On behalf of the SUHC Women’s Committee, we would like to extend our most sincere thanks to Brian Paxton (Packo) for the dedication, commitment and enthusiasm that he brought to the women’s section of our club three years ago.

Packo took over a squad of generally very young players (interspersed with some wily players!) not really knowing what to expect. Having never coached females before, he was definitely in for more than he knew! After a slow start to the 2014 season, he guided this young Women’s Vic League 1 (WVL 1) team into the finals in his first year. This culminated in an outstanding finals series by beating MUHC, then Yarra and ultimately Kew for the 2014 premiership. Our reserves team that year performed admirably throughout the year only to lose the Grand Final in a close encounter….clearly a wonderful achievement by the teams, coaches and all concerned.

2014 paved the way for success of even greater importance in season 2015. Despite missing several players at different stages of the year, often through junior representative duties, Packo led the team to the minor premiership at the end of the season along with the ultimate prize, promotion to the Women’s Premier League (WPL) for season 2016. Depth in the WVL1 squad had developed sufficiently to accumulate a remarkable 47 out 54 points for the home and away season. The games against Yarra in August 2015 when promotion to WPL for season 2016 was secured will long remain in all our memories – it was also Packo’s birthday…..what a present for him to deliver for the club!

Packo’s planning, attention to detail, hours of hard work behind the scenes and dedication to work with other coaches and support staff is a testament to the person he is, always with the good of the group or team as his primary motivation.

This has been the first season as SUHC that we have competed in the WPL and the timing couldn’t have been better given Hockey Victoria’s plans for PL competitions. It has also been a season of mixed and varied emotions for Packo as he has guided the team through its transition into this level. It has been a challenging season for everyone. No one really knew what to expect and at times opposition teams took us for granted yet Packo retained his positive and committed outlook to help the squad to continue to develop. Our even younger WPL squad now has 15-20 games experience in a talented group that will be better for the experience and better for working with Packo and the coaches this year.

We want to extend our sincere thanks to Packo for his years of work and for everything that he has enabled the past and present groups to achieve. We are in a far better place now to embark on and build the next phase of our WPL existence through Packo’s effort, work and his ability to have the team work together and work for each other. We would also like to thank Donna for the support that she has given to Packo and SUHC while he has been in the head coach role – we know that without her blessing none of this would have happened.

Packo, thank you for everything that you have done – it will never be forgotten!

 

Alisia Simmons

Head of SUHC Women’s Section