Selection Strategy
The Selection Committee will consider the Club Requirements and Player Attributes set out below. Players who have not met the Club Requirements should not expect to be selected. The Player Attributes are not listed in any particular order.

Together, the Club Requirements and the Player Attributes will be considered in the Selection Process.

Club Requirements

Following the annual payment deadline as communicated by the Club Treasurer, Membership Fees have been paid in full. Where an instalment plan has been agreed with the Club Treasurer, all instalments must be paid up to date.
All Match Fees have been settled in full.
There are no debts owed to the Club relating to any previous seasons.

Player Attributes

Commitment to availability on Saturdays, with availability logged on Pitchero.
Attendance and effort at training. Lack of attendance at Thursday training will not exclude Players from Selection for the 1st and 2nd XIs, however attendance will make Players more visible to coaches, allow them to develop team specific strategies and advance their skills.
Prompt/ pro-active/ reliable communication
Punctuality
Fitness and pace.
Experience and Skills.
Enthusiasm and positive attitude.
Willingness to learn, be flexible, and to adapt.
Position the team requires filling. (i.e. best players for any chosen system.)
Potential to develop / improve.
Playing ability.
Compliance with the Club’s Code of Conduct and The Spirit of Hockey or other Code of Conduct documents communicated by England Hockey from time to time.
Compliance with the rules of hockey and league rules.
Respect for the umpires, the opposition and teammates.

1st and 2nd XI / 3rd and 4th XI Trainings
A Club aim this season is for Players to enjoy their hockey. To achieve this for the different levels within the club, two separate training sessions will be held.
On Tuesday evenings, the training session will focus on the 3rd and 4th XI squads, with training plans suitable and tailored to their needs. 1st and 2nd XI Players are encouraged to attend this training for extra fitness and additional time on the ball. However, they are there to facilitate the training for 3rd and 4th XI Players. This training will not involve any coaching strategies aimed at 1st and 2nd XI squads (with the exclusion of keeper training).

On Thursday evenings, the training session will focus on the 1st and 2nd XI squads, with training plans suitable and tailored to their needs. This training session is open to all club Players that aspire towards playing for the 1st or 2nd XI squads. However, individual conversations with Players, led by the coaches, may recommend Players to develop their skills further at the 3rd and 4th XI training before attending the 1st and 2nd XI training.

Players are very welcome to approach the coaches, their Team Captains, Club Captains and Directors of Hockey for advice on which training(s) would be most suitable for them to attend.

Players are also welcome to ask their Team Captains to request specific skills are worked on at training. Team Captains should collate training suggestions to include within their Weekly Communications to the Club Captains (see next). This will be passed onto the Coaches to enable them to tailor drills to meet Player’s needs. Whilst it may not be possible to action requests immediately, the Committee and Coaches will consider all requests.

Weekly Communications
Each week, the Club Captains will collate feedback from Team Captains regarding team performance, Player performance, and suggestions for training skills. Team Captains must relay this to Club Captains in their Weekly Communications before the end of Sunday. This feedback will be relayed to Coaches and Directors of Hockey to feed into the Selection Process.

Communication of Availability and Player Responsibility
It is the responsibility of each individual Player to ensure their information is kept up to date on Pitchero, GMS and any other membership and availability databases communicated by the Committee from time to time.

If Members do not update their availability on Pitchero, they will be regarded as unavailable for Selection. It is NOT expected that Team Captains will pursue Players to establish their availability, or that information communicated via other channels will be used to determine Selection.

Selection procedures can only begin once accurate information regarding Player availability is gathered.

ALL Players must input their availability into Pitchero BEFORE the end of Monday ahead of a weekend fixture to be considered in the first phase of Selection.

If a Player anticipates before this deadline that they will not know their availability until later in the week or they have constraints on their availability (e.g., times, locations or travel) they should mark themselves as “Maybe Available” and Add a Note. This will prompt the Selection Committee to consider these circumstances.

The Selection Committee will consider that:

“Available” = available for any game that day
“Maybe Available” = available with restrictions
“Not Set” / “Unavailable” = unavailable for all games that day

Players that are “Unavailable” or have “Not Set” their availability before the end of Monday but find themselves available later in the week, must inform their Team Captains as soon as possible to be considered in a second phase of Selection (see Second Phase of Selection below).

School Hockey
Availability for Saturday Club matches is one of the Player Attributes within the Selection Strategy. Players who also play for School Teams will not be penalised for prioritising School Hockey over Club Hockey and the decision to play for either team is at the discretion of the Player and their Parents. It is recommended that the reason for the non-availability is communicated to the Club Captain or Director of Hockey so that the Selection Committee are aware.

Selection Process
Team Selection
Selection will be led by the Coaches according to the Selection Strategy.
Selection will be made based on the Availability information provided by Members. Members cannot be picked for a Team if they have not set their Availability.

Selection will be decided from the 1st XI squad downwards, wherever possible providing substitutes for every team. Substitutes will be prioritised from the 1st XI downwards.

If availability is low, the Selection Committee will discuss whether it is required to cancel games from the 4th XI upwards.

Players should expect fluidity between Teams. Players are not guaranteed a place in a particular Team.

New Players to the Club should start at an appropriate level decided by the Selection Committee.

The Club will promote the development of committed young Players and the Selection Committee will aim for their inclusion into appropriate teams.
It is not acceptable for a Player to refuse to play for a team simply because it is not the team they believe they should play for.

Players are welcome at any time to discuss their development with Coaches. Players are also welcome to approach their Team Captains, Club Captains and Directors of Hockey for feedback, where this feedback will be led by Coaches. Any personal opinions provided by Team Captains, Club Captains or Directors of Hockey, will not be fed into the Selection Process.

Selection Committee Meeting - First Phase of Selection
The Selection Committee will meet at or before the Tuesday training each week.

At this meeting, Coaches will bring their pre-selected teams based on the Selection Strategy for the first phase of Selection. Club Captains will have gathered feedback from Team Captains and Players from the previous week in the Team Captain Weekly Communications to feedback to the Coaches. It is not mandatory for the Coaches to follow any feedback provided by the Club Captains, however, they must provide a reason as to why this is the case, which will be recorded in the meeting minutes.

The Director of Hockey’s role is to chair and facilitate the meeting, take minutes, ensure all Players are considered fairly and that the meeting meets its objectives.

The Selection Committee Meeting concludes with the confirmation of Team Selections for that week’s fixtures.

Communication of Selection
It is intended that all teams should be published on Pitchero and within the Women’s or Men’s Announcements chats before the end of Wednesday each week.

Occasionally changes within Teams may be required at short notice due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness or injury.

Feedback on Selection
Players should bear in mind that the Selection Committee gives significant consideration to Selection. Players are requested to exercise patience, respect and understanding to the Selection Committee – being the Club Captains, Coaches, and the Directors of Hockey, all of whom work hard for the whole club. These individuals largely volunteer their time free of charge, working around other personal commitments, so please be:

patient with replies to messages
considerate of the number of things the committee are juggling
understanding that everyone wants to do their best and can only do so with Members' support.

Where a Player has been regularly playing for a Team but has been asked to play for a different team (above or below), they will receive Feedback from the Coaches. This will be provided in-person at Tuesday training, via a phone call or message from the Coach, or as a prepared statement through the Club Captain or Director of Hockey.

The Club’s aim is that Feedback should be a helpful and constructive process for everyone. Players are welcome to open conversations with their Coaches, Club Captains, and Directors of Hockey, or Team Captains at any time for feedback, but please be patient for a response.

Second Phase of Selection
If a player does not meet the first availability deadline (end of Monday) they may be considered in a second phase of selection after teamsheet publication. Players may be added appropriately to existing teamsheets, if space allows. Pre-existing team selection will not be affected by the addition of Players offering Late Availability. This may result in a Player playing for a different team than previously.

Raising Concerns
It is recognised that Players may disagree with Feedback, and that disliking the Feedback may be understandable.

If Players are especially unhappy with any Feedback or have any problems with Selection Decisions, any issues should be raised immediately. Please do not let things fester, please do not speculate and please do not gossip. If we can maintain this season with an automatic assumption of positive intent, we think this would go a long way to ensuring everyone has an enjoyable and stress-free season. If you're unsure of anything at any time, please never hesitate to ask.

Issues should be raised via the following channels:
Player > Coach / Team Captain > Club Captain > Director of Hockey > Vice Chair / Chair.