LAST Wednesday's Under 10s and Under 14s training at Chard Hockey Club marked the end of an era.

This is because head coach Andy Swain and assistant Gary Wheaton took charge of their final sessions before retiring from their roles.

Andy has led junior coaching for the Club for 14 years and organised the Chard junior teams for regular tournaments against similar age group sides from other clubs, as well as dealing with the administration involved in hosting such tournaments each season.

Gary has been involved in coaching the youngsters for approximately 20 years, with a break or two along the way. 

Before handing out awards, Andy noted how Chard's junior section had grown and grown over the years he had been involved, now with approximately 70 youngsters training across two nights each week.

He said the juniors were the life blood of the Club, borne out by the fact that, currently, across the three Men's and two Ladies' teams, 31 players have progressed through the junior programme.

Many parents for the latest group training were there to show their appreciation for Andy and Gary on Wednesday night and to applaud the latest crop of awards winners:

Sylvia Bennett, Harshith Kotla, Rie Fawcett, Pippa Eames, Georgiana Guest, Maisie Richards, Verity Jones, Luc Brown, Josh Hartley, Jake Frayne.