Summer Season 2011 News

The 2010-11 Season was a really good year for Hertford Heath Rangers and we are extremely proud of every team and the accomplishments of each and every player.  Please read on for all the latest comings and goings....

Ravens fly the nest!

Firstly, a special mention must go to our Ravens team who have been playing for us for 6 years and have been one of our most consistent and successful teams.  The Ravens were our very first junior team and were the inspiration behind our now huge junior club - it was these girls that made up my mind that running a junior section was a really worthwhile cause.  The Ravens really set the standard throughout their time with the club gaining promotion in a number of leagues over the years, storming through divisions without ever losing a match and this year has been no different.  The Ravens finished second in the Turnford Summer League and have secured promotion for next year.  Sadly for us, the majority of the Ravens players won’t be around for the new season as they head off to university but I wish them all the very best and hope they continue to play netball for their university teams (anyone not off to uni, we have plenty of senior teams so you can carry on playing) and of course we are here for you to play when you are on your holidays!  I am really going to miss you girls – please stay in touch!!

Ravens from L-R: Sarah Jenkins, Sian Butcher, Katie Thomas, Maddy Pearson, Marie Morgan, Jodie Butcher and

Amber Mehew (also, not forgetting Georgina "Podge" Evans who couldn't make the Ravens leaving do). 

Cool Coyotes

The past season has seen some excellent match results and some very exciting games to watch and I would like to welcome onboard our newest and youngest team, Coyotes, who played in their very first league over the summer and even finished third in our junior tournament.  The girls played incredibly well, especially as they were playing against teams a year older than them! Team Manager, Jacqui Hoskin, has been a brilliant help in organising the team and the team can only go from strength to strength as they progress.  We will also keep you updated on the progress of our other new teams as they venture into their first netball leagues over the coming year ahead.

To see how your team did over the past season, please click here for League Results. 

Satellite and County Stars

Hawks players Maddy Davies and Elizabeth Francis have been accepted into Satellite Academy, a real achievement especially since both girls were year 7’s at the time of being accepted and it is usually only in year 8 when players are selected – a big well done to both girls!  Also, Vixens player, Lucy Hoskin, is in County Academy and we are delighted for Lucy, she is a wonderful ambassador for the club and should be very proud of herself!  We will be looking at up and coming players for next year as we actively encourage development within the club.

Maddy Davies

Liz Francis 

Lucy Hoskin

Sport England Accredited

This year we gained our Bronze CAPS Award from England Netball accredited by Clubmark for Sport England (see snippet from England Netball's online August 2011 edition) and our Silver CAPS for the new season is well within reach!  Sport England recognises and values the commitment made by sports clubs to develop high quality, welcoming environments for young participants.  The Clubmark scheme also enables us to participate in supermarket voucher schemes and this year we received over 1,000 Tesco vouchers and just over 200 Sainsbury's vouchers. We banked half our Tesco voucher collection for next year and donated half to Mary’s Meals, a charity to set up school feeding projects in communities where poverty and hunger prevent children from gaining an education.  We have also ordered a Mitre ball from Sainsburys! Thank you to everyone who donated vouchers.

HHR Junior Tournament

This year we held our first ever junior netball tournament at Sele School in Hertford and the day could not have gone any smoother.  Despite all the hard work putting the event together, it proved to be a great fundraiser for the club.  Thank you to Maria for all the pre-event organising and a huge thank you to committee member Kim Nicholson for running the BBQ and to senior player, Cheryl Hodge, for giving up her already busy time on the day to come down and help with the BBQ. Senior players and coaches, Gemma Cranfield and Amy Hedges ran the scorecard desk to perfection, which was certainly no easy feat!  A big thank you must go to Amanda Davies for her pre-tournament talk and the fantastic presentation at the end and to Julie Francis and Jacqui Hoskin for running all day between the players’ camps and organising the teams.  Parents Nicola Lee, Sam and Ross Martin, and Mel Timpson were a brilliant help with running the refreshment stall so effortlessly and making regular trips back and forth to top up on supplies – your help was very much appreciated by all and we could not have done it without you! Also, a big thank you to our players who were around on the day to help with selling raffle tickets; Charlotte Nicholson, Lucy Hoskin and Lucy De Rosa………. And there were plenty of other helpers too, it was just such a manic day and trying to remember everyone is impossible but that is not to say we are not enormously thankful for your help.  Finally, many thanks to all the parents and players that turned out on the day to support us - overall we raised £644 for club funds and any profit would not have been possible without the refreshment stall, raffle and BBQ.

Club Development

This year, we have built up our coaching team with Gemma Cranfield, Julie Francis and Amy Hedges all gaining their Level 1 coaching qualification.  A lot of time and effort goes into coaching courses and coaches are an essential part of running a successful netball club.  As well as coaching, both Vicky and Amy have regularly been umpiring for us and will hopefully be going for their C Awards in the near future.   If you are keen on becoming a netball umpire or a coach, please speak to Maureen or Amy who will be able to put you forward for relevant courses.

Remember to keep checking the website for news and information and if you haven’t already joined our Facebook page, please do so – we regularly keep it updated!

Finally, I would just like to say a BIG thank you to all our volunteers - without you the Club would not be in such a great position, your efforts are treasured and greatly appreciated!

Maureen :)