New local youth hockey team New Beccehamian clinch Kent league title

BROMLEY, U.K. - May 31, 2013 - PRLog -- The new youth development side at local hockey club, New Beccehamian, has won the Kent Open division 3 league in a surprising end-of-season season turn-around in its debut year.  

The New Beccs men’s third team clinched the title ahead of Folkestone - who had dominated the league for the majority of the season. Despite only taking one point in the first five games of the season and being at the foot of the table, a run of form saw New Beccs only drop 7 points in the last 15 games. Three points clear at the top of the league and with an 11-goal advantage, New Beccs travelled to Canterbury at the weekend for the final game of the season, needing only a draw to take the title. In a tough encounter, the Beckenham side were behind for most of the game and found themselves 3-2 down with the clock running down but with just three minutes to play, they scored a dramatic equaliser to confirm their position as league champions.

New Beccs whose home pitch is at the HSBC ground in Lennard Road, introduced the new development side this season following a high level of interest during last year’s Olympic Games. Club treasurer, Adrian Russell-Smith comments, “We had a lot of lads from local schools contact us, so we decided to introduce a new team to provide an opportunity for youngsters.” The club received sponsorship from Bromley based design and PR company Ronin Marketing to support the development of boys aged 13 and over. Ronin director, Steve Lipscombe says, “Finishing at the top of the league is a fantastic reflection of their improvement as a new side. “The boys were playing against men three times their age and twice their size and at the start of the season, they were getting tired in the second half of games. But as the season progressed, their fitness, confidence and skill all improved.”

Russell-Smith, says: “It is an amazing statistic that 17 players from the development squad have scored in the league. The club now has a great crop of youngsters who will be moving quickly up to our higher teams.”

New Beccs is now looking for more boys and girls over 13 to join its development squad for next season.

Pictured are members of the development team and their mentors after their league-winning performance on Saturday.