First of all, I’d like to welcome all the new players and members to the club and thank all of you returning for your continued support. Last year seemed to be the longest season on record, with players returning after the lockdowns to play until what seemed only a couple of weeks ago. And now we’re already on the brink of a new season!

A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes and special thanks go to Di and Sue for all their effort and time in getting the players and coaches ready. Parents completing the membership form and paying subs well in advance of the season starting has made the signing on process much smoother, so thank you for your efficiency.

Training and pitch update

We have again secured the Hove Park 3G and Hove Park Lower School 3G pitches for our winter training, which starts in the first week of October. It’s really important to give the players the opportunity to train on these surfaces during the winter, especially when we lose the light and the bad weather sets in. This season we also have Hove Park Lower School 3G pitch on a Sunday morning. We’ll look to give all the teams as much opportunity as possible to play on the pitch during the season.

It’s one of our greatest expenses as a club, but I just love training under the lights on a crisp evening and I’m sure the players feel the same!

As many of you may be aware, long overdue work is been carried out on the pitches in Hove Park. I’ve been working closely with the council on improving the pitches and hopefully once the work is completed, we’ll see the benefits. They’re trialling a hybrid grass system in the goalmouths, as well as ‘shockwaving’ the pitches, which will help reverse the years of neglect by re-compacting the surface. We currently have two 7v7 and two 5v5 pitches at Hove Park.

For our 9v9, intermediate 11v11 and full-size 11v11 pitches we’ll continue to use Nevill Rec. We’ve developed a good working relationship with Brighton & Hove Cricket Club, who maintain and hire us the pitches. We pay a little more for the hire of the pitches but having a good playing surface is so important.

We also have the use of a 7v7 and 9v9 at Dyke Road Park which has provided a home for our girls’ teams. Last season was their first one there and they’re starting to feel at home.

New kit

We’ve been working with TAG Sportswear to develop a new bespoke club kit. Previously we’ve been using Nike as main supplier, but have experienced difficulty in ordering kit. Their two-year lifespan for each shirt also creates problems if we need to replace shirts, especially if the kit is bought in the second year of the cycle. By having our own bespoke kits, we’ll have more control and can personalise it to the club. Each TAG kit is produced using a technique known as sublimation printing, which means the numbers and sponsors are printed directly into the shirt material – so they won’t come off in the wash!

Coerver coaching

This season we’ll be continuing our partnership with Coerver. The younger teams that embraced the training schedule really improved as the season progressed, and it made life a lot easier for the coaches. As part of the partnership all club players receive free membership to Coerver-X. This is a home high-intensity (HIIT) football workout, using the ball skills we use during our training sessions and will really enhance a player’s technical ability if they use it during the season. I can’t recommend it enough if you really want to turbo-charge your players. The normal price for Coerver-X is £10 per month – but all HPC players can access these sessions as part of their subs, at www.coerverew.info/coerverx. If your child is new to HPC this season, you'll receive email updates soon with further information about Coerver. 

Quite a few teams have already ordered both the new home kit and training kit, so I’m sure you’ll soon see them at a pitch near you. We’ll add pictures to our social media as soon as we can.

As a club we’re trying to be green and so we re-use kit whenever possible. That sometimes means handing down kit to other teams, or passing it on to Kits for Africa. Please contact us if you have old kit you would like to pass on.

We’ve also started a boot exchange on our Facebook page. The kids’ feet grow so quickly they seem to need a new pair of boots before they’ve had much chance to wear their current ones. If you have a pair of boots in good condition you can offer, then please post a photo on the dedicated BOOT SWAP POST.

Keeping calm on the touchline

Last season saw a number of incidents involving parents on the touchline. The FA noticed a spike in antisocial behaviour across grassroots football, so I would please ask you all to remember that this is a game, the players are children, coaches are volunteers, referees are human and mistakes will happen.

Please be humble in victory and gracious in defeat, let the coaches coach – and above all, enjoy watching your child have fun. I read something that stuck with me and it’s something I’ve practised myself: The best thing you can say to your child is, ‘I love watching you play’.

It’s also recommended that both you and your child remind yourselves of the FA Respect Code of Conduct before the season starts – you can access both the Young Player and Spectator/Parent Codes on the FA website at www.englandfootball.com

I hope everyone has a great season where the players can have fun and develop.

Mark Sessions
(Club Chairman)