By Tara Murray
A growing need for a hockey team in the Whittlesea area has seen the formation of the Whittlesea Hockey Club.
While hockey continues to grow in the northern suburbs, until now there hasn’t been a hockey club in the Whittlesea council area.
Club secretary Harinder Jit Singh said they wanted to make it easier for local people to play hockey.
“The club is dreaming big and is working with the Whittlesea council for development of Hockey in the region,” he said.
“You’ve currently got to travel to Greensborough or Hume to play. A lot of players also travel to Doncaster, as there has been no club here.
“Players don’t want to travel and there’s a lot of potential for a new club in a growth corridor.”
With the club forming in the middle of the current season, the club won’t have sides in Hockey Victoria competitions until next year.
Despite that there has been a lot of interest from players wanting to be involved, with many people already training with the club.
Singh said they wanted to have men’s, women’s and junior teams next season.
“We’ve got a lot of people at training,” he said.
“We’re getting a positive response. We’ve got some players who have played at an international level from India.
“They’re helping with training along with a few others.”
The club is currently training at RMIT in Bundoora.
Singh said they were working with the Whittlesea council to try and build a facility that the club could use in the council area. He said the council had mentioned in the Whittlesea recreation strategy 2012–2017 about setting up a facility, but it was yet to happen.
“Currently there isn’t a community pitch within the City of Whitttlesea.
“It’s a big project and it will not happen overnight,” he said.
The club trains on Sunday afternoons from 3.30pm. For more information, info@whittleseahockeyclub.com.au
