A long off-season for Melton Hockey Club is almost at an end, with the club having high hopes that 2014 could see it moving up the ranks in the Victorian hockey community.
Melton’s women’s squad has been training since the start of December in readiness for the Vic League 2 season.
Director of coaching Ron Shadbolt says confidence is high that the squad can earn promotion.
“The girls have been training hard to a schedule that’s five days a week, so they’re extremely fit,” Shadbolt said.
“They’ve all been playing some sort of hockey over summer to keep match fit, so we feel like we’ve got a really good chance to earn promotion this year.
“I think we’ve got enough talent to push up into Vic League 1 … the girls have worked their tails off.”
Last season, Melton had only enough women’s players to field two sides. This year, a recruitment drive has had the club’s playing stocks rise to more than 40 women, giving the club greater flexibility as well as the chance to field a third side.
For the men – playing in Vic league 3 – the goals are less grand with a number of last year’s players not fronting this year because of work or travel commitments.
“It’ll be a difficult season for the men’s firsts, but there’s opportunities there for some of the younger players to push through,” Shadbolt said.
This will be Melton’s last season playing at Mowbray College, with Shadbolt saying the club is looking forward to a new pitch on Bridge Road in 2015.
“We’ve lost players due to the [current] facilities; it’s not a great number but some players have moved clubs,” Shadbolt said.
“What the club needs is exposure, and at Bridge Road … people will see where hockey is. We’re one of the biggest sports clubs in Melton with close to 200 members, so the new ground will be a big boost.
