrated and played well and boosted the team. The 1s also saw the addition of a couple of vet students bolstering a much needed defence. Whilst the 1s finished in their lowest position in the division for a number of years, but out of the relegation places, this was not unexpected given the reduced availability of regular players but everyone who played always put in full commitment.

The 2s had a mixed bag of results this season, unfortunately ending in relegation, however there were still plenty of positives. After folding early on it was clear that the 3s would be integrating into the 2s, this they did and they did it well, consistently forming a good portion of the team. As with the 1s, the 2s were also lucky enough to have several vet students stepping in to bolster the team whenever possible. Though the results often did not reflect the actual team performance, whether old or new, every player connected well, played hard and put in 100% every game.

As a final point I would just like to thank Vicky Watts & Sarah Withers for their help over the season and for others who have stepped in at the last minute to play or captain the teams and to those who have umpired our games.

  • Men’s Section (MRT):

The performance of the 1s fell away in the second half of the season resulting in relegation - a key issue was not having a regular goalkeeper throughout the season. Overall the availability of players was better than last season but there are still not enough regulars that are available every week. A lack of commitment towards training during the week, particularly in the second half of the season, meant we struggled to pick up points. The addition of Graham Abrey to the squad, with Michael Levy establishing himself at a higher level, were definite positives for the year.

Strangely this year the 2s also suffered from mixed availability, highlighted on a number of occasions by beating Stevenage 2s one week and then losing to their 3s the following week. With their strongest side they could have challenged for promotion, however they finished mid table which was about right when you look at their mixed selections. In the final few games of the season a number of youngsters were forced to play in the 2s due to poor availability and they showed that they were more than capable. The aim will be to get as many of them playing Summer league at Broxbourne to give them valuable experience for the league next season.

The 3s encountered a difficult season having been promoted last season and this wasn’t helped when a number of their stronger players were being called up to the 2s some weeks. They did however, have a string of encouraging results after Christmas with a mixture of established and young players. Unfortunately this wasnot enough to prevent them from being relegated.

Starting a 4th team this year was always going to be a great challenge but one that Chris Edwards was always confident he was going to be able to achieve. Chris successfully managed to sign up a number of new players that looked like they could go on to play in higher teams in years to come, while also bringing back some old faces who had previously retired from the game but showed that they still had what it takes to play. The 4s had a fantastic run throughout the entire season just coming up short at the end as they finished second in the league.

Coaching & Training

I feel that club training has been really good with Amy Kee developing the younger members that attend every week. It is going to be very important that Amy continues working with us for the next few years.

There will be a review over the summer to look at the 1st team training but with it costing so little and continuing to strengthen our position with Haileybury and a number of its young players, it will most likely continue. There will be a serious drive to find a coach that is willing to take a midweek session and run the team on a Saturday.

The Future

There needs to be discussion over the Summer, in the build up to the new season, to try and pick squads that will reflect availability and ability throughout the entire season and not just up to Christmas. Squads need to be picked so that players are not having to move up or down teams every weekend. This system will hopefully provide better stability across the entire club and benefit us in the long run. I feel that next year the group of youngsters that are coming through will benefit from playing together.

  • Summer hockey for 2014

MRT advised that once again the Summer League season had proved very useful in that many of the younger players benefitted from playing regularly in that league and ended up as a result playing in the 2s/3s during the regular season. The side finished lower mid table in the Broxbourne league and they had also entered a team into the Southgate League but only about 5 teams entered.

6.Election of PBHC Officers for Season 2015/2016:

  • Chairman– RWwas re-elected unopposed having been proposed by MRT and seconded by SW.
  • Secretary - RW proposed that AL continue in the role and this was seconded by MRT. Re-elected unopposed.
  • Treasurer–MEST advised that he was prepared to stand again and he was therefore proposed by SW and seconded by KF. Therefore re-elected unopposed.
  • Umpires Liaison Officer - MRT re-elected unopposed having been proposed by JD and seconded by KH
  • Club Coach–Amy Kee to continue in the role.
  • Press Officer–OH has advised that if necessary he would be prepared to continue in the role but RW proposed that AL should add this role to his role his Secretary. This was agreed by the meeting with AL proposed by KH and seconded by JD.
  • Youth & Junior Hockey Manager - DB was re-elected unopposed having been proposed by MEST and seconded by SW.
  • Men’s Fixture Secretary - a decision on this appointment was deferred until after RW had ascertained whether Dave Frame wished to continue in the role. If not, PB would be prepared to take over.
  • Ladies Fixtures Secretary - Jenny Milne was re-elected unopposed having been proposed by SW and seconded by CS.
  • East League Liaison Officer - PB was re-elected unopposed having been proposed by MEST and seconded by JD
  • Five Counties Liaison Officer–SW advised that the role had been performed on an ad hoc basis during the last season. Vicky Watts re-elected unopposed having been proposed by JD and seconded by KF
  • Men’s 1st XI Captain - MRT re-elected unopposed having been proposed by PB and seconded by KH.
  • Other Men’s Captains–RW advised that with EM standing down as the 2nd team captain and with decisions on the make-up of the other teams still to be decided, it would be appropriate to defer the appointment of the remaining Men’s captains until the next committee meeting. This was agreed by the meeting.
  • Ladies 1st XI Captain - CP re-elected unopposed having been proposed by SW and seconded by KH.
  • Ladies 2nd XI Captain–Incumbent Vicky Watts wishes to defer any decision to continue the role – it was therefore agreed to defer this to next committee meeting
  • Men’s Summer Captain - It was confirmed that Chris Chittleborough was already appointed for the 2015 Broxbourne league.

It was agreed to leave nominating vice captains until just before the start of the season.

7.Election of PBHC Social Committee - JD re-elected to the role unopposed having been proposed by CS and seconded by MEST.

8.Election of two PBCC Management Committee Reps–MRT and JD re-elected unopposed having been proposed by SW and seconded by KF.

9.Any Other Business:

  • Coaching covered above within the Men’s Captain’s report and also in the proposal to maintain Amy Kee in her current role.
  • Umpires - PB reported that only one negative comment had been received from the Pool umpire’s co-ordinator and therefore overall that aspect was good. Too many of the umpires are currently players, with only RW and Alan Field available outside of the pool of players.MRT advised that often we try to have two umpires at home which helps get umpires appointed.

A couple of the players coming over from Winchmore Hill players are umpires and Sarah Woollatt and Ruth Hall may be able to start umpiring. Ideally we use the Summer League games to get people assessed for the forthcoming season.

  • Junior Hockey – DB was pleased to see Eshan playing for the 4s and being the top scorer and Rich Laverick Brown playing for the 3s. Usually there are at least 10 people at junior training ranging from ages 9 to 14 with a couple of the boys looking to be very good goal keepers. They have attended a number of the U12 tournaments and although the performances were not that successful, this was because the standard of the opposition was very strong and everyone enjoyed the experience. We need to recruit a few more youngsters as DB felt they the current sessions could accommodate up to 25 people and some of the schools need to be targeted.

JD commented that Haileybury may be a target for recruiting girls – MEST observed that often they are not available on a Saturday which may make this difficult. MU asked about efforts to recruit from Aldenham and SW and MRT advised that we have tried in the past but without success. Winchmore Hill had the same issue in the past in struggling to recruit from Southgate where it makes sense for some of their youngsters who cannot make the full Southgate sides to be offered regular hockey of a suitable standard.

  • Website – AL confirmed that Men’s 1st team match reports always make it to the website but more needed from the other teams. RW concerned that we need to be getting more of our reports into the Welwyn & Hatfield Times and perhaps inviting a photographer down or sending photos to them directly. MRT advised that Pitchero is going well and that we have over 170 people logged on to the system, with almost 100 of those logged as players. Getting more information on to the website is essential to improve our overall user ranking.
  • Social events – JD felt that the Christmas and End of Season Socialshad gone really well and helped to show the Cricket Section that we really are part of the bigger club. We will look to get involved again with the end of cricket season BBQ to help improve camaraderie. He advised that he is looking at similar socials to those held last season but also looking to attend outside events such as hockey matches.

RW would like to see more people coming back to the club after games – even after away matches – to help generate club funds and to also bolster the social side of things.

  • Other items – CS asked about the progress with the kitchen. MRT advised that plans are in place to fit a commercial oven and dishwasher (to help with the regular socials at the club) and to organise the split of funds required between the hockey and cricket sections. This has not taken priority due to work on the fences outside. CS advised that he has been in to see Magnet who were keen to fit out a whole kitchen but may require sponsorship.He also advised that there is a scheme being run by IKEA, which just needs a letter saying who we are etc. and they provide a voucher towards the cost of purchases. It was also pointed out that there is the difficulty of fitting the work in around the cricket matches – perhaps the middle of September, just between seasons is the ideal time. JD hoped that the work would be completed and that as a result more varied teas would help ensure that more people came back.

The meeting concluded at 9.01pm.