Womens News

The indoor season will begin in October and run for approximately 8 weeks.  To register your interest to play for Waverley in any of the competitions, please contact Brian Maddock via email (b_maddock@hotmail.com) and PLEASE ensure you add ‘Indoor’ in the subject line to ensure your registration is received.
More information is available for download. Click link to read the material WHC Indoor 2011 [updated]

The annual Bert Batch Cup is played between Victorian club rivals Waverley and Camberwell, in memory of Bert Batch and his significant contribution to Victorian Hockey and the Waverley Hockey Club. Bert began with the Waverley hockey club in 1973, a coach and mentor to thousands of players in the state. This memorial cup represents his involvement, values, the rivalry, respect and history between two of Melbourne’s great hockey clubs.

Colin is the youngest of the four brothers, who all played for Waverley during the early years when the club was first promoted to “A Grade”. With 175 international caps, Colin played at the LA and Seoul Olympics, was part of winning teams at the World Cup in 1986 and four Champions Trophies. He was assistant coach of the Kookaburras from 2001 to 2008, the most successful period of Australian men’s hockey, the team winning gold in Athens, bronze in Beijing and silver at two World Cups. Colin played in eight State League 1 grand finals for Waverley against Camberwell between 1981 and 1991. Both clubs dominated Victorian hockey in this period and where the rivalry was born.

We contacted Colin to find out how he is enjoying Belgium, his new role as the national men’s coach, his memories of Bert and his thoughts on the significance of the annual cup:

Hi Colin. Congratulations on your appointment as Belgium national men’s coach. You have been in Belgium for a little over two years now, how are you enjoying your work with hockey and life in Europe?

It has been a great opportunity to live & work in Belgium. As you would be aware, Belgium is very close to a number of major hockey playing countries, Spain, England, France, Ireland, Germany & of course Holland. Players & teams regularly travel to these countries for weekend matches & it is not uncommon to play visiting teams from eastern European clubs. Recently, the Australian school girls’ team played against the Belgian U18 national team. So there are many opportunities on our doorstep, it is so different to Australia when travelling within the country can take a long time & is expensive as well.

I’m still Head Coach of my club Dragons, until we finish the season, end of May. Then I have full concentration on Belgium. With Dragons we play in the EHL in a few weeks time, we play Rot-Weiss Koln, which is basically the German gold medal team from 2008, should be interesting match!

Living in Europe has also been a great experience with so many counties within driving distance. Winter is extremely cold. You can’t imagine how cold it can be. Then spring arrives & it’s like living in a different city. People who have lived indoors for the best part of 4/5 months are now active & take every opportunity to experience the warmer weather & long daylight hours. I live in Antwerp & we have experienced good snow falls for the past two winters, which has been really enjoyable but I do miss Australia, particularly the beach & the consistent outdoor living.

You were appointed as the national coach in December, 2010 after working as the Assistant National Coach for two years. What have you been doing with the program since your appointment? Belgium is currently ranked 13^th in the world rankings after missing qualification for the World Cup in 2010. What are the team’s prospects over the next 12 months leading up to London?

We are preparing for the European Championship to be played in Germany in August, which is our Olympic qualifying tournament. In February we toured New Zealand beating them 2 – 1 in a three test series & also playing Korea twice with a win & a loss. Both NZ (7) & Korea (6) are ranked above us, so we are making good progress. However, we face a difficult challenge to qualify directly from the EC as we must finish in the top 4 and we face Germany & Spain in our round matches, so we must win two matches to qualify for the semi finals. Russia is the other team in our pool.

The Bert Batch Cup on Saturday recognises Bert and his involvement at Waverley and in Victorian hockey. What are your memories of Bert’s time in hockey & the teams he coached?

Bert had a great love of all sports. Hockey became his passion but his first love was waterpolo. He played for the strong Richmond club & won many club premierships, he also represented Victoria.

He was a patient & giving person, who coached my brothers & I in our junior years. He also coached Waverley’s top side in the late 70’s & junior Victorian teams in the early 70’s. However, he didn’t stop there, long after his son’s finished playing junior hockey he was back coaching the next generation of players for the club. Dani Roche & Travis Brooks, both Olympic gold medallists were coached by Bert as juniors. He enjoyed his share of winning junior premierships but he truly loved the game & helping young players.

The Cup is a tribute to Bert as a hockey person and for his time at Waverley and I’m sure he would be delighted to know that the traditions from the late 70’s & 80’s have continued through to today.

What are your thoughts about the tradition between the two clubs and which was the best match you played in against Camberwell?

The two clubs played many great finals, so it’s too difficult to narrow down to one match. Waverley’s first premiership was in 1981, we won 3 – 1 against Camberwell, the first premiership is always special & I still have a clear memory of the day. It was the last club final played on grass at Manningham. We lost in 1984 against Camberwell with a great team, so that was a huge disappointment. Then the next year we played again & were losing 2-0 at half time after winning the semi easily. We played a great second half to win 3 – 2. In 1989, Camberwell had been the leader all year but we won in extra time, so I feel we stole that one. The other exceptional match was in 1990, Camberwell were cruising at 3 – 1 with about 2 minutes left & we scored twice to take the match into extra time of 2 x 15 mins. I think both teams were exhausted after the match, we lost 6-5 but it was an extraordinary decade for both clubs. Between 1981 & 1991, I think we played each other 8 times, with 4 wins each.

Other than the obvious results suggesting a historical rivalry, why do you think the two clubs play great matches against each other?

For me when you have two successful clubs that regularly play each other in finals there will always be strong rivalry & great competition. You see this in many sports. The clubs are located close to each other, which I also believe adds to a healthy rivalry. There were some extremely tough matches, some as hard as many international matches that I played in. Both clubs of course had many national & state players in their lineups, so the quality & skill level was also high. There were times when we hated each other but there was also respect & off the pitch the players could still be friendly & I believe that is what binds the two clubs together. In hindsight, Waverley was good for Camberwell & Camberwell was good for Waverley, the rivalry challenged both clubs to continue to improve.

Finally, despite living in Perth & now in Belgium over the past 10 years, I still have a strong desire to check the results each Monday to see how Waverley played on the weekend. I would like to wish the club another great year following up on the success from last year with both men’s & women’s teams winning.

Kind regards to all

Colin

Thanks Colin, all the best for the coming period with the Belgian team.

Fellow Panthers,

This Saturday marks the start of the State League season at home with the Bert Batch Cup, the annual grudge match between traditional rivals Camberwell and Waverley.

The club invites all parents and junior players to participate in the day and get behind the club as we demonstrate to the Local, State and Federal politicians the huge membership we have that is serving the community of Monash and surrounding suburbs.  With over 500 playing members we need to send a strong message to our political guests that we have outgrown our facilities.

Do you want a new surface on our ground?

Do you want the lights upgraded?

Sick of having limited training time on the single ground?

We can only rectify these issues through weight of numbers.

Make yourself heard by attending the State League games this Saturday.

Let’s Target 1000 spectators.

• Three team prizes available.
  
• 6 Pizza Vouchers from Crust Pizza for one each of a Boys, Girls & Mixed (the 2 U9’s will be treated as one team) team that has the most players from their side there on the day.
  
• This will allow a winning team to run a free pizza night/lunch during the season.
  
• We will also be giving vouchers to any of the kids who look after the Jumping Castle.
  
• Hockey World will be there with a stall and special pricing on equipment.
  
• Food & Refreshments all Day
  

Men’s and Women’s Registration Tues, Wed, Thursday at the club rooms 7pm – 9.30pm

Registration forms will be available. Please bring credit card, eftpos, cash or cheque. Students please bring student cards.

Despite HV increases fees are the same as last year.

If you are unable to pay the amount in full, please contact Graham Eddy(geddy51@gmail.com), to discuss a payment plan that works for you or see club representative who will be down during the above times.

Please note that you are not a financial member by Round 1, you will not be selected in a team.

The 2011 Junior Registration day is to be held on Saturday 5th February from 10am to 2pm at the Waverley Hockey Club ground, corner  Winbirra Pde & High Street Road Ashwood.

All current and new players in age groups from under 6 to under 17 are invited to the club to register for the coming winter season. Registering on this day is very important as it allows the club to ensure we enter the correct amount of teams and to make sure all players get a playing spot.

Players who played with Waverley in 2010 there will be a completed form for you to sign on the day.

For those who are not registering on the day or are new to the club can download a registration form from the following link

Junior Registration Form 2011

The 2011 Winter Season will commence on April 1st & 2nd. Any enquiries can be made via the website contact form.

New to Hockey?

Waverley Hockey Club is of the very firm belief that all children under the age of 11 who have not played hockey before, should participate in the Minkey progamme for preparation of an age appropriate competition junior team.

The Minkey programme is run in a safe, non-competitive arena with the emphasis on participation, skill development and having lots of fun.

The children progress through skill levels gaining awards / certificates as they progress. The program runs on a half (or smaller) sized field and consists of skill based activities and a simplified game.

As children move up the skill levels the emphasis moves to preparing them to move to an age appropriate junior team such as the Under 9 or 11 competition.

Women’s pre-season starts TONIGHT Feb 1st.

Club rooms at 7.00 pm.

Please contact womens president Danita Eastman on 0430 110 682 for further details.

Training will be Tuesday & Thursday nights and Saturday mornings.

Further details to follow …….

Congratulations to Waverley Club Legend Colin Batch on his announcement as coach of the Belgium Men’s Hockey Team.

Since moving to Belgium in 2008 after 2 successful Olympic campaigns as Assistant Coach of the Kookaburras, ‘Batchy’ has continued his successful coaching career.  On his arrival in Belgium he guided club KHC Dragons, into their first Euro Hockey League appearance finishing in the top 16 teams in the event, an impressive event.  He was also named the U21 Belgian coach and with continued success, has been named the Belgian Men’s Hockey Coach.

The club extends its best wishes to Colin and looks forward to seeing him guide the Belgians as they embark on Olympic qualification at the European Championships later this year.

Once again the Panthers annual Senior Presentation Night is fast approaching and is shaping up to be a memorable night for all.

The WHC has had yet another successful year on and off the field throughout the 2010 period – Especially with the double header wins of our elite SL1 Men and Women teams, so let’s see season 2010 out with a bang.

Seats and reserved tables are filling up fast so gather your teammates and get involved.

Where: Manningham Hotel (Bullen)
When: 29th October, 7:00pm-12:00am
Dress: After 5 (cocktail)

Payments are due in no later than Friday 22 October 2010, so please get in early and confirm your attendance by purchasing your ticket(s). Please see the attached flyer for payment details. For any queries, or to confirm table arrangements, please phone Rachel Sheppard 0439 360 922.

Click on link below to download form:

WHC 2010 Presentation Night Flyer Order Form

A few photo’s from the Grand Finals of our top teams – will be updated as we photos are uploaded

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