What can you do?

Welcome to a new season at Adel Hockey Club!

2026 represents the 80th anniversary of the club, which was formed initially as a mixed team shortly after the Second World War. From that moment, and through thousands of small moments, decisions and great efforts since then, the club has become what it is today – a great community where people are willing and proud to do more than just pay and play. More on our history can be found here.

At the 2026 AGM it was decided by the membership that we wanted to enshrine in our constitution that expectation of one another. To expect active participation, where each year every one of our members gives a small contribution of their time to support the wider club, its aims, and operations.

This change to the constitution was made as this club-wide altruism is already the norm. Almost one-half of our 520-person membership is already giving a little (or a lot) to the club on top of their membership fee. If you are yet to do so, make it your mission this season.

Orange v Black – Adel All Teams Squads made up of Women’s 1st XI to Men’s 6th XI – and everything in between. Part of Club Day 2026.

Changing Room Development Update

Last year I announced we had just received planning permission from Leeds City Council to build a 4-changing facility with associated club-room directly adjacent to the pitch. Over the last year we have been working hard on fundraising, and further design and planning work, and moved this forward in great steps. A huge thank you especially to Andrew Grindrod and John Holden with this! We hope to be moving forward very soon with some of the initial works.

To get this project over the line, between fundraising, further grants, and other sponsorship arrangements we need to raise roughly £300,000 of a total project fee of £900,000. Through the hard work and efforts to date we have already ring-fenced or had pledged £600,000, which means we have just 1/3 to go.

Thanks to the generosity of many of our members and supporters we have already raised nearly £23,000 (as of writing this) towards our initial £30,000 target (10% of the final amount). We’ve been blown away by the support offered in the 12 days or so since we opened up this fundraising campaign. If you are able, please do consider donating to the fund. Every small contribution makes a difference. Just 73 contributions make up the current total, but if this was extrapolated across the entire membership we would be well into six figures and closing in on the final total needed to get our much needed project completed. You can help make it happen.

Find out more information, see what you can get in return for your donation, and then donate by clicking here.

Volunteer Roles for 2026/27

We now have a remarkable team of coaches across our senior and junior section, with numbers growing year on year – a massive thank you to each and every one of you.

34 coaches are volunteering their time to help with our juniors. They look after teams competing at the very highest regional level at under 10 and under 12, and teams in national tier one competitions at under 14 level. They also help develop and coach players new to the sport and developing at other levels. Right the way through from under 8 to under 16 we have an active group of qualified coaches hoping to bring through the next generation of not just talent but lifelong hockey players.

Our standard volunteer committee roles are filled for the 2026-27 season, but there are ways in which we are looking to develop this and need further support. These include:

• Welfare Champions to support Chloe Cherry in her club wide Welfare Officer role.
• Fundraisers to join our team to help us achieve the money needed for our changing room development.
• Organisational roles within our junior section.

On top of these we’re always looking out for new and qualified umpires to join our pool. This is of particular importance this year as we have more teams than ever on a Saturday requiring umpires from our club, and without these people games do not go ahead. To register your interest in umpiring, or to let us know of the qualification you have already, get in touch with umpires@adelhockey.co.uk Courses are free, and club support is offered. Match payments are amongst the highest in the region.

Side-line help and support – just one way to give something extra to the club.

Re-branding work as we return to Adel Hockey

We currently have a subcommittee of volunteers looking at our clubs branding. Led by Andy Roberts, they are conducting pieces of work on developing online and in-person materials to better showcase what we do as a club and help provide a better match-day experience. We are currently developing proposals for an updated logo and suggestions ahead of the next kit cycle which starts in 2027.

This work is focusing on ensuring that we recognise the great history of the club, improve elements where we have historically struggled, and aims to improve the look of the club as a whole. Look out for further information on this in the coming weeks.

The Adel Pathway

Thanks to the amazing development of our junior section, particularly over the last 4 to 5 years, we now have a cohort of exceptionally strong juniors reaching the age where they can start to be considered to play senior hockey. This flow of talent will help aid the performance of our teams throughout the club.

However, we are conscious of the potential cultural consequences of this. Historically Adel has often been the place where people come to play hockey after attending university or moving to the area for work. Many then find partners in the area or at the club and have children of their own. It is a multi-generational club but has never what been one solely focused on junior development. Teams are made up of a balance of individuals from different generations. This is part of what makes Adel so great.

We understand that adults playing with a large number of juniors in their teams each week can present problems, frustrations, and take away some of the reasons as to why they chose to join and remain at Adel.

This is one reason why we have set up the Adel Pathway. It is run by a group of senior members, coaches, and captains to ensure that the overall ethos of the club is upheld, juniors are supported in the transition to senior hockey, and there are opportunities for talented players to augment our squads and improve overall performance.

What you should be clear about – not every junior will get the chance to play senior hockey at Adel. We simply do not have the space and want to ensure our balanced culture is upheld.

We will be focusing on identifying and promoting the most talented juniors aiming to progress them to the top end of the club quickly, supporting a “pipeline” of juniors capable of playing first-team hockey. In addition, we’ll be supporting juniors who themselves (or their families) already give extra to the club – recognising that players from across the ability spectrum enable a club to function and thrive.

This is the first year where a greater number of juniors are starting to come through the system and there will be some teething issues. We appreciate your patience and feedback during this time. Please do send an email to juniors@adelhockey.co.uk to learn more or provide this feedback.

A selection of juniors picked for West Yorkshire this year. Over 30 were picked in total.

Adel Club Day 2026

It was wonderful to see so many members, families and friends at the Adel Club Day at the end of August. The day started with many of our juniors playing matches with their family members, in mixed friendly matches – and taking part in other silly games.

This was followed by an eventful Adel “all-teams” derby – with each squad incorporating players from throughout the men’s and women’s teams, from the 1^st XI to the 6^th XI.

And finally, the “old boys/ girls” game – celebrating some of Adel’s present older players, and also players from Adel-gone-by; with a large contingent playing, and an even larger group on the side-line jeering them on! From quality hockey, and goals, to reunions and half-time whisky shots – the day ended with a wholesome sharing of memories and items from the past.

We hope to do more of this in the future and celebrate the long history of Adel Hockey Club.

Sam – Chair, Adel Hockey Club