Juniors

Junior hockey offers children between the ages of 10 and 18 the chance to learn the sport, develop their skills, technical and tactical understanding, and play competitively. In addition to this, we invite players from the age of 5 to join a Minkey team from their school, coached by us, where the basics of hockey are taught in a fun yet structured way to prepare them for the Minkey season and in the years thereafter, junior hockey.

As well as learning the sport itself, playing hockey is a great way to teach children skills for life, including teamwork, sportsmanship and leadership. Suburban Lions fields teams that are organised by school year as follows:

• Boys and Girls Years 5/6
• Boys and Girls Years 7/8
• Boys and Girls Years 9/10
• Boys and Girls Years 11/12

Players are placed in a team, with each team provided with a coach for the duration of the season. A parent manager is called for to assist the coach with team communications, sideline assistance at games and uploading scores online. 

Here's what a typical winter season looks like:

Pre-Season

Registrations for the coming season open in January and a registration link is provided on this website. Pre-season training for our juniors commences in early February. While this is optional it is an ideal way for players to get in shape and ready for the season ahead. This usually takes place in the form of our Academy, where sessions are run weekly to work on individual skills and fitness and is then finished with a fun Super 6's competition.

Junior Grading & Team Selections

Grading begins in early March with 2-3 sessions which typically include drills and small games at Tregonning Field or Shenton Turf. The purpose of these sessions is for us to gain an understanding of the playing level of all of our players in order to guide our team selections. The Head Coach will run the age group grading sessions with assistance from several of our very experienced coaches. 

The Club's philosophy around grading is based on fairness and transparency, and the process contains several checks and balances to ensure that these important objectives are achieved. The grading results are an important (but not exclusive) determinant of team selections.

Grading Starts in March.

Training

Training sessions are for one hour, once a week, unless otherwise arranged by a team’s coach. Younger teams that play on grass may train at any time on either of our home grounds of Tregonning Field or Melvista Oval, as determined by their coach and the team's availability. 

Teams that play in turf grades have the opportunity to train on the Shenton Turf at least once a week. As we share the Turf with two other clubs, the training days allocated to us are fixed but the times that each age group trains are carefully chosen so as not to clash with our players' other sporting commitments such as those for PSA or IGSSA.

Winter Competitions

Suburban Lions usually field between 25 and 30 teams across all junior grades and will nominate these teams to compete in the Hockey WA winter competitions. These may be A grade (the highest level), A Promotion, A Reserve, B or C grade. The season usually starts in very early May and consists of 14 regular competition rounds and two weeks of finals, with the exception of J5/6s who do not play finals.

Numbers permitting, new players are welcome at any time during the season. The season formally closes in mid-September with a wind-up for all players where we all get a chance to recognise the outstanding performances of the season, thank the coaches and managers for their hard work and hang out with their friends!

Parent/Guardian Support

Lions Hockey Club depends upon the volunteer support of its members and parents/guardians. It is important that we maintain involvement from parents for the ongoing success of our club. Each team requires a coach, assistant coach, team manager and umpire/umpire mentor, canteen assistance, socials, fundraising, to name a few. We need parent support and active involvement in filling team roles and other roles within the junior club. Please consider how you can get involved and nominate your intentions as early as possible. Please direct any inquiries on roles/ assistance to juniors@suburbanlions.org.au

We expect all parents to:

1. Actively support the club and the team that your child plays in and encourage strong team spirit.

2. Be a positive advocate for the club in our local community.

3. Abide by the Suburban Lions Code of Conduct

Useful information

Sporting School WA provides an interschool and interstate competition for Boys/ Girls 12 and 16 years. Please visit the website to see when the registrations are required should you wish to nominate your child - Hockey – SSWA (schoolsportwa.com.au)

Junior Awards

Criteria for Junior Player of the Year
The Suburban Lions Club Junior Committee determines this elite award for the best Junior Player across the club.

• The individual plays in the top team of their age group and ranks highly in that team.
• The individual has represented WA in one or more competitions this year.
• The individual may "double up" into other junior teams.
• The individual may play in one of the top senior teams.
• The individual supports other junior or minkey teams at the club through coaching or assistant coaching, umpiring or mentoring.
• The individual possesses a highly positive attitude toward teammates, coach and team management, is 'coachable' and is an asset to any team they represent.
• The individual demonstrates and promotes the correct cultural values of the club.

Criteria for Best & Fairest

The coach determines the team's top award based on an individual's consistent overall performance that best impacts their team throughout the season. 

• The player consistently attends training and displays the correct training ethic to advance their game and the team.
• The player consistently and significantly contributes to the team's performance during games.
• The player positively influences the team's culture and shows a competitive level of sportsmanship.
• They are committed to further developing their overall hockey game

Criteria for Coach's Award

• The head coach determines this team award
• The player regularly attends training and demonstrates the correct training ethic to advance their game and the team.
• The player displays regular improvement throughout the season
• The player is a positive, supportive influence on the team and a player everyone enjoys having around
• The player shows a consistent and steady, visible commitment to being the best hockey player they can be for their team