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17 Feb 2012 : HHC Awards Dinner - half full already!
Afternoon

Hooray! The weather has improved so hopefully we'll all be back on the hockey trail now.  Our Fixture Sec Extraordinaire Jim Evans has worked wonders on rearranging those games lost to the weather, so do go and update your availability to help captains pick their sides.

We've had a great response to the new location - and new lower price! - of the Annual Awards Dinner on 31 March, with half the places reserved already.   So, don't delay in sorting yours out. Full details, including location, menu and timings, here.

Good luck at the weekend

Fraser and Lisa
Club Captains

21 Dec 2011 : Fine fayre from the fours
Fine fayre from the foursThe 4's can be pleased with a very solid first half of the season being placed third in the league going in to the Christmas break. 

A string of high scoring victories in the first 8-9 games led to a somewhat misleading view of our true position in the league that was placed firmly into perspective by the games against the teams at the top of the league at the end of the year. Having said that we gave everyone we played a good game and were never completely outplayed.  Goals have been shared among a number of players with Andy Salmon, Johnny Maguire and Steve Holmes scoring regularly.  Defence throughout has been solid - amongst the fewest goals conceded in the league (21 in 12 games).  Availability has been strong in the first half of the season amongst the core squad and we have seen encouraging progress from the regular younger players - Matt Huck, Olly Edmond, Jonathan Phillips and Simon Cripps - the latter moving up to the 3s in recent games.

History suggests injuries, skiing holidays and general fatigue amongst our merry band of forty-somethings will lead to greater availability problems in the second half but a promotion push is certainly not out of the question but it may be close come the end of March.

20 Dec 2011 : Mens 3s in Thumping Good Form
Mens 3s in Thumping Good FormThumper's Half Term Report

Harps 3s ought to be delighted with sitting in the top half of a league that they were promoted into only this season. With more consistent availability and luck with less injuries this perhaps could have been bettered. With that said there have been notable performances - on the positive side the four back to back wins in November were all excellent for different reasons however the standout game from a pure hockey perspective was the 8-0 thumping of Royston where everything came off as planned, after Harps not getting a touch for the first 2 mins of the game.

Upwards of 30 players have represented however all have performed well, most importantly every week any of the 11 put out have fought hard and shown excellent attitude. It feels as though no-one actually enjoys playing against us, and with the exceptions of Blueharts and Cheshunt, we have been the match for or better than the rest. With a full and fit side I believe we can match or beat Blueharts and certainly get close to Cheshunt in the away legs. Not one other team should concern us, but we have to beat them and not feel complacent.

That means for me we should push hard for top 3 and there is no reason we can't. One small ask for me is for more consistency in availability, although of all people I know we all have a life outside of hockey - me, I'm simply playing all games now as though they're my last, and have never enjoyed it so much. (Ed: ...and scoring goals for fun, 14 soi far, including two hatricks)

Squad's been great, let's have some serious laughs and hard work in H2 and build up to a proper celebration come April. Eat and drink lots, but come back for a fight and be fit come January.

Ben Thompson
Captain, HHC Mens 3s

23 Mar 2011 : Twitter ye not
Never ones to be called Luddites, Harpenden HC now has its own Twitter feed!  No need to rely on email to stay in the loop with club goings on - just follow @harpendenhockey and away you go.

Don't know what Twitter is?  Get with the programme! It's all the rage with us 21st century boys you know. Go to www.twitter.com to sign up and keep up with the innermost thoughts of celebs, public figures and, of course, HHC!

21 Feb 2011 : Are your details correct?
Message to all members - the committee and captains would be grateful if you were to log in and check that your email and phone details are correct. The database behind the website is our sole means of holding contact details, and we'd like to have phone numbers as well email addresses in case of late cancellations etc. Your shirt number would also be very useful! Just log in and hit 'Update my profile'. Your information will only be visible to logged-in club members, not the general public. If you would still rather not do it, please at least ensure that your captain knows your mobile number.