A new member's story
About us 6 of 13

6. A new member's story


We asked new member Aaron Taylor to tell us his thoughts about his first year at Worcester HC; and this is what he said: (He's the one in the red in the picture above by the way, not the Stourport chap!)

"After just finishing my first season with Worcester Hockey Club thought it would be good to document how things fell into place and my observations of the club over the past year.

After a year out from sports to focus on work I found myself missing hockey so messaged the club's Facebook page and was contacted shortly after by Matt Hooper who invited me to a Thursday training session at the university.

Finding the pitch was easy and was immediately greeted by several players and started chatting which was nice as I felt welcome straight away. Matt showed up and introduced himself and gave me a quick bit of info about the upcoming season and went on to do a good session.

Following training I was told a captain would be in contact shortly after and sure enough Tom from the fifth team dropped me a text inviting me to a game that weekend, so things moved very quickly!

Turning up at Nunnery Wood you could sense there was a good club atmosphere with another game taking place and people watching/cheering them on. After some time I saw some people I assumed were on my team so introduced myself and immediately could tell we would get along as were making jokes and chatting.

The game went well with a good standard of hockey and settled into the team. Afterwards we went for teas at a local pub literally opposite the pitch, which I know can sometimes be a red flag, but you lose none of the clubhouse community feeling. From teams having a few beers and messing about, to the group of vets standing the bar and talking about old times; everyone was very welcoming and I left the pub that day feeling like part of the team and knowing I could feel comfortable at this club.

Over the last year have taken part in two social events a German oompah night and a fun horse racing night. Both were very successful and had big turnouts which made it all the better as I met a few more people associated with the club.

Overall the last season has been very successful and I’m glad I decided to randomly message on Facebook last year! I have met a good group of mates that have stayed in contact even post season and during quarantine, doing zoom calls; also being involved in a club with good things on the horizon like the Worcester International Hockey Centre can only be a good thing. I would recommend the club to anyone just starting out or a veteran player looking to join a competitive club with good prospects on the horizon."