WOMEN’S SECTION
Juniors Playing Senior Women’s Competition - Key Messages
One of the major aims of the MPHC senior Women’s section is to guide, support & develop junior hockey players so
they can compete at the highest level possible at senior level.
To achieve this outcome, when a Junior player is thinking of playing in the Senior competition, the following must
happen:


Junior players to discuss their aspirations with their parents/guardians
Junior players & their parents/guardians must then discuss with the players’ Junior Team Coach & Junior
CoOrdinator as to whether they feel they are ready, or what needs to be worked on prior to playing Senior
women’s hockey
Once a player (& their parent/guardian) has been given a recommendation by the Junior officials regarding
potentially playing Senior Women’s hockey, a meeting between all of the following should occur:o Junior Player & their parent/guardian
o Women’s Head Coach & Women’s CoOrdinator
 This will ensure that the player & their parent/guardian have been made aware of the physical
and mental demands and the potential risks that may occur when training for and playing
Senior grade hockey
 This meeting will occur on an individualised basis, as each player and their circumstances are
different
There are obviously no hard and fast rules and the appropriate time for a given player will depend upon a number of
factors such as skill level, physical and mental maturity, playing ambition and so forth. There is no question that Senior
hockey is played more aggressively and usually at a faster tempo compared with Junior hockey. This provides unique
challenges to the Junior player which they need to be aware of and overcome before the transition to Senior hockey is
complete.
It is unlikely, that any Junior player U14 or below will be physically and mentally mature enough to play Senior hockey
and therefore we would in most cases advise against such an action for the overall health & wellbeing of the player and
their longevity within the game. The Club has put together a guideline age of 14years+ for players entering Senior
competition (unless an exceptional circumstance is proposed & agreed upon at Committee level).
Clearly, the training and playing workload of Junior players needs to be closely monitored to avoid injury and burn out.
All sections of the Club are aware of this issue and modified training and playing arrangements can be negotiated with
Junior and Senior Club coaches if necessary. Communication is the key, as a Junior player will be required to give their
Junior team 100% commitment first & foremost.
If prior to a new season starting, or if you, as a Junior player, is not quite 14years (as of 1st January) or if you are unsure
if playing Senior Women’s hockey is right for you yet, the Club offers an opportunity to gain valuable experience playing
with experienced & skilful women within either of their two Falcons teams who play in the PWHA Monday night comp
(there is both a Summer & Winter comp) – this could be seen as a good opportunity to grow & develop in a supportive
environment as the age limit for PWHA is 13years+.
If you have any questions regarding Junior’s playing Senior’s please contact the Women’s CoOrdinator on
[email protected]
WOMEN’S SECTION
Juniors Playing Senior Women’s Competition - Procedure
For the purposes of this Procedure, a Junior player is defined as any player currently attending a Secondary Educational
institution (i.e. Year 12 or below); or aged 17 or less on December 31st in the preceding Competition Year.
As per MPHC player guidelines, no player under the age of 14 on January 1st in the competition year will be permitted
to play in senior competitions unless an exceptional circumstance has been made to the MPHC Executive Committee,
after the aforementioned procedure and has been granted. See MPHC Policies & Guidelines for information on
‘exceptional circumstances’.
Junior playing in a Senior team falls into three categories:-

1. Juniors playing on a less than regular basis (Fill In Player) with a senior side
- Junior Members (14years+) may be invited to play in a senior team as a fill in player by the
relevant team’s coach. (Provided that a regular full time senior member is not displaced).
2. Junior playing both Junior and Senior Competitions on a Full Time Basis
- Any junior that has been invited to play in senior grades as a full time development opportunity
who wishes to play in both competitions will be subject to the entitlements and expectations of
a regular full time senior team member
 In the rare occurrence of a competition clash, junior competition should take priority
 Senior Coach/Manager will discuss ramifications with Junior Coordinator if need arises
 Junior training takes priority, and Junior’s will be required to participate in minimum
one senior training session a week (VLSquad members are expected to attend two,
however, discussions can be held with VLSquad coaches & players/parents with regards
to workload and it will be at the coaches discretion as to leeway on this matter)
3. Junior playing Seniors Only
- A junior may opt to play in a senior competition instead of the junior grade they would
otherwise be eligible.
- In this instance the junior member is afforded all the entitlements and expectations associated
with a full senior membership.
- Parent or Guardians must approve this option for the junior member.
- Selection in teams will be based on the Senior Selection Criteria
Match Fees & Other Payments
- Any junior member playing on a full time basis in a senior team will be expected to pay relevant
match fees and other payments
Mornington Peninsula Hockey Club Women’s Section have a selection procedure in place to further protect the interests
of both the young players themselves, as well as the Club itself.
A summary of the main aspects of the Procedure is included below, whilst the finer details can be discussed with the
Women’s CoOrdinator upon request.




The aforementioned Key Messages must have been read & followed
It is advised players are at least 14 years of age as of January 1st to register for Senior competition that year
Juniors wishing to play with Senior Women’s will need to attend training, grading days & practice matches with
the Senior Women
Upon registration for Senior Women’s competition, Junior players will be given the opportunity to play for a
Senior team in at least 75% of the remaining rounds of that competition






Junior players will not be discriminated against in Senior competition with regards to team selections and fieldtime irrespective of age, fees, or the playing of an additional (Junior grade) match in the same round
Junior players will be selected in a Senior Women’s team based on the Senior Women’s Team Selection Criteria
= they will be placed into a Senior team based on their skill levels, attitude and commitment levels
Junior players in Senior competition will play the majority of their Senior games in a single team
It is preferable that Junior players will play the majority of their Senior games in a team which features at least
one “peer” player, of similar age and experience level
Selection of junior players in senior teams will be based around the number of senior players in each team,
ensuring a balanced team of juniors and senior mentors. In a case where there are too many adequately skilled
players for one team, positions will be given to senior players first within reason
All players that are of Junior age (14yrs+) must be available to play for MPHC in a Junior competition (including
training) as a priority over playing in a Senior competition.
As Junior’s playing in a Senior Women’s competition, you will be expected to be playing at least two games per week (1
Junior, 1 Senior), and therefore must put plans in place after consultation with your Coaches & Women’s CoOrdinator to
ensure that you manage yourselves (regarding injury prevention, fatigue, commitments and nutrition) accordingly
- Please see Women’s section ‘Vision’ for details regarding team requirements, player
-
commitment, team selection criteria etc
Please see Women’s section ‘Players Returning to Injury Procedure’ for details pertaining to the
procedure in relation to returning to play after injury or illness