Junior Hockey

Bangor Hockey Club Juniors aims to provide all boys & girls in the Bangor area who are Fifteen (y11) and under the opportunity to play hockey.

Our goal is to create a safe and enjoyable environment based around hockey where the boys & girls develop both their hockey skills and also hopefully long lasting friendships.

The Junior section is split into 4 sections with all sections training during school term time from September through to Easter.

2023-24 Season: If you are an existing member please ensure your spond app is up to date, you have accepted any new groups and notifications are turned on as this is our main communication tool with members.

If you are enquiring about joining, we have waiting lists on both the boys and girls sides of the club. If your query is about this season, we will add your child’s name to the list and we may be back in touch in September if a space becomes available in the appropriate age group.

Please make sure we have your childs name, a contact email address and their school year (in September’23).

The 2023-2024 season begins w/c 11th September through to w/c 18th March’24 – keep an eye out on Social Media & Spond for the latest news::

Boys:

  • Under 9’s (YR3 – YR5) – Tuesday, 6:20-7:20pm at BGS
  • Under 11’s (YR6 – YR7) – Tuesday, 6:20-7:20pm at BGS
  • Under 13’s (YR8 – Y9) – Tuesday, 6:30 – 7:30pm at Aurora
  • Under 15’s (YR10 – YR11) Thursday, 6:15-7:15pm at Aurora

Girls:

  • Under 9’s (YR3 – YR5) – Friday @Aurora 6-7pm
  • Under 11’s (YR6 – YR7) – Friday @Aurora 7-8pm
  • Under 13’s (YR8 – Y9) – Wednesday @Glenlola School (Y8 7-8pm / Y9 8-9pm)
  • Under 15’s (YR10 – YR11) – Monday @Glenlola School (7-8pm or 8-9pm – times confirmed following trials)

To train with Bangor H.C. Juniors it is mandatory  that a registration form is completed for the following reasons:

  • Health and Safety (in case of injury or illness)
  • Child Welfare
  • To be picked to play in Matches and Blitz days

It is a suggested that all new members try a training session to see if they like it before committing to joining Bangor H.C. Juniors.

Registration: For info on how to register your interest in your child joining the club visit our Registration page

2023-24 Subscriptions:

  • First Child – £110
  • Siblings – £80 per child (this is across the club – therefore if you are registering a girl at full fee now and then her brother at a later stage you can choose the sibling fee for the second registration)

Junior Hockey Welcome Pack (pdf download)

Equipment Needed:

  • Stick / Shinguards / Mouthguard / Drink

Teams:

Under 9 age group is very much an introductory stage with the focus being on fun, games and basic stick skills development. This age group is one that Ulster Hockey are aiming to develop. Thus throughout the year there is the opportunity for the under 9’s to play in “fab 4” blitz days; which are approximately 1 hour sessions where they play a number of mini games of 4 aside.

Under 11 age group is a development group with the emphasis on the development of core stick and game awareness skills. As with all age groups our goal is to create a safe and enjoyable environment based around hockey where they develop both their hockey skills and also hopefully long lasting friendships. Additionally we aim to try and give all the players the opportunity to play in matches should they want to. Ulster Hockey run a number of “Blitz” days which are mini tournaments (no winners or losers) where teams of 6 or 7 (“super sixes”) play each other on a third of the pitch.

Under 13 age group is a continuation of the development started in previous age groups with the emphasis on the development of passing and receiving in a game situation. As with all age groups our goal is to create a safe and enjoyable environment based around hockey where they develop both their hockey skills and also hopefully long lasting friendships. Additionally we aim to try and give all the girls the opportunity to play in matches should they want to. Ulster Hockey run a number of “Blitz” days which are mini tournaments (no winners or losers) where teams of 8 (“awesome eights”) play each other on a half the pitch.

Under 15 age group is a transition group for a number of reasons. The older members transition from Junior hockey to Senior hockey when they reach their 15th birthday and start their GCSE’s; the younger members will be involved in School cup competitions; a few of the group will be involved with Ulster Hockey and all will be playing 11 aside both at school and club. Ulster Hockey organise an U15 league and Cup/plate competitions at two levels, Performance and Development. BHC Juniors enter a team in both levels (may add another development team for 2019-2020 season). These competitions constitute between 6 and 10 matches depending on how successful the teams are.

Coaches:

Boys Youth Convenor: Michael Claney | 07775687109 | juniorclub@bangorhockeyclub.com

Girls Youth Convenor: Adam Reading | 07779789503 | juniorclub@bangorhockeyclub.com

Key areas of development that are coached are:

Stick Skills

  1. Receiving (SR)
  2. Passing (SP)
  3. Elimination (1v1) (SE)
  4. Tackling (ST)

Game Awareness

  1. Eyes up (AE)
  2. Team Positions and Structures (AT)
  3. Unit Skills (AU)
  4. Game Time (AG)

Enjoyment and Confidence

  1. Primary purpose of any team sport is enjoyment (MF)
  2. Mental development (I can vs I can’t) (MC)

Additionally BHC Juniors enter teams in the UH hockey leagues for all of the above age groups

To enable all of the above we need coaches so if you interested in helping in what is a very rewarding environment get in touch.