Future bright for Watsonians HC

After two years out of the top flight, Watsonians
HC have returned to National League 1 after winning a tough
play-off encounter against local rivals CALA.
The 4-1 victory vindicates the decisions made by
the club last off-season to revitalise its coaching and training
set-up and encourage youth development, said Watsonians
Vice-Chairman Alasdair Swan.
“With over 400 school children involved in the
junior ranks of Watsonians, we have a huge pool of hockey talent
coming through,” he said. “If we are to encourage and retain those
future players, we needed to ensure that they can reach their full
potential with our club.”
With that objective in mind, in the summer of 2011
the club hired former Scotland and Great Britain international
Calum Wood to coach its men’s teams.
While Calum has used his expertise and experience
to revitalise the club’s training, he has also set up a Youth
Academy for its most talented younger players. Swan said that this
has encouraged youth development within the club and ensured that
there is good communication with key stakeholders – including
international coaches, school teachers and parents.
“This season, we have had 6 under-18s involved with
the first-team squad, with 4 playing week-in, week-out and making a
huge contribution to the team’s success,” said Swan. “The club has
been reinvigorated, with more structured training sessions as well
as an ethos on everyone enjoying their hockey and having
fun.”
The results bear out the success of the new
approach. With several new signings also fitting in well, the 1st
XI went on a 12-game unbeaten run from November to close out the
season, culminating in the playoff win.
The challenge now for Watsonians will be to stay in
Division 1. But Swan is confident that the new approach means the
club are well set for the future.
“There’s a strong core of established players at
the club, and when you add that to an excellent coaching and
training set-up, combined with more players coming through, we’re
very hopeful that we’ll be able to compete well next season,” he
said.

After two years out of the top flight, Watsonians HC
have returned to men’s National League Division 1 after winning a
tough play-off encounter against local rivals CALA
Edinburgh.

The 4-1 victory last week vindicates decisions made by the club
last off-season to revitalise its coaching and training set-up and
encourage youth development, as Watsonians Vice-Chairman Alasdair
Swan outlined:

“With over 400 school children involved in the junior ranks of
Watsonians, we have a huge pool of hockey talent coming through. If
we are to encourage and retain those future players, we needed to
ensure that they can reach their full potential with our club.”

With that objective in mind, in the summer of 2011 the club
hired former Scotland and Great Britain international Calum Wood to
coach its men’s teams.

While Calum has used his expertise and experience to revitalise
the club’s training, he has also set up a Youth Academy for its
most talented younger players. Swan said that this has encouraged
youth development within the club and ensured that there is good
communication with key stakeholders – including international
coaches, school teachers and parents:

“This season, we have had six under-18s involved with the
first-team squad, with four playing week-in, week-out and making a
huge contribution to the team’s success,” said Swan.

“The club has been reinvigorated, with more structured training
sessions as well as an ethos on everyone enjoying their hockey and
having fun.”

The results bear out the success of the new approach. With
several new signings also fitting in well, the 1st XI went on a
12-game unbeaten run from November to close out the season,
culminating in the playoff win.

The challenge now for Watsonians will be to stay in Division 1.
But Swan is confident that the new approach means the club are well
set for the future:

“There’s a strong core of established players at the club, and
when you add that to an excellent coaching and training set-up,
combined with more players coming through, we’re very hopeful that
we’ll be able to compete well next season.”

 

 

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