Hillcroft Locrosse Club London, icon Hillcroft

Start of Season Newsletter 2021/22

Hello fellow Halibuts and welcome to a hefty helping of (h)all things Hillcrovian!

This triannual newsletter hopes to keep you up to date with all the thrills, spills and general goings on at our fantastic club (tell yer mates!)

Anyway, to both business and banter.

Summer Summary

Hillcroft’s infamous Summer Sessions have once again proved a rip-roaring success. Top bins have been ripped and the fans have been a roarin’. We love to see it. Shout outs to club Social Sec Alice Innes and Chairperson Rob Clark for bearing the brunt of the organisation. Short highlight reel as follows.

Engine Failure: It was crunch-time for Shayne “The Engine” Prior when he found himself sandwiched between resident Big Lad Joe Watts and Fergus “The Flying Scotsman”. The hit was so big it was subsequently made into a TikTok which is available upon request from the Thrillcroft Whatsapp group.

Rage Cage: Despite never having held a goalie stick before, student Anthony Onwuli of soon-to-be-Hillcroft valiantly offered to pad up and step up into the cage where he, for lack for a better phrase, absolutely f***ing crushed it. What a hero! (Might take this one out if newsletter is too long)

The Euro-vision: With the pesky global pandemic still limiting numbers inside the clubhouse for the Euro 2020 qualifier, Chairperson Rob Clark promised the lads (AND LAD-IES) he would buy a TV. Most called BS but Mr Clark returned 45 mins later with a big ol’ telly to screen England’s crushing 4-0 victory over Ukraine. Back of the net!

Josh Holloway: On and off the field the man from Camden was a sight to behold. Scoring three decent Gs one week, then running the wrong way, forcing a turnover and getting so drunk he could barely stand the next! Well done Josh, you’re someone’s MVP…

Summer Training has been a casual affair but the introduction of Speed Lacrosse sessions on Tuesday evenings by Benevolent Overlord Harry Perry proved to be just what the lax doctor ordered to keep the rust of sticks while having good, safe fun (the best kind of fun.)

Committee Positions

In case you forgot who to go to with your club-related problems, team related problems, kit-related problems, dog-related problems etc, please see below.

  • Chairperson/ TV procurement – Rob Clark

  • Club Captain/ all round good guy – Jack Crawley

  • Welfare/Inclusivity Officer/ shoulder to cry on – Siena Hammond

  • Social Secretaries

    • Alice Innes (Dog Girl and social media “influencer”)
    • Charles Bleach (Hairdresser and market manipulator)

  • Aleks Arandov (PT, gentle giant, and glass man)

  • Club Secretary – Alicia Perez

  • Treasurers/ money-bags – Aleks and Laura

  • Junior Development Officer/ Stationery Secretary – Gerome Pencil

  • Kit Secretary – Rob Clark

  • Alumni Guy - Tom Ridings

  • Digital – definitely Tom Ridings

Los Capitanos

  • Womens 1s - Lily Ashcroft (VC – Jess Currie)
  • Womens 2s - Haylie (VC - Megan)
  • Mens 1s – Harry Perry (VC – Andrew Hopkins)
  • Mens 2s – Matt Kemp (VC - TBC)
  • Mens 3s – Joe Watts (VC – Luke Rawles)

Teams

  • Mens 1s
  • Mens 2s
  • Mens 3s
  • Womens 1s – SEWLA Division 2
  • This season will also see the creation of a Womens 2s team (hoorah!). They are not being entered into a league this time around but will be playing a series of friendlies. Good luck ladies!

Shout outs

Thanks to Chris Summers for coaching the men’s team this year. Chris has put in so much time and energy to push the 1’s, 2’s and 3’s to the next level and been a real asset to this club. He’ll be sorely missed next year but we wish him the best and hope to see him down at the hub for a few pintos sometime in the future!

Massive congrats to Tom Roper on your scholarship to Mount St Claire in New Jersey – Best of luck in the land of the free! We’ll miss you and also your biggest fan - your dad Ian and his pitch-side presence.

And finally…

Social Events

Past

Thanks to everyone who turned up at the Start of Season Social last night (September 25) at the Devonshire. Good times were had, bad decisions were made. Thus is life. Congrats again to all winners at the awards ceremony!

Upcoming

Do you like Christmas? Do you like Curry? Then you are going to LOVE the Hillcroft Christmas Curry, date is TBC. The restaurant is BYOB, so do that, but also BYOGVBABRFTRAOP (Bring your own good vibes but also bring respect for the restaurant and other patrons). Please let Alice Innes know if you’re attending so she can gauge numbers and see you all there!

50th Anniversary

More comming on this very soon!

Looking forward to seeing you all for the new season!