Pitchley insists Bracknell are in it, to win it

BRACKNELL, UK – New Bracknell Hornets Coach Ben Pitchley has a tough task on his hands as he aims to build on last years Play-off glory.

 
The Berkshire outfit have been a victim of their own success, with last season’s coach Gareth Cox landing a job with the English Premier League side Bracknell Bees and then taking a whole swathe of players with him. Not only have some players (including prolific scorers Alex Barker and Ben Duggan) stepped up a league to follow their mentor, but other players have left to play for other ENL sides. Captain Dominic Hopkins and livewire Brad Watchorn have joined Jeremy Cornish’s Wightlink revolution and Canadian defence man Blair Dubyk has moved closer to home with a rather surprising move to ENL 2 side Lee Valley Lions.
 
To most clubs this kind of exodus would mean a relegation battle, but Bracknell’s successful junior development system means that the club will always have bodies ready to step up onto the conveyor belt to replace those departed. Former Romford Raiders’ defence man Pitchley has moved to bring in some old familiar faces to mix with the next batch of talent. Luke Reynolds and Dan Hughes have been snapped up from Wightlink and Danny House drops down from the Bees so will be eager for the regular ice. The team lately received a massive boost when star goalie David Wride signed up for another season and Pitchley believes that his side are not there to simply tread water:
 
“My aims next year are the same as they are every year I’ve coached hockey and that is to win the league” he states confidently. “I’m not a ‘make the numbers up’ sort of coach. I’m pretty fortunate to have some very good hockey players coming through the junior ranks at Bracknell, so I’m going to be looking at getting some senior hockey out of them as well, over the course of the season”
 
“The Hornets won the Play offs last year” he adds. “We would like to defend that title come the end of the season”
 
Pitchley does not begrudge any of the guys who have stepped up to the Bees their chance in the EPL. He clearly believes that the ENL represents a valuable stepping stone between junior hockey and the EPL, and insists that the Hornets will manage without shifting players between the two leagues:
 
“Gareth (Cox) and the Bees have something like a 56 league game season, throw cup games & playoffs into the pot & they could be playing nearly 70 games” says Pitchley. “If they have injuries, I’m expecting some of our younger players to be drafted in to help out,
 
“The players that Gareth has brought up to the Bees from last years Hornets deserve the chance to play EPL hockey, plus a majority of them are local players from the Bracknell area, so it is a win-win for them and the club”
 
A number of teams across the league have brought in fresh faces as teams look to add youth and speed to their line-ups. Even last years league champions Invicta Dynamos have seemingly changed tact in their player recruitment this summer, opting to join the ethos of the likes of Bracknell and Chelmsford, who both iced young, quick and agile sides last season. Pitchley maintains that with the improvement in standard, the ENL is now better positioned to fulfil its mantra as an aid to development:
 
“Too many young players try to run before they can walk, in senior hockey” he insists. “There is no point, in my eyes, with being an outstanding junior player, playing in all situations right up to the end of your junior playing career and then sitting on the bench of a senior team the following season,
“Look at some of the younger players the other teams in this league have signed, Frankie Harvey at Romford, Liam Chong and Grant Bignell at Invicta, Aaron Connelly and James Ayling at Chelmsford, Josh Oliver and Mike Whillock at Oxford,
 
“These are all under 19’s that can play the game, but they need to still be developed into senior hockey players. This league is a stepping stone for younger players to get noticed and then sign for EPL maybe even Elite League teams”
 
Back in Bracknell Pitchley is spending the next few weeks planning the Hornets campaign alongside a new venture which he hopes will help get young players ready for the new season. The aptly named ‘Black and Gold Conditioning Camp’ is Pitchley’s brainchild and something he hopes will be successful:
 
“Basically, we will be putting the players through a six day training programme, to get them ready for the start of the season” he states. “This includes 20 hours on ice, 10 hours off ice minimum, and class room work throughout the week. Plus on top of that we have some pretty good guest coaches and speakers, like Mark Beggs, the new GB under 18’s Coach, Kate Cady, Swindon Town & EIHA physio and the MD of CNP Professional (sports nutrition company)”
 
“Originally it was going to be a fully residential camp, but what with the current economic climate, we where being asked if it could be changed, so we did. This has been reflected in the price change of £325 for the week. There is no other camp in the UK that will get serious junior hockey players ready for next season more than this one”
 
Despite now firmly in black and gold, Pitchley spent the majority of his playing career in the blue and gold of Romford. With the Raiders dropping down from the EPL, the former stalwart says it will be odd to face his old side:
 
“There is no doubt that it’s going to be strange when the time comes to go there (to Rom Valley Way), stepping into the away dressing room will be a funny experience”
 
Bracknell face Oxford City Stars at the Hive on 5 September. The Hornets line up so far is as follows:
 
David Wride (N/M), Dan Hughes, Danny House, Luke Reynolds, Grant Rounding, Alan Lack, Tony Barclay, Greg Martyn, Adam Hyman, Michael Plenty, Graham Bellamy, Tom Carroll, Matt Ovenden.
     
Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com