Latest / The PCR Sports Show / The PCR Sports Show - Friday 15th May 2026 - With Hope Elkins, Amelia Shepherd, and Laura Pakenham from the City of Peterborough Hockey Club

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The PCR Sports Show - Friday 15th May 2026 - With Hope Elkins, Amelia Shepherd, and Laura Pakenham from the City of Peterborough Hockey Club · The PCR Sports Show

0:16
Welcome to PCR Sports. Good evening I'm Dipam and
0:20
welcome to the PCR Sport Show with myself and Nilesh this
0:24
evening with the start of your sporting weekend and get you
0:27
into the mood sporting wise as we go into Saturday and Sunday
0:32
and today is no different to normal.
0:34
We've got a fantastic show lined up.
0:35
We've got some three amazing guests from the City of
0:38
Peterborough Women's Hockey Club.
0:40
We're in the presence of Hope Elkins, Amelia Shepherd and
0:44
Laura Pakenham, who are part of the promoted women's first team,
0:49
have come back into the top division.
0:50
It's a great story to to hear and they'll be telling us all
0:53
about how they've turned things around at the club and the team
0:56
to get them back onto the road of success.
0:59
So that's really worth waiting for this evening.
1:01
But as first and always, let's catch up on this week's
1:04
headlines with Nilesh. Thank you very much and yeah,
1:06
we'll start with some cricket. And Peterborough Town couldn't
1:08
carry their outstanding T20 form into the first round of the ECB
1:13
club knockout competition. Town extended their perfect
1:16
record in the Northants T20 Championship to four matches
1:20
with wins at Old Northamptonians and neighbors Ound Town.
1:24
But they suffered a rare first round exit in the 40 over
1:27
national competition when Middlesex League side Hornsey
1:31
proved 28 runs too good at Bretton Gate despite a brilliant
1:35
sentry from Josh Smith. Town have virtually booked their
1:39
spot at Finals Day on May the 24th and Andal can still join
1:43
them with positive results in their final two games on
1:46
Saturday at Geddington and at home to Old Ends in a 1:00 PM
1:51
start when a highly regarded South African bowling import is
1:55
expected to make his club debut. Town have two home games to
1:59
finish their T20 qualification against reigning champions
2:02
Rushed to and Haim and Premier Division Top dogs Finden in
2:08
karate and the city's Hike Haito Karate Club hosted its largest
2:13
ever novice tournament at its Dojo in Woodston.
2:17
The event, held earlier this month, saw a record-breaking 64
2:21
competitors from 10 different clubs across the country
2:24
converge on their Dojo in Woodston.
2:27
For the home club Haito Karate, the day was a resounding
2:31
success, with local fighters secure during a massive haul of
2:34
medals and special awards. Since its inception just two
2:38
years ago with fewer than 30 participants, the tournament has
2:42
more than doubled in size, marking a major milestone for
2:45
the Peterborough martial arts community.
2:49
Comment from the club stated that we started this journey
2:52
with a handful of local clubs and today we've welcomed
2:55
fighters from as far as Birmingham, Canterbury and
2:58
Chelmsford. The energy and respect shown by
3:01
every fighter from our under eights to our under sixteens
3:04
embodies everything karate stands for and in flag football,
3:09
Queen Catherine Academy finished an excellent second in the East
3:12
of England Flag Football championships.
3:15
Flag football is a variant of American football where instead
3:18
of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must
3:21
remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier to end a down
3:26
the city. Students from Years 9 and 10
3:28
took on more experienced teams and beat most of them at
3:31
Cambridge Rugby Club. Jet Skiing and Etienne Baron, a
3:36
13 year old water skier, has been selected to compete for
3:39
Great Britain at the European and African Championships in
3:43
Greece later this summer. The teenager, from Warrington,
3:46
has been trained and developed at Tallington Water Ski and
3:49
Wakeboard Centre under the guidance of former GB squad
3:53
member Danny Jays. The Ken Stinson Academy student
3:57
only took up the sport in June 2023.
4:00
Within a few weeks he entered his first competition shortly
4:03
after turning 10 and managed to complete the half course.
4:06
Despite being completely new to the sport, Talenton continues to
4:10
push hard to introduce more young people into water skiing
4:13
through upcoming development days and grassroots coaching
4:16
initiatives. The lake also benefits from the
4:19
support of current Team GB captain Glenn Campbell, who
4:23
regularly helps encourage and mentor the younger skiers coming
4:27
through the ranks. The European and African
4:29
Championships take place in August in ice hockey and
4:34
Peterborough Phantoms have retained a pair of emerging
4:37
stars for the 26th 27 season. Netminder Will Bray and forward
4:42
Barney Surrey has have committed to another season at Planet Ice
4:47
after strong campaigns last season.
4:49
Bray, 22, joined Phantoms in February and made his debut in
4:53
the final 5 minutes of Phantoms 8 three win over Bristol
4:57
Pitbulls 20 days later. First choice netminder Hayden
5:01
Levine has now retired from ice hockey which could lead to more
5:06
opportunities for Bray. Surrey, 20 years old, is a
5:09
former Hungary Under 17 and Under 18 international who first
5:14
joined Phantoms ahead of the 2425 season and recently
5:18
surpassed 100 games for the club.
5:21
And we'll finish with a bit of rowing and an all day charity.
5:24
Rowathon is taking place in Peterborough this weekend and
5:28
the local community is invited to take part.
5:30
Peterborough City Rowing Club will host the event tomorrow,
5:33
that's May the 16th, at its clubhouse in Thorpe Meadows and
5:37
is inviting the local community to help breakdown barriers to
5:40
the sport. A 12 hour long event, we'll see
5:43
rowers of all ages and abilities takes the water and indoor
5:48
rowing machines to raise money for the club which works to make
5:51
rowing inclusive and accessible for everyone.
5:55
And those are your sporting headlines this week, DIPAM.
5:58
Thank you, there's sure lots going on in the city as always.
6:00
Yeah, summer's the best time really, I'd say.
6:03
Plenty of sport isn't there, you know, Flag football, for
6:06
example. We know crickets in full flow
6:07
now and great to highlight jet skiing and rowing as well as I.
6:11
Say jet skiing is not one that we've featured before and great
6:14
to see some success there from a local person.
6:16
Yeah, definitely. Ettie and Baron, 13 years old.
6:19
It's been selected to compete for GB this summer in the in the
6:22
championship. So yeah, credit to him after
6:24
only taking the sport up at the age of 10.
6:27
So yeah, hopefully big a big future lies ahead of him as
6:31
well. And.
6:32
Presuming is he competing at youth level or actually at adult
6:34
level? No, it's at youth level, which
6:36
is great for him. You know, an opportunity to be,
6:39
you know, to be trained by the Team GB captain and former GB
6:43
squad members is, you know, really good mentors to have.
6:46
And hopefully, his career blossoms.
6:49
Yeah, absolutely fantastic and a couple of minutes to break, but
6:53
we're not really touched on it in much detail.
6:55
I'm sure we will in future shows, but Posh, you're a
6:57
massive fan. If you had to summarise the
7:01
season in a couple of minutes, what what's your kind of
7:04
thoughts on things? Do I have to go that long?
7:05
I could. Spend a minute, a minute and a
7:08
half, maybe I can. Have I could probably sum it up
7:10
in a few words. Disappointing, poor, flattered
7:14
to deceive at times. And yeah, the season really did
7:17
fizzle out in the last three months.
7:19
What was it, 1 winning 1314 games?
7:23
That was a really poor ending to the season and ended up having
7:26
to get that point that we need for safety in the last week of
7:30
the season, which certainly wasn't in the script when we
7:32
were preparing for the season back in August.
7:34
So Luke Williams got a bit of work to do certainly with
7:38
recruiting players and trying to shift a few out as well to
7:42
ensure that squad is the one that he wants to now shape come
7:46
come pre season when the players report back in mid June.
7:49
Yeah, I mean, generally there was a good bounce when he first
7:51
took over and appreciate he's not had a full season and this
7:54
is his kind of first summer. But Luke seems to be, you know,
7:57
a good manager doing generally doing things in the right way.
8:00
And like you say, once he's got a squad that's more in his
8:02
mould, he'll hopefully get more success.
8:05
Yeah, fingers crossed. You know, you've got to give him
8:07
that opportunity to, you know, bring his own players in and
8:10
during this summer, summer transfer window, it's going to
8:12
be tough in terms of recruitment and also getting, you know, the
8:16
players that he doesn't want out the door.
8:17
So, you know, fixtures released what June 25th players report
8:21
back. I think a week or two before
8:23
that they go out to Spain middle of July and the season starts,
8:27
what, middle of August, 8th of 8th of August I think the League
8:30
Cup fixture is, and then the league season starts a week
8:32
later than that. So yeah, he's got work to do,
8:35
and no doubt he's plowing away on that as we speak.
8:37
And good news for one of the posh squad in the New Zealand
8:40
World Cup squad. Yeah, Matty Garber, you know,
8:42
that's brilliant from from his perspective, come in, you know,
8:45
from a posh perspective, what started last season and yeah,
8:49
he's managed to get himself fit again.
8:51
He was one of the injury victims during the back end of the
8:55
season and he's got himself fit and now he's in the squad and I
8:58
think that will pique a little bit more interest in the World
9:00
Cup, shall we say. Yeah, absolutely.
9:02
Fantastic. Great stuff.
9:03
Thanks, Nilesh. You're right.
9:04
Let's take a short break before we turn our attentions to
9:07
hockey. We'll be speaking to Hope
9:09
Elkins, Amelia Shepherd and Laura Pakenham from the women's
9:12
team at the City of Peterborough Hockey Club, talking about their
9:14
promotion back to the top division and other great things
9:17
that are happening at the club. Stay tuned.
9:19
It's PCRFM. You're listening to PCR.
9:22
Sports. Good evening and welcome to the
9:34
PCR Sport Show. Welcome back to the PC Sport
9:37
Show on Self, DIPAM and Nilesh this week.
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You can listen to us in many, many ways.
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But also away from that, you can listen to us on your smart
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So you can listen to us anywhere in the world and never miss a
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minute of this show or any other.
10:00
Right, back to this evening's matters.
10:03
Hockey is the subject. As I mentioned just before the
10:05
break, Hope Elkins, Amelia Shepherd and Laura Pakenham from
10:08
the City of Peterborough Women's Hockey club are with us.
10:12
Good evening ladies. How are you?
10:13
Hi. Yeah, good.
10:14
Thank you. Thank you for having us.
10:15
Pleasure. It's always good.
10:16
I hope you're AI think it's a third or fourth show, isn't it
10:19
with us? Yes.
10:20
Yeah, probably, Yeah, Yeah, fantastic.
10:22
Well, welcome back. And it's been AI suppose would
10:26
you could roller coaster a couple of seasons, would you say
10:28
for the women's first at least? And obviously we'll go deeper
10:32
into that. But in terms of the club in
10:34
general, just give us a bit of a scene setting on the club, how
10:37
it operates, how many teams there are, etcetera.
10:39
Yeah, so we are the City of Peterborough hockey club.
10:43
You'll find us over at Bretton Gate by the hospital.
10:47
We run men's, women's and junior teams, men's and women's playing
10:52
every Saturday from September till the end of March and then
10:56
the juniors have various fixtures but mainly on a mainly
11:00
on a Sunday. We also then have our mini
11:02
hockey on a Sunday, Sunday morning for 5 to 12 year olds
11:06
which is thriving as always and has really come on in the last
11:11
three or four years. So that's us.
11:13
If you want to get involved, check out the website socials,
11:17
drop us a message and someone will pick it up and get back to
11:21
you with with the information you need.
11:23
Fantastic. And then we'll be talking about
11:25
the New Six team later on as well.
11:26
But there's a great level of teams that you people get
11:29
involved at any level, can't they?
11:30
Whether they want to go for towards the elite level or just
11:32
do it as more of a hobby or something to do at the weekends
11:35
type thing, they, you know, there's something for everybody.
11:37
Basically, yes, absolutely, yeah.
11:40
The the men's first team play in the National League, so they're
11:42
in the sort of third tier of the National League and then all of
11:46
our other teams play in the East leagues, which are more local.
11:49
We, as we'll talk about, have just been promoted back to the
11:52
East Premier Division. So the top, top of the East and
11:55
then we've got teams all the way down and on both the men's and
11:58
women's side from the from the top to the to the bottom of the
12:02
East league. So yeah, anyone can can find
12:05
their level and and pick up a stick and join in.
12:07
And I think what's what's really good to say about the hockey
12:10
club, but generally all the clubs under the City of
12:13
Peterborough banner are that fantastic sport club, but hockey
12:16
in particular is this a great pathways and you talked about
12:19
the youth there, the mini hockey and, and and that's that happens
12:22
on a Sunday, but there's a great pathway for people to develop,
12:25
you know, from a young age going towards adulthood and then, you
12:28
know, develop to the level that they want to.
12:30
Yeah, absolutely. We we've had a couple of under
12:34
eighteens, 3 under eighteens in the women's one squad in and out
12:37
this season. 2 of which have come from mini hockey in essence
12:42
and are children of hockey players, which is great to see
12:46
when when they all start playing.
12:49
And then the men's have also had three.
12:51
I think they're all under sixteens make their National
12:53
League debuts this year which which yeah, has been brilliant
12:57
for for the boys side as well. Fantastic and then touch on your
13:00
personal journey in the sport. So what's got you to where you
13:02
are now in in the sport of hockey?
13:05
A long slog I. Can imagine.
13:08
Yeah, some. Some juniors hit hit the first
13:11
teams at 16 and some people hit them at 26.
13:15
A bit later. So got into it at school and
13:20
through through teachers that were also members of the club
13:22
played, played in the lower teams, went my way up and then
13:26
went off to uni. Great social life there, came
13:29
back and. And yeah, kept that.
13:31
And yeah, you, you make brilliant lifelong friends from
13:35
hockey as well as the fitness and active aspect.
13:39
And yeah, and at the moment we've got a fantastic women's
13:43
first team squad. And yeah, looking forward to to
13:47
play next season. Brilliant, right?
13:48
That's a nice segue to speak to Media.
13:50
Media. Welcome to the show.
13:52
Hello, thank you for having us. Pleasure, pleasure.
13:55
You're the the captain of the women's first team that's just
13:57
been promoted. Tell us a little bit about your
14:00
journey in the sport actually, before we start talking about
14:02
the team. So a very similar journey to
14:04
Hope actually, actually went to a different secondary school to
14:07
her, but actually probably met Hope, probably about the age of
14:10
14 at the City of Peterborough Hockey Club and have played
14:13
together for many, many years. Went off to uni, played a bit
14:16
more, came back, carried on playing, joining the club,
14:21
working the way up through the teams.
14:22
Really played back as a junior in the 4th, the thirds, the
14:25
seconds and now captaining the first team which is very
14:29
exciting. Fantastic.
14:30
And then just give us a bit of a summary of the seasons just gone
14:33
because, you know, to bounce back from the relegation season
14:35
4 to then to really take stock of things and then get promoted
14:39
first effort back. That's that's an amazing
14:41
achievement. Yeah, I think as a unit, as a
14:44
squad, we have absolutely thrived this season.
14:47
We've welcomed 5 or 6 new players who brand new to the
14:50
club, first time at City of Peterborough, have been on their
14:53
own pathways, joined us this year, come straight into the
14:56
first team and really sort of helped.
14:58
The exact ethos of what we wanted, the dedication, the
15:03
commitment. We've had a really close knit
15:04
squad across the season of only 19 players and it's all worked
15:09
in our favorite really and we from the start of the season sat
15:13
at the top and did exactly what we set out to do and going
15:17
straight back into the east pram.
15:19
Brilliant. And from a captain's perspective
15:21
and your personal perspective, how easy or difficult was it to
15:24
kind of motive remotivate the team, have that bounce back and
15:28
and keep those spirits up? I think during the pre season
15:31
phase it was a bit apprehensive. We had two new coaches come in,
15:36
Paul Hillsdon and Ed Walker. They had sort of quite clear
15:41
aims and visions what they wanted.
15:43
It was a bit of a up and down pre season seeing what was going
15:46
to happen. We had a range of players to
15:48
see. We then kept having each week
15:51
another new player join, another new player join and then quite
15:53
early in the season we thought right, this is the season this
15:56
we will be going straight back up.
15:59
We can do this from the get go and so we did it.
16:02
Fantastic. Great stuff.
16:04
Laura, if I could bring you in here, Vice Captain, welcome.
16:07
Thank you for having us. How's, how was the season just
16:11
gone for you then? I mean, obviously it's it's
16:14
tremendous in the position you are now.
16:15
But obviously there would have been challenging times as as the
16:17
media just said, but you've come through that.
16:20
So you know, you're one of the leaders in the team.
16:22
Clearly you're the vice captain. So from your perspective, how
16:25
how did last season kind of unfold?
16:27
Well, I, I think the others have already mentioned it's, it's
16:30
been brilliant. We've I think thoroughly enjoyed
16:33
it as well. We've had a really close knit
16:36
team, which I think has made the atmosphere on and off the pitch
16:41
amazing. Obviously the winds help,
16:44
absolutely, which obviously we didn't have many of last season.
16:48
But yeah, I think, I think we really just grew as a team with
16:52
each game, with each training session and overall that just
16:56
made the whole season, well, successful, but as as much as
17:00
enjoyable as well. Brilliant.
17:01
And was there a point in the season like a pivotal moment
17:04
where you all thought as a group, yes, this is going to
17:06
happen now we're going to go back up?
17:07
Was there a moment that kind of clicked or was it something?
17:10
Was it the kind of the old adage in sport, take every game as it
17:12
comes type of thing? I think people would say
17:15
different things. I think our aim was absolutely
17:18
to go straight back up. I absolutely felt that we could
17:22
achieve that and I think the first couple of games as we
17:26
start to get our wins in and and get confident, I think I think
17:30
we all knew deep down that that was absolutely achievable and
17:33
probably made us want it even more.
17:35
And we fortunately had lots of games where we scored multiple
17:39
goals as well. So that helps with the
17:42
confidence boosting and I think probably definitely at Christmas
17:47
we knew that we could do it. Yeah, brilliant.
17:49
Good stuff. And from a personal perspective
17:52
in the sport, what's what's been your journey to where you are
17:54
now? Different to these golden oldies
17:57
sat next. To me.
17:59
Oh. Banter was banter was started.
18:03
I joined City of Peterborough about five years ago now.
18:09
I played a little bit towards the end of school, joined
18:14
another local club in Aldol before going to uni, played at
18:17
uni, loved it. Like Hope said, the social
18:20
aspect as well is playing is is great.
18:24
And then a couple of years back from back from uni, I came over
18:29
to the club and loved it and met these guys pretty early on.
18:34
And yeah, formed really good friendships.
18:36
And yeah, loved the friendliness, the
18:39
competitiveness, but also, yeah, just the club as a whole really.
18:44
Brilliant, good stuff, great story.
18:46
So each of you got three different sort of stories and
18:49
it's good because it gives an example that people can come in
18:52
from different into the sport in different ways and, and, and
18:55
make a success of it, which is great.
18:57
Emilia, if I come back to you for a moment, in terms of the
19:01
the team itself, let's say drop down to division, the division
19:05
last year came back up this year.
19:06
You know, having that to kind of get beyond that relegation
19:09
moment. Once that's happened and you
19:11
kind of gathered your emotions and your thoughts, but there's a
19:14
chance to kind of do a little bit of reset, isn't it?
19:16
And then you think, OK, let's take stock of where we are.
19:18
What foundation do we need to build or rebuild or improve?
19:21
And quite often, sometimes it's a blessing in disguise.
19:24
You can almost have that bounce back and then back into the the
19:26
top division and that kind of carries you in, up there in, in,
19:29
in some sort of sort of momentum, doesn't it?
19:32
Yeah, so I think as a as the previous season ended, we have
19:37
obviously had changes in coaching from the get go.
19:41
We really looked at a fitness plan because we'd decided first
19:44
of all the the best way to be any opponent is to be fitter
19:48
than them. It's a 70 minute game, so if we
19:51
could beat the stamina of any other team that was going to do
19:54
us a favour. So we got that going really
19:56
early, I think. We were lucky weren't with the
20:00
attitudes of everyone from the off where we want to get
20:03
promoted and like you said, the five girls that came in had
20:06
never played for Peterborough before but absolutely had that
20:09
same attitude of we want to win every game.
20:11
And as that momentum built, it was quite clear that we could do
20:16
it. And then each game once we got
20:17
two or three goals passed and more kept coming and we had six
20:21
nil, 7 Nils, 8 Nils, we had a 10 nil win, which really sort of
20:24
just boosted the confidence of everyone across the team, The
20:28
commitment throughout the whole process, the mindset, everybody
20:32
just wanted to do it for each other as well.
20:35
Yeah. And once you have that
20:36
camaraderie and that togetherness, I think that that
20:39
almost is an extra person on the pitch, so to speak, isn't it, in
20:42
terms of the way you play? I think as well we, although we
20:45
obviously got relegated that season, we, we seem to fit still
20:49
quite comfortably within that league.
20:51
We beat I think Bury St. Edmund, Bury St.
20:55
Edmunds in the last game of the season and came away thinking
20:58
actually we're, we're not fast at different standard from these
21:02
other teams. So to get back into to regional
21:05
Prem is absolutely achievable. And I think as soon as we
21:08
overcame that relegation disappointment, we were kind of
21:13
straight back on focus to going straight back up and and being
21:17
back to where we belong really. Fantastic.
21:19
Yeah, great stuff, right. Let's take a short break.
21:21
We'll continue talking about the promotion and then the new 16
21:25
that's being introduced as well this year.
21:27
So that would be something to look forward to, right.
21:29
So we'll be back in a few minutes.
21:42
You're listening to PCR sports. Welcome back to the PCR Sports
21:52
Show myself, Dipam and Nilesh shirt this week when the
21:55
accompaniment of three of the players from the women's team at
21:59
the City of Peterborough Hockey Club, Hope Elkins, Amelia
22:02
Shepherd and Laura Pakenham. Hope is the club sponsorship
22:06
secretary, Amelia is the first team captain and Laura the vice
22:10
captain. Have just been speaking before
22:11
the break about their promotion back to the top division after
22:15
relegation the previous season and just talk about how that's
22:18
been done and how that felt going through that journey.
22:22
I hope, I mean, looking ahead now to the the new new season,
22:26
say there's been changes in in in at the at the coaching level,
22:31
a change with new and also with new players coming into the
22:33
squad. How's that kind of put you in a
22:35
position in terms of tackling the the top division now when,
22:37
when now you're back in it. Well, I think there's probably
22:40
going to be a couple of changes next year as well as a few come
22:44
back from the maternity leave stints.
22:47
And yeah, it's very exciting because there will be a lot of
22:50
competition for that first team and it might change a bit week
22:54
on week, so Hillsdon's got a tough job ahead of him.
22:57
Really to pick the 16. He wants, but it's the numbers
23:01
that we've got a brilliant and you know, I think part of our
23:05
relegation story was that we didn't always have the
23:08
consistency in the squads throughout the 1st and the and
23:11
the second teams because we both got relegated that year.
23:13
But yeah, the Two's finished fourth in their league last
23:17
year, which is a really good solid end.
23:20
And I think the aim next year is to get them promoted as well and
23:24
obviously keep us, keep us in East Prem.
23:27
So yeah, it's it's exciting. I'm looking forward to it.
23:30
It'll be a challenge, but we absolutely know that we can play
23:34
at the level that we need to. We've just got to go and do it
23:36
now. Yeah, absolutely, Amelia.
23:38
So looking ahead again to the season ahead, hopes just touched
23:42
on there in terms of being more consistent.
23:44
The, the, the, the season you were relegated, it was down to
23:46
inconsistency, changing the squad.
23:48
What kind of lessons learned have you got from that season to
23:50
then take forward into next season and think, OK, what can
23:52
we do better and differently to to a stay in the division and
23:55
maybe even challenge at the at the right end of the division?
23:59
I think a lot of it is about consistency and consistency
24:01
early on. So with the pre season, the
24:03
fitness planning before we even get on the pitch, individual
24:07
team fitness before we even think about formation,
24:11
structure, players and making sure we've got just as Hope
24:14
said, sort of the breadth and the depth.
24:17
Making sure the women's twos are involved in that training as
24:19
well so that we've got a big wide pick of players from the
24:23
get go. And then all getting started as
24:26
a squad, getting everyone down as often as we can to train
24:29
together. Making sure those friendships,
24:32
relationships, team players are built together on the pitch and
24:36
off the pitch. Because I think this season it's
24:38
been really beneficial in the way we've played together,
24:41
supported each other as we go into the season.
24:44
And then again, just making sure we've got that player
24:46
availability throughout the season so that we can build on
24:49
week on week, exactly what we're aiming, so we can reflect on
24:53
games, moving into other games to make sure that we can sort of
24:57
take every success that we can. Yeah, brilliant.
25:00
Sounds really good. Laura, from your perspective,
25:04
just kind of building on what Hope and and Amelia have said
25:06
there in terms of going forward into the into the season, having
25:10
that bigger squad, maybe players coming back in as, as Hope said
25:13
from, from maternity leave and and just changes in, in certain,
25:16
in some ways that starts to give the coach more options
25:19
tactically and in terms of setting out the team for
25:22
individual matches or, or certainly options in in mid mid
25:25
match as well. So I mean that must be a big
25:27
kind of positive as well to to kind of approach next season and
25:30
think, OK, you know, we've got confidence that we're going to
25:33
we're going to hold our own in this division now.
25:35
Yeah, absolutely. I think like Hope said, we've
25:37
got players returning from maternity leave, we've got
25:41
potential players and and young players coming through that are
25:44
very talented. So having that breadth and, and
25:47
choice for, you know, for our coaches is brilliant.
25:51
And you know, there's certain teams that we might come across
25:55
and we might think actually we need a strong forward line or we
25:57
need a strong defensive line. So those choices probably for
26:01
the the coaches is is great and I think just generally moving
26:07
forwards, having the numbers and then having the depth to our our
26:10
women's second team squad as well will will help aid them
26:14
with promotion. So I think it's only a positive
26:17
and yes, maybe more competitive for first team spaces or, you
26:21
know, pitch time, but only that will make everyone better as
26:26
individuals and as a team. So it's it's great and.
26:29
That's what you need. A successful team has that,
26:30
don't, don't they? You know, you can't just have a
26:33
a fixed starting number of players that then you know,
26:36
because you get injuries, people unavailable, etcetera.
26:38
You need that options, you need that competitiveness so that
26:41
people are kind of competing are performing at the the highest
26:44
possible level they can definitely, which is the benefit
26:46
of everyone then, isn't it? So in terms of again, sort of
26:52
looking ahead to next season expansion, yeah, for the number
26:56
of teams as well. Hope that's good news, isn't?
26:59
It, yeah, absolutely. I mean it, it wasn't that long
27:01
ago that we were discussing the possibility of a fifth team.
27:05
You know, Peterborough's had four women's teams for a long
27:07
time and two out of fifth in it was probably now four years ago.
27:11
Do you think 4 I think about that.
27:14
So, yeah, there's a lot of work that's gone in behind the scenes
27:19
by the women's section to come up with a proposal to take it to
27:23
the committee and say, look, we've got this amount of players
27:26
that are interested next season and want to play.
27:28
And I think pretty much every team this year had 16 players,
27:32
which is great at the top level. But when you've not got a coach
27:36
on the sideline on a match day and you've got to rotate 16,
27:40
it's it's a lot. It's a huge responsibility.
27:43
And, and possibly people miss out on the on the pitch time
27:46
that really you, when you want to play in those leagues, you
27:49
just want to turn up and enjoy the game and, and get as much
27:53
pitch time as possible. So I think we knew that this was
27:56
the year that we had to do it if we were going to do it, We've
27:58
got to do it this year. And we've entered, we've, we've
28:02
paid the fees, we've, we've fundraised a bit of money on a
28:06
Wednesday night. So yeah, the, the sixth team is,
28:08
is a goer. So if anyone is listening and
28:10
thinks, oh, I played hockey at school and you know, you want
28:14
something to do, come down on a Wednesday night and yeah, pick
28:19
up a stick, get back into it. I can promise you a welcoming,
28:22
friendly club and a brilliant social aspect.
28:27
And like you say, Laura joined slightly later than me and
28:32
Amelia in in Pittsburgh. But is you wouldn't, you
28:35
wouldn't tell if you walked into the team now, you you absolutely
28:38
couldn't tell who's been there since day one and who came in
28:40
last season. Like it's it's brilliant.
28:43
And yeah, all the way down to the women's fives.
28:46
It's a really friendly and welcoming club.
28:48
So that's why I think we all still play.
28:52
Similarly with the development team as well, we can have 12
28:55
year olds playing and I think having such strong junior links
28:58
and through the mini hockey, the junior pathways that there are,
29:01
it's just opening up more and more opportunities for them to
29:04
get involved at all levels within the clubs.
29:08
Whether their first time playing adult hockey, trying it out in
29:11
lower leagues should then move hopefully through the teams sort
29:14
of as opportunities arise across the season or future seasons for
29:19
the juniors as well. So it's a it's a really big
29:21
important sort of move for the club, for all age groups really
29:25
to sort of give everyone the opportunity.
29:27
And how will the teams then kind of be structured in terms of
29:30
league positioning? I mean, is there rules that
29:32
saying that you can't have two teams for the same club in the
29:34
same division or anything? Like that or levels.
29:37
So what we will do is end to the 6th team as a development team
29:40
like Amelia just said. So you can have that younger age
29:45
bracket playing so that the 12 they can commit 12 rows.
29:48
Normal league hockey would be thirteen.
29:51
So the our fives and sixes will play in the same league.
29:54
And I think the idea will be that maybe not the first season
29:58
that we, you know, introduce the sixth team, but the idea will be
30:01
for the fifth team to eventually get promoted and then we'll have
30:04
a clean run of one team in each of the six leagues, which would
30:08
be nice. Hopefully.
30:10
Hopefully. And would you say that the
30:12
hockey, particularly women's hockey, is at the best place it
30:16
has been at that club as it is now in terms of its structure,
30:20
the breadth of teams available and how it's run and organised?
30:24
Yeah, it's, it's definitely. Come on leaps and bounds since
30:29
since we started and it's it's sad in in the sport because
30:34
we've got local teams that are folding.
30:37
But then at Peterborough we are going from strength to strength.
30:40
So there's obviously something that's attracting the players to
30:43
us. And there's a lot of clubs all
30:46
over the country that are in the decline because they haven't got
30:49
their own facilities and they haven't hired off schools.
30:52
And when that pitch then get to the end of its life, they're
30:55
replacing it with a 3G, which you can't play hockey on.
30:58
So hockey is at a really tough point where we need the help,
31:03
the facilities, the funding. But yeah, in terms of our
31:08
women's club, it's definitely in the strongest position it's been
31:11
in in quite a while. Which is good, isn't it?
31:13
Really good, Yeah. Brilliant.
31:15
Talk about the pitch then interest.
31:17
Just my own curiously. So what?
31:18
What are the restrictions or what are the kind of limitation
31:20
about playing on certain types of surfaces?
31:24
So obviously we play on like an all weather Astroturf.
31:29
I think it probably has to be a certain length like carpet type.
31:34
But there is a lot more funding in football and therefore I
31:37
think they get put down quite easily and money gets spent all
31:41
over the country. So, yeah, for hockey pitches
31:44
across England, it's it's a bit of a bugbear at the moment that
31:51
so that they're getting replaced, not like for like.
31:54
So I think there's quite a few hockey clubs that are struggling
31:56
at the moment to find a new home.
31:58
I think there's been a couple of pitches condemned in the East
32:02
League. So they've had to move to a
32:04
school or they've or find somewhere else and that's
32:06
affected them and their performance because you're then
32:09
not necessarily even training on the same pitch that you're
32:12
playing on for your home game. So then you've not ever got a
32:15
home advantage, so. Yeah, and similarly, not many
32:18
secondary schools in Peterborough have got a hockey
32:21
astroturf they seem to go to play on.
32:23
So that's why it's really important to try and get the
32:25
juniors down to our club to give them that exposure because they
32:28
don't necessarily get that at school.
32:30
Yeah, absolutely. I remember when I was at school
32:33
many years ago, we played on tarmac, the tennis courts and
32:36
the hockey. Hockey pitch was kind of doubled
32:37
up and yeah, it's the surface again, was as flat as it could
32:41
be, but obviously never ideal. So it's a shame really.
32:45
So, but you know, there are Ways and Means they say your club is
32:50
showing, it is growing and and expanding and and he's
32:53
attracting players, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, it's great.
32:56
We will have to hire a second pitch for for certain.
33:01
I think probably every Saturday. It depends how many, whether
33:04
we've got six teams at home or or seven.
33:07
I think it'll be alternate weeks, but yeah, luckily our
33:11
men's ones play on a Sunday. Otherwise we would be we
33:14
wouldn't wouldn't even be able to have the conversation.
33:16
I don't think about the 16 because there really would not
33:19
be space and and the costs that you then occur from from hiring
33:25
a second pitch then outweigh what you get in as a club.
33:28
So yeah, this is we're in the perfect position to do it and,
33:33
and I'm looking forward to to seeing it become fruitful.
33:35
We've got so many people in the club that have volunteered as
33:38
well and stepped my hand up and said I'll go and stand on the
33:40
sideline and, and coach for a game or, you know, I'll come
33:43
down and coach our umpire. And it it really, we have seen a
33:47
bit of a movement I think in the women's section where everyone
33:49
is getting behind this and and pushing for it.
33:52
That's pretty good, isn't it? And I mean, how many?
33:54
I mean, how many pitches are there actually at the club then
33:56
that are used every week for games?
33:58
So we've only got the one pitch at Peterborough and we have six
34:02
games a week, so starting at 10 AM and then every hour and a
34:07
half a new game, so playing up till 5:30, which you can imagine
34:12
in the in the depths of winter. Some of those.
34:14
Don't go ahead or some of the 10 AM games don't go ahead because
34:17
they're still frozen. Yeah, they say an all weather
34:21
pitch, don't they? Yeah, the winter is a bit
34:23
degrees, absolutely. Or weather with an Astras, Yeah.
34:27
Yeah, so, so we are at the limit, I think with our
34:30
facilities now. But yeah, it's great.
34:33
And we are very lucky to have what we have at Bretton Gate
34:36
with the, you know, the cricket and the tennis as well because
34:40
we have our own clubhouse. We can do our, we can stand in
34:43
the bar after. We don't have to go off site
34:45
anywhere. We've got the shower like very
34:47
nicely, newly refurbished showers and yeah, we are, we are
34:52
in a lucky position, definitely. Fantastic.
34:54
Sounds good, right? Time for another short break.
34:57
We're back to to conclude the show with the ladies from the
35:00
City of Peterborough Hockey Club.
35:02
Stay tuned, it's Peace FM. You're listening to PCR sports.
35:17
Welcome back to the PCR Sports show with myself, Dipam and
35:19
Nilesh this week. If you missed any of our show,
35:22
you can catch up after 7:00, go to pcrfm.co.uk and listen back
35:27
to what you've missed. It's been a fantastic show so
35:30
far. We're in the accompaniment of
35:33
Hope Elkins Media Shepherd and Laura Pakenham from the City of
35:37
Peterborough Hockey Club. They've just been promoted back
35:40
to the top division, the women's firsts and we've been speaking
35:43
about that journey from the disappointment of relegation the
35:48
the year the season before and then the triumphant return back
35:52
this season. So just talking before the break
35:55
there about the club itself, different types of surfaces and
36:00
and the the sort of the growth of hockey at the club Hope
36:05
coming. So just coming back to you from
36:07
your, your club sponsorship secretary.
36:09
Yeah. What does that role actually
36:11
involve? Cos that sounds quite, quite an
36:13
important role. Yeah, I guess it's becoming more
36:16
and more important actually. So there are lots of local
36:21
businesses around Peterborough that do support us as a women's
36:25
first team. We're very lucky to have Moore
36:27
Farm on board who have supported us for quite a few years now and
36:31
this year we got the lads on board.
36:34
So a shout, a shout out to them. So that's, that's stuff like
36:40
shirt sponsorship, which which in, in I think definitely the
36:46
women's sport, if you are comfortable in what you're
36:49
playing in and your shirt fits and you look the part and you
36:52
feel the part, it 100% contributes to the, the
36:55
confidence that you have on the pitch.
36:57
So we've had yeah, a nice shiny away kit from the lads this
37:00
year. Thank you Zishan, because
37:04
made-up with this thing, but thank you.
37:07
And yeah, it the club sponsorships, you know, banners
37:11
at the side of the pitch, match day sponsorship, player
37:16
sponsorship for the men's first team, women's first team.
37:18
We've done this year and we've been really successful actually
37:20
in getting some money in and that helps pay for new
37:24
equipment. So safety aspect for the face
37:27
masks that you wear in short corners, which are very
37:29
important. We've also had the video this
37:32
year. So this is a camera at the side
37:34
of the pitch which films our game.
37:35
So we've been able to do video analysis.
37:40
Yeah, most weeks and Hilton's been clipping it up and you get
37:43
your little tags and. And it's like, oh gosh, pretty.
37:45
Good. Lots of emails to come in on a
37:47
Sunday. Yeah.
37:49
So, yeah, no, it's that's been really helpful.
37:52
And you know, as a club you've got all your running costs.
37:55
So luxuries like a video, a pitch like camera are, are
38:00
something that you can only do with support of outside help.
38:02
And we ask a lot of our members paying their membership and
38:06
turning up to fundraising events.
38:08
And you know, we are very good as a club putting our hand in
38:12
our own pockets. But really we need the support
38:15
of local businesses to to help grassroots sport because there's
38:19
not much funding out there for hockey.
38:22
So we definitely need people to get involved.
38:25
So if anyone does want to sponsor any of the teams, wants
38:28
a banner up the side of the pitch which gets used seven days
38:31
a week all year round, well, nearly nearly all year round.
38:35
And it's a great footfall next to the hospital as well.
38:37
So even when we've when we hire out the conference room at the
38:41
club, you know, people are walking past the hockey pitch.
38:44
So it's not just sort of when the pictures in use that that
38:49
you get that visibility. So yeah, if anyone does, there
38:52
is on the website, which is City of heathrowhockeyclub.co.uk,
38:56
there's a sponsorship tab. You'll find my e-mail address on
38:59
there. Drop me an e-mail and we can
39:02
start from stuff as little as like 75 lbs all the way up to
39:08
big sponsorship packages. So yeah, if you are a local
39:12
business and you'd like a bit of visibility, then please drop me
39:15
an e-mail. Fantastic.
39:16
And it's a because from what I remember of the facility there,
39:20
when you walk into the club through the car park or path
39:23
after the car park, the hockey facility is the first sort of
39:26
facility that you see, isn't it? And it really kind of catches.
39:28
So it's a good, good kind of vantage point to have have your
39:31
branding there. Yeah, absolutely.
39:32
And, and like, even with all the other sports that are there,
39:36
you've got cricket on throughout the summer and like you say,
39:39
you've got to walk past the hockey pitch to get to the
39:41
cricket field. So yeah, it's good visibility
39:44
all year round. Excellent.
39:45
And what about any kind of volunteers or any kind of hands
39:48
on help or any kind, Do you kind of welcome that as well?
39:51
Yeah, we actually, so our our newly appointed chairman Dave,
39:57
who has been on the show before, he's actually in talks with
40:01
someone who's volunteered their time to be a club photographer
40:03
next year, which is brilliant because again, it it gets us in
40:07
the paper in the Peterborough Telegraph.
40:11
So yeah, it's, it's hard when you've not got a high quality
40:14
picture to get in there. And obviously, David no longer
40:17
is around popping down on Saturdays.
40:19
To come and take pictures. Yeah.
40:20
So that's something that they've approached us and we've said
40:24
absolutely like that'd be great. So there is lots of housekeeping
40:28
and kit management and this that and the other that people can
40:31
get involved with junior team management.
40:34
Yeah. So I'm sure if people are
40:37
willing to to come and volunteer, then we can
40:39
definitely find you a role. Fantastic.
40:41
And anyone who's interested in joining the club in whatever
40:44
capacity, where you say volunteers, where they want to
40:47
come along and play, try to sport out, how do they get in
40:49
touch with you? I would say the best thing is to
40:51
head to the website. If you fancy joining, then click
40:55
the big join us button and fill your details in.
40:58
There's no commitment upfront. You'll get the details about
41:01
what training sessions are the best for you, men's, women's,
41:04
juniors. And then you turn up and if you
41:07
like it, then then you'd become a member and that's when you'd
41:11
you'd pay your like affiliation fee.
41:12
So yeah, head to the website, head to the Instagram or
41:17
Facebook pages and somebody will pick up a message pretty
41:20
quickly. I think there's quite a few of
41:22
us on there ready and waiting to answer messages.
41:25
So fantastic. Yeah.
41:26
And we've got a lot of summer hockey going on that you can
41:29
come and get involved with. So yeah, all details will be on
41:32
on our Instagram. Excellent.
41:34
Amelia, what can people expect once they enroll and what's
41:38
their kind of onboarding what, what sort of thing can expect to
41:41
kind of get started up and running?
41:43
I think to start with just coming down and having a go,
41:46
whether that's actually on the pitch, just wanting to watch for
41:49
a bit. As Hope mentioned, lots of
41:51
charity events over the summer, plenty of opportunities to get
41:54
down at the club, meet people at this time of the year, a bit
41:58
more social hockey ready sort of pre season during the sort of
42:03
August months with the leagues starting ready in September.
42:06
And what sort of equipment do they need, if any, to start with
42:09
initially? Ideally come down with at least
42:12
a pair of trainers and some shin pads and a gum shield.
42:15
Sticks can be borrowed but even if you don't have those bits, if
42:19
you get in touch with someone on the website there's plenty of
42:21
people around that have been at the club for years that will
42:23
have spares lying around so can definitely help you.
42:25
So just yeah, a bit sports kit. Yeah, and that's it.
42:30
So very little to get started and have a go and have a look
42:32
at. It.
42:32
Yeah, definitely. Brilliant.
42:33
Laura, as you kept reminding us, you're the newest member of the
42:36
squad. One of the years member of the
42:37
squad. Yeah.
42:38
What was it? What was it like for you when
42:39
you first joined? What?
42:40
You know, forget the oldies next year for a moment.
42:43
Did they make you feel welcome? How?
42:44
How did you feel when you first? Got there.
42:46
Yeah, absolutely. I probably never looked back
42:49
after joining. And I, I say this on a regular
42:52
basis to particularly these two, but yeah, I, I loved it.
42:56
Everyone was very welcoming. I think just there's, yes, it's
43:01
competitive in terms of, I think everyone there, you know, wants
43:05
to give it a go and enjoy it as well as playing like what good
43:10
level, But that's obviously not for everyone.
43:12
That's kind of what I wanted to get into.
43:14
But people can just turn up and and go for it from a fitness
43:17
perspective. But I think it's just such a
43:20
social club. Come down, give it a go and have
43:24
a drink in the bar afterwards. You know, there's lots of people
43:27
to talk to, bring families, partners.
43:30
I mean, all of our partners play at the club as well.
43:33
So yeah, it's it's just a great vibe, really.
43:36
Fantastic. Good stuff.
43:39
Brilliant. Well, wishing you all the best
43:40
for the forthcoming season. Back to the top division where
43:43
you deserve, obviously. Thank you.
43:44
We'll be following your fortunes next year, no doubt.
43:47
And by all means, do keep in touch.
43:49
I think. Hope you and Dave are on later
43:50
on in the summer again with us, yeah.
43:52
Good as. Per Get a preseason update,
43:55
probably see how preparations are going.
43:57
So just one again, fine reminder before we leave, how do people
44:00
get in touch with you if they're interested in either playing,
44:03
sponsoring, or just coming along as a volunteer?
44:05
Yeah, first thing would be head to
44:07
cityofpeterboroughhockeyclub.co.uk. You'll find a tab with
44:12
information on for whichever of those reasons you're joining or
44:16
if you're on socials find us, you can search it to
44:19
Peterborough Hockey Club and we should, we should come up as the
44:21
first option and yeah, drop us a message and and the right person
44:24
will get back to you. Brilliant ladies, thank you very
44:27
much. Been an absolute pleasure.
44:28
Thank. You.
44:29
Thank you. Thank you.
44:30
And again, wishing you all the best from our perspective and
44:33
continued success as well. Hopefully we'll be bringing you
44:35
some good news. Absolutely.
44:37
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, Fantastic.
44:39
Nilesh. Thank you, Sir, very much.
44:40
Thank you very much. Great Expectations for the girls
44:43
now isn't there? Absolutely no pressure, but I'm
44:45
sure they'll rise to it. Exactly.
44:47
And next week's show, Posh Foundation.
44:49
Yeah, we've got Dean Watson on, he's the employment youth hub,
44:52
manager of the Peterborough United Foundation and we'll be
44:55
finding out all the great work that they've been doing to
44:58
encourage the school leavers into employment in the city.
45:02
Brilliant, look forward to that already.
45:04
So thank you, Nilesh, and thank you for joining us again as
45:07
always this evening. We can't do the show without
45:08
your support and a new listening, so have a great
45:12
weekend. Whatever you doing sporting
45:13
wise, have fun and we'll see you soon.
45:15
Bye for now.