With the first game night of the Wild Ball Hockey League just under a week away we are excited to announce the teams and players who will be participating. Before we do, we want to have a quick look at who the captains are, their background in ball hockey and their thoughts on the pending tournament.
First up we have Nat Chaplin-Smith. Nat started playing nearly 4 years ago now. After ice hockey started to get too expensive she looked for her hockey fix elsewhere and came across the Nottingham Wolves and hasn’t looked back since. With the Wolves helping her develop her skills that means she’s has improved as a player as well as developing lifetime friendships. Nat is a permanent fixture in the Wolves squad. These are Nats words about the league and her team ‘I am very exciting to have the opportunity to be captain of the Dastardly Does team. I have faith in all the ladies on my team and I know that everyone participating is as excited as I am to be apart of something special. I feel confident that this is really going to spread the word for the sport & women in this sport.’
Next up we have Hazel Taylor. Hazel’s journey into the world of ball hockey started with her playing roller hockey at 16 years old, after the local roller disco shut down and was replaced by hockey. Whilst at uni and on her way back from roller hockey training she was spotted with her kit and was asked to join a rec ice hockey team. The connections she made at ice hockey meant she saw some of those players represent GB in the ISBHF World Ball Hockey Championships in 2013 which took place in Canada. After watching some of the live streamed games she decided to give it a go at a Wolves training session and hasn’t looked back since. Hazel has represented the GB ladies team twice now, in 2015 and 2017. Here are Hazels thoughts about the ladies league. ‘I am really excited to be playing with the Menacing Minx. It's great to see how much the sport has grown over the last few years and to have got to the stage where we can have a ladies league is absolutely fantastic. I can't wait for the league to start on the 16th. It will be a great evening of hockey and is certainly going to be a lot of fun’
Our final captain is Helen Moss. Like Hazel and Nat, Helen comes from an ice hockey background. It all started off with her being taken to a Panthers against Steelers match and instantly wanting to play. After getting a job so she could afford to buy the kit she started playing when she was 16. Her aspiration was to be the best she could be, which involved trying out for North England, England and Great Britain, meeting quite a few new people who played ball hockey. They told her it was the best sport ever and that she would enjoy it, so after some gentle persuading she tried it for the first time four years ago and hasn’t looked back since. Helen has the following to say about the league. ‘It’s a pleasure to be asked to captain the Killer Flamingos especially as it’s a league that is the first of its kind in the UK and I’m happy to be apart of it. I am really excited with the squad that I have picked and have ever faith that the killer instinct will come out once the girls get their shirts on in the 16th. We Flamingos are in it to win it!’
So now to the teams.
Dastardly Does:
Nat Chaplin -Smith - Captain
Chloe Rudkin - Netminder
Emma Wilkinson
Emily Wragg
Sarah Bolstridge
Laura Dance
Melissa Hemming
Emily Murray
Emily Painter
Rhea Hopkinson-Ward
Catherine Vicarage
Menacing Minx:
Hazel Taylor - Captain
Scarlet Ward - Netminder
Nikki Croxall
Sam Tomlinson
Rebecca Meats
Carly Williams
Clare Jones
Becky Kasner
Kate Parker
Leanne King
Amy Mercer-Bailey
Kat Wiggins
Killer Flamingos:
Helen Moss - Captain
Ally Clark - Netminder
Julia Coughill
Megan Byrne
Tegan Smith
Marie Would
Ali Child
Charlotte Hindson
Joy Craighead
Rachael Chambers
Emma Armitage
Sarah Murray
Be sure to keep checking back on the Wolves website and Facebook page for the latest on the league.
