Author: Alice Roche

Player of the Season

A Team – Ash Oakes

“This lady is probably one of the most envied players that this club has in terms of her ability on court.  I know I wish I could jump and intercept as well as her.  Her talent is undeniably fantastic. When looking to put some words together to describe her I had a chat with a couple of her team mates.  The general consensus was that this accolade was much deserved. The words “Awesome, player, just bloody awesome, what more do you need in a player” were uttered to me which I felt I needed to include.  Her humility in her own ability and her generous and kind nature makes her such a popular player.  I could wax lyrical about her however we have a lot to get through and this is the 1^st award!!!  Therefore I would like to present Ash Oakes as A Team Player of the season.”

B Team – Emily Harrison

“I have asked all captains to write a couple of lines to describe each Player of the Season.

The B team player of the season is a young lady who has changed beyond recognition from previous years.  And it is easy to see why.  She now turns up on time, often early even.  She always has a cheerful demeanour and has bought a desire to win to every game.  He rouses the whole team with her positivity and cuts through the nonsense with statements like “the maths is too hard, let’s just win everything!” One could say she embodies what “Bringing the BOOM” means at Hinckley Ladies.  She is our stealthy Goal Attack. The one and only Emily Harrison”

C Team – Jess Burke

“She is the sort of player every captain wants to have in their team. She is committed to the club and her team mates, both on and off court. Off court, whether tactical words of wisdom or just a witty remark to lift the mood, she has a positive impact. On court, she regularly controls the game through defence and mid court, as recognised through the numerous PoM nominations accrued throughout the season. She is a well-deserved winner of the player of the season award and I am sure you will all join me in wishing her a fabulous forthcoming wedding day.”

D Team – Holly Hemsley

“This lady is such a deserved winner of this award.  She eats, sleeps and breathes netball.  Tom quickly realised he needed to embrace it to or spend most Saturdays without his girlfriend.  She works relentlessly on court and every game is an opportunity for getting another win in the bag. Losing is not an option.  Her movement around the circle combined with the pinpoint accurate shooting makes her a force to be reckoned with and I’m just delighted she’s in my team and not playing against me. “

E Team – Annis Pears

“This is a very quiet and she lady off the court but on court but on court she becomes a nuisance t the opposition with her abundance of energy.  She reads the ball and game play well and despite not being one of the tallest players still manages to intercept many balls off tall shooters.  Frustrating for other teams but fantastic for ours.  She is such a lovely player.”

F Team – Hattie Lockley

“It has been a pleasure to be this players team captain this season and the whole team will agree she is a joy to play along side.  She settled well into the F team defence immediately and has give 100% in every match no matter how many times we switched her from WD to GK, out to C and back around again.  Her fitness and ability are incredible and I have no doubt that we will see some outstanding netball played by this young lady in future seasons.  She has been committed and dedicated not just to the F’s but also the E team all season and taking her well deserved Player of the Match titles often with surprise despite her excellent play on court.”

Hornettes – Ede Roche, Tracey Pallet, Verity Skelton

“There are 3 recipients from this team.

The 1^st lady is a versatile centre court player, she thrives on confidence.  She has played out of her comfort zone of WD takin up both the Centre and WA bibs.  At the start of the season when stepping into these unfamiliar roles, she allowed herself to become flustered but as the season has progressed, she has become more confident in whatever position she is asked to play in and has flourished on court.  She has played the entire season with the biggest smile on her face and has made us all laugh constantly and summed up a team talk I gave to the girls when going into the last quarter 5 goals ahead by coining the immortal phrase “in other words, just don’t f**k it up”!!!  I am of course talking of Ede Roche

From the first time the B2N ladies were released onto the court last year, our 2nd player caught my eye as a potential GA with her speed on court and accuracy in the shooting circle.  We did have to work on her awareness of where the defenders were and her ability to get around them, as she did have a tendency to be completely focused on getting from A to B in a straight line and woe betide anyone that stood in her way, a habit that got her stood off court in a friendly against Bedworth having gone through the defender rather than around her!  But she tidied this up before the start of the season, and has proved to be a fast and hard working GA with the ability to shoot long range and not just under the post.  Moving her back to GS occasionally allowed her to focus solely on her shooting and less on her movement, and although I know she prefers the GA bib, she is beginning to understand how to play the 2 different positions and this gives her more versatility as a shooter moving forward.  This rather nifty attacker is Tracey Pallet

The 3^rd player has really put her stamp on the WD bib this year and has ticked every box needed to play that position.  She has always put pressure on her opposite WA on and off the ball and has a great vertical leap which has intercepted and turned over many balls.  She has linked up seamlessly with whichever defending combination she played alongside, bringing the ball up the court and as a real thinking player, is always looking for space to move into so she is free to receive the ball and be there for back up when needed.  Unlike some of the Hornettes, she has pretty much stayed in the one position this year, but I would like to see her develop in a second position too, possibly as a GD or C, as she certainly has both the ability to be just as effective in these positions as she is at WD.  She also gave to the Hornettes this year, “Umbrellagate”, which was a saga which ran for many, many weeks, involved liaison and a military operation between 2 clubs and about 500 WhatsApp messages before owner and wandering brolly were finally bought together again in an emotional reunion!!  Verity Skelton you are player of the Season. “

U14 – Sophie Mills & Jade Isaac

“The two recipients of this award are exceptionally hard working netballers.  They are committed and talented girls. It is very evident why they have been voted as players of the season.  They both have such sunny personalities and this shines through on court.  They both have a burning desire to win which I absolutely love.  I can’t think of two more deserving players to have won this award.  Congratulations Jade Isaac and Sophie Mills”

U16 – Katie Eaves, Ellie Dutton, Eleanor Booker

The U16’s have had a very tough season this year, up against some very determined and drilled teams.  They did not however, at any point, decide to throw in the towel.  The comments that Claire and I received about the girls was always glowing; how well they had played and how they never gave in.  The netball that they have produced each match was great and very much deserved of the praise that was bestowed upon them.  The 3 recipients that have won this award have all played their sock off and should be super proud of what they have achieved this year.  I  know they are only just at the beginning of their netball journey and we can have a lot to look forward to.  Please come up Katie Eaves, Ellie Dutton and Eleanor Booker

Players Player

This award is presented to the player who her team mates feel has made an impact this season.  This could be  on court when playing, leading the team on court, keeping an air of positivity in moments of difficulty, making younger players feel included or a bit of all of the above.  The winners this year are;

A Team – Ash Oakes

B Team – Sadie Baker

C Team – Caron Ogden

D Team – Holly Hemsley

E Team – Ella Wilkinson

F Team – Hattie Lockley

Hornettes – Katie Foster

Most Improved – Ede Roche

Presented by Jayne Marlow

Coaches Award – Racheal Short

Presented by Jayne Marlow

Clubswoman Award – Carole Payne

It’s pretty obvious that this award should go to some-one that has gone over and above for Hinckley Ladies.  I can safely say the recipient of this award has done that, and in spades.  I don’t think it will take too much working out who has won this award.  This lady is a stalwart of this club, gives 1000% of herself throughout the year, not only on the court but off as well.  I actually think, if you checked, she would have HLNC running through her veins!!!  Her ability to single-handedly organise what I can only describe as the worlds biggest headache and actually make it look easy is phenomenal.  She has a heart of gold and will do anything for any-one.  She has been my sounding post for all things netball and has been dear friend for a very long time now.  CP you are Clubswoman of the year

Carol Whitaker Young Talent Award

U14 – Dasia Wheatley

This young lady has impressed me immensely for the whole of this season.  Despite having a very quiet demeanour, she has a steely determination on court.  She always has a smile on her face and can bounce like a tigger to gain intercepts from much taller attackers.  She is starting to understand the thinking game a lot more and her positioning on court around her fellow players has improved tremendously this season.  Well done Dasia

U16 – Maddie Trickett

Once again the recipient of this award is not the most outspoken or loudest on court.  She gets on with her role on court with a maturity that precedes her years.  She isn’t the most demanding of players but her talent is evident.  She is a grafter and will run and run and run.  I feel that there is a lot more to come from this young player and I hope that she continues to develop in the senior teams.  Congratulations Maddie

Chair Persons Award – Alice Roche

Now this award represents some-one who has gone above and beyond for the club and maybe un noticed.  Some-one who has given and given and given.  The recipient of this award this year has done over and above what has been asked of her.  Every time I have needed something or there has been something going on, she has been there with “Can I help?”  or “What can I do?”  For some-one who has been on the committee for such a short amount of time she has wholly immersed herself with everything that we do as a club.  So, this is my way of saying thank you for all of the late night conversations, inordinate amount of WhatApp messages and requests and all of your hard work this year on the website and everything else you have helped out with.  Thank you Alice Roche

Attendance Award

The attendance award changed slightly this year. Instead of having an award for just 100% attendance it was decided to make it a staged award.  Set brackets for set amounts off attendance. Attendance included all coached training sessions, inter-club tournament nights and all competitive matches.  The Gold attendance award is for attendance greater than 95%.  Silver award is for 85% to 94% attendance and the Bronze Award is for 75% to 84% attendance.  The winners are;

I would like to say a big thank you to all of our volunteers that have helped out during this season.  Congratulations to Kate and Lynda who have both passed their C Award assessments this year. To all of our umpires; CP, Caron Ogden, Becky Kenney, Zoe Stokes, Holly, Hemsley, Leanne Evans, Jayne Marlow, Kate Chamberlain and Becky Mayfield along with all of the external umpires we have used.  Without you we would not be able to play the games we do.  Playing and then sprinting off to another game, thank you.

To every-one that has come down and helped me out with the Juniors; Darcey Arrowsmith, Anna Kinsella, Gail Lavery, Lynda Sanders.  Without your help, it would have been rather difficult .

To the coaches Karen M, Jayne Marlow and Gemma.  Karen left us early in the season but her help was very much appreciated.  Gemma took on the role of mentor to the Hornettes this year and it is fair to say they have come on leaps and bounds.  Jayne – has coached 6 teams single handedly and through some rather cold and wet evenings.  It takes some doing.  Coaches do it for the love of imparting their knowledge on us as players, and we thank you for your time and dedication.  Please come up and join me.

Lastly, I would like to thank the committee  for everything they have done this year.  Without your hard work this club wouldn’t exist.  All of the get togethers, meetings, late night messages that have gone on this year.  All of the work that is done behind the scenes, the bits that aren’t seen.  I cannot say thank you enough, however I would like to give you a small gesture for all of the work you have put in this year.  Leanne, CP, Gail, Emma, Anna, Holly, Alice, Jo please join me.

By Laura Benz