Kiwi Sticks Information
Kiwi Sticks is a Year 5&6 grade played on either a Friday evening or Saturday morning. Kiwi Sticks teams are single gender.
They play on 1/2 of a full size turf for 14 minute thirds. 7 players are on the field at a time including a goalkeeper and there are rolling substitutions.
Teams will be made up of 11-12 players to allow for fair playing time, sickness cover and meaningful training sessions. This grade is designed to develop game play on a slightly larger field than Mini Sticks. Rules start to be enforced more and goalkeepers are introduced. There are non goalkeeper grades however we intend to enter all our teams in the goalkeeper grade if resources allow. Unless a player clearly states they want to play as a goalkeeper, this position is rotated around the team to give everyone a chance to learn a new skill. We aim to place players in their respective school year allowing them to progress through the grades with a similar core group of players.
Kiwi Sticks train in their teams on either a Monday or Thursday. Upon registration you will be asked for your preferred training day which is largely dependent on coach availability. You will also be asked your preference for what day you wish to play which the teams are made up on. We do try our best to accommodate kids with their friends where possible however we believe some of the best friendships can be made through sport too so it’s great to be surrounded by a diverse group.
Kiwi Sticks begins on the 10th / 11th of May ends on 23rd/24th August. Non playing dates include 1 June (Kings birthday), 13th July (middle week school holidays) and 20th July (last week school holidays)
TEAMS
Click Here to see our 2024 Kiwi Sticks Teams
UNIFORMS
A playing shirt is provided by the club for the season. Your own red skirt or shorts and red socks will need to purchased.
There is a global shortage of red skirts currently so they may be hard to locate. Our Dynasty Club Shop has junior red shorts and socks available to be purchased. Just Hockey also has red socks and may have shorts too.
Our club shop will be open in a window before the start of the season. We will communicate when we know what date that is.
COACHING & MANAGING
Harewood is a volunteer club and we rely on our club members including parents to step in and support our teams. We understand it may be daunting stepping up to coach a team if you have no previous hockey knowledge however we are here to support you in doing so. This is a large reason why we have set training days for each grade so someone from the club can be there to support everyone through their journey. We have a large number of senior club members who volunteer their time to coach but as we are a large club we cannot cover all teams.
All coaches will be police vetted this year and required to complete the Hockey New Zealand Coaching Ticket which is a quick online course on the basics of coaching. We have a number of coaching resources available for you and can direct to plenty more too.
A large part of coaching is having some fun and establishing a positive culture amongst your team. It’s a great idea to team up with a friend or another parent to share the load. If you want to chat more about coaching please do not hesitate to reach out to us at harewoodhelp@gmail.com.
Another great way to help out is by managing a team which involves communicating to all parents/guardians training and game details, managing substitutions and keeping in touch with junior coordinators. If you are able to contribute in anyway please indicate this upon registration and we can discuss your options.
MORE QUESTIONS?
Please read through our Junior Programme Document to assist in answering any questions you may have.