Andy McIntyre sent these pictures from the M1s vs Watsons match towards the end of the season. Don't we look athletic!
The Sainsbury's Active Kids vouchers are still coming in at a steady rate of knots. By my reckoning we have 1294 vouchers so far, which means we can almost get three bags of hockey balls for the Kobras. Which is just as well given the rate at which they disappear.
We can go on collecting vouchers until July, so keep them coming.
The Ladies section have also now wound up operations for another season. The L1s had a tough time of it, with the squad ravaged by injuries, so to finish mid-table represented something of a triumph. Meanwhile the L2s gave debuts to a string of juniors, as senior team members were drafted into the 1s. This had inevitable effects on the results, which were very poor at first. However, after Christmas as the new players bedded into the squad it all turned round and the team finished fourth in the league as well as narrowly losing a close-fought cup semi-final against a Dundee Uni team who were a whole league above.
Pics from the semi final - some of which are brilliant - below.
Chris Robson tweeted some pictures from yesterday's back to back wins for the M1s and M2s, which brought the season to a happy close. The M1s finished second in the league, within touching distance of eventual winners Edinburgh Uni 4. The M2s struggled with the loss of key players to the M1s but managed to save their season, finishing just above the drop zone.
Chis also posted a few thoughts how the men's section has developed over the last six or seven months.
We have just been told that four Kinross boys have been selected for the Midland training squad this month. Alex Wilson, Ollie Wilson, Andrew Clark and Charlie Webster will be going to Dundee in a few days time for further training and assessment ahead of the district championships.
Well done to all of them and good luck!
With the Ladies section having given debuts to an almost endless stream of juniors since September, we've had to wait almost until the end of the season to see some of the Kobras make the big step up to senior level in the men's section.
With a long season taking its toll on ageing limbs, however, Chris Licence and Duncan Montford got their chance, and it's fair to say they seized it with some aplomb, putting in excellent performances in a thrilling home fixture against Peebles. Chris even managed to come away with a goal.
The two of them have travelled very different roads into senior hockey, Duncan having been a with the Kobras since an early age, while Chris joined the late Kobras session as a beginner just a few years ago.
Well done to both.
Also heading off for international duty over Easter are two ex-Kobras who are now playing for the adult sections of the club.
Lucy Smith (pictured in action below) and Alex Wilson (pictured in the process of half-inching Chris Robson's spare stick) are going to the Netherlands with the Scotland U16s.
Sunday saw the club's sponsored walk around Loch Leven, mercifully coinciding with the arrival of Spring. So from early afternoon a steady stream of club members staggered, strode, jogged, and in one case juggled a hockey ball, back to the clubhouse, where they were welcomed with juice and pizza organised by Gerrold Kuijpers (for which many thanks are due!). Leading the pack was a team from the ladies section who had done the whole circuit of the loch.
As well as raising lots of money for the pitch fund, this was a valuable opportunity for some intraclub bonding, and there was a great family spirit in evidence. Particularly memorable was the impromptu meeting of the goalkeepers union, in which Doug, Beth and Bart compared bruises and scrapes and discussed the best way to terrify opposing strikers.
The funds are starting to come in and we'll post details of the total raised once we have it. In the meantime, here are a few photos, courtesy of Gurdi (but the fainthearted, there are bruises on display!)
The Ladies Seconds had their last league game of the season over the weekend and handed out yet another debut, this time to Abi Hall, a long-time member of the Kobras. In what was, by all accounts, a glorious victory Abi managed to get herself an assist in a resounding victory over Perthshire 3s.
Abi was, by my reckoning, the sixth debutante in the L2s this season, after Hannah, Georgia, Lucy, Pollyanna and Amy. No wonder Kobras has been a bit quiet.
Well done to Abi, and well done to all the L2s who have completely turned around their season since the turn of the year. They are now second in the league, although they may be overhauled by other teams who have games in hand.
Scottish Midland District has really been pushing forward on getting a programme of fixtures in place for the juniors this year and we are now onto our third indoor tournament of the winter, with outdoor matches to follow on close behind. Rumour has it that there will be still more frequent matches in 2016/17.
This weekend the U10s and U12 were in Dundee for indoor games against teams from all over the district - everywhere from Dunfermline to Dundee. The two U10 teams had a normal Kobras tournament : win some lose some - while the two U12 groups were much more on the pace, winning rather more than they lost. We were looking very competitive at this level, showing a lot of strength and determination in the tackle and with some good skills and spatial awareness on show too.
Thanks to Tricia Macpherson for this gallery of pictures from some of the U12 games. If anyone else has pictures they'd like to share, do send them over.
The Ladies seconds were short of a full team for today, so many thanks are due to the Kobras who stepped into the breach, particularly to Katie Leslie, who was making her debut at this level.
That the Kinross team dominated the game and came away with a 2-nil victory over Grove Menzieshill says a lot about the skills and on show.
Well done!