From its foundation, Cheddar Valley has been run by a committee elected yearly, meeting regularly and following guidelines laid down by England Hockey. Over the years, we have had many parent committee members who have volunteered their time and have all added much to the running of the club.  Child Protection and Health & Safety are embedded in the running of the club. Coaches and parent helpers are DBS checked and all coaches have child protection and first aid qualifications. At present, we are fortunate to have several committee members who have full Welfare Officer training. 

Cheddar Valley Youth Hockey Club is an independent youth hockey club, not connected to an adult club. As well as developing their skills and match-play, we aim to instil in our players a passion for the game of hockey. When they leave us at the age of 14/15, we are really pleased to see so many of our players join a variety of hockey clubs both local and further afield.

We welcome players of all abilities, both beginners and those with more experience. Our training sessions are run by experienced England Hockey qualified coaches (Levels 1 & 2). Several of our coaches also coach for Somerset at the junior development centre (JDC) and the junior academy centre (JAC). We have coaches present at all of our fixtures, assisting team managers, umpiring and informing their future coaching. Our coaches and committee members regularly attend coaching updates, club development and Somerset Hockey meetings.  

We have enthusiastic parent team managers whose help at tournaments in particular is much appreciated by both coaches and players. We do not arrange transport to fixtures and it is the responsibility of parents/carers to organise this. At all our fixtures, our players, managers and coaches really value the great support we receive from parents/carers.

All players are given the opportunity of competitive play against other clubs. We take part in the Somerset Clubs’ tournament programme for boys, girls and mixed teams (Under 14, Under 12, Under 10). Tournaments take place on Sunday mornings (not every Sunday for each age group). We also organise Under 9 and Under 11 tournaments and matches for all age groups against local clubs.

We actively support England Hockey’s Single System and each season we nominate players, to attend Somerset junior development centres where they receive extra coaching to help develop their hockey.