An eventful and uncertain year for East London Hockey has come to an end and with that naturally comes the fact some players will be leaving due to graduating.
This year, mirroring the end of last season, sees both the men’s and women’s captains leaving the club.
Departing Captains
Alice Kindell and Josh Walsh-Oakes took over the reigns as captain of the men’s and women’s team for East London Hockey at the start of this season. They replaced Laura Pakenham and Isaac Charles who graduated from UEL last summer.
Despite only being in charge of their respective teams for a year they have managed to keep the club afloat during tough times. With a lot of team members graduating last summer they were tasked with the challenge of almost rebuilding both teams to make sure they could compete this year.
Both captains are leaving the team with a sense of accomplishment and pride with the strides their squads have taken in a short amount of time.
Kindell, who has been a part of the women’s team at UEL for her three years at the university, is pleased to see the players she is leaving behind have built upon their skills under her time as captain.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being captain of the women’s hockey team this year. It’s been such a privilege to see our beginners develop into talented, skillful hockey players. I’ve made the most amazing friends through hockey at UEL and I’ll miss every single one of them.” she said.
Walsh-Oakes admitted that he was apprehensive to take over the role due to troubles at the start of the season, with the men’s team struggling to secure a full squad to regularly train and compete.
“When I first became captain of UEL Hockey I was quite nervous and unsure if I wanted the role, I wasn’t very experienced at Hockey and had never had a leadership role before.”
“[we] Eventually managed to get a team together and we all very quickly became better at playing hockey and bonded really well as a group which made me feel a lot more comfortable and confident being captain.”
Being the men’s captain this season has helped Walsh-Oakes both on and off the pitch.
He added “I’ve really enjoyed being captain of the club and I believe it’s helped me as a person to become more confident. I am really sad to leave UEL Hockey this year, I feel that I have really come on and become a much better player and just being around the club and playing Hockey has helped me a lot mentally and physically, but I am extremely happy with the memories and time I have of being captain, and I can’t wait to see what UEL Hockey does next year.”
Looking Forward to Next Season
With the ongoing coronavirus outbreak causing the current season to be cut short, both squads will be eager to get back into training.
However, when BUCS fixtures return next season East London Hockey will be led by current second year students Ellen Cable and Niam Squires.
Both players joined the club this year and have both been key players on and off the pitch, this was recognised by the other players in the club leading to both of them being voted as the new captains.
Cable, one of the crucial players in the East London women’s defence is excited about her new role and already has her aims for the club in mind.
“I am thoroughly excited to be next year’s women’s hockey captain, and my aim is to get two women’s teams, maintain dedication, and ensure everyone has fun.” she said.
Equally the new men’s captain Squires shares the optimism of Cable, and is looking to achieve big things with the club next season after reflecting on a tough season.
“Becoming the UEL hockey captain was a great achievement for myself, I am looking forward to leading the team in the right direction that we so well deserve to go.”
“Coming out of a very tough year will be hard to develop the motivation within the team but with the right mindset and approach I believe this is possible. It is hard to take part in a sport that lacks the support and quantity to fill a team however this year is my year and we will achieve great things.” he added.
East London Hockey hope to be back in training in September to prepare for another BUCS season.
