The money will support the Deutsche Bank Offshore Development Scheme, a series of subsidised weekly training sessions open to all interested junior boys and girls.
There are also plans to introduce a scheme for mini-hockey and skills training for primary schools in the Island, with coaching kit and training equipment being provided plus the establishment of performance sessions for invited juniors with exceptional talent or recognised potential; as well as support for the costs of visiting coaches for further training of local players, coaches and umpires.Hockey development officer Shelagh Herbert described the sponsorship deal as: ‘Wonderful news’.’The sponsorship is very much for the development side of the game.
We’ve been running a big drive anyway to make the game more accessible to youngsters, but development is for everyone and the adult game is sometimes forgotten about.’She added that the corporate league will be about promoting hockey in the workplace.’It won’t just be for people who already play, the idea is for each team to include existing players and novices so that adults can be introduced to the game as well.
I’m very excited about it and it will give me a chance to work with the Hockey Association and enable us to focus on what we can do.’President of the Jersey Hockey Association, Malcolm Banahan, added that the introduction of the corporate league to run alongside the existing leagues was a perfect way to introduce people to the game.’The whole idea is to introduce new players and it could open up opportunities to play more mixed hockey, which hasn’t happened in Jersey for a number of years, although the mixed game is very popular in the UK.
The sponsorship will enable Shelagh to ensure the correct strategies and events are put in place to develop the sport at all levels.’The marketing co-ordinator at Deutsche Bank, Sari Cuming , said that the bank already supported the CI hockey club championships and was pleased to extend the sponsorship to the development programme.’We fully intend to support the corporate league in more than just name.
Hockey is a game that has many similarities with Deutsche Bank’s core values of teamwork, innovation, trust, focus and performance.’The first development session is at Les Quennevais at 6.30 tonight.
