1899
The club was originally founded in 1899. It has reformed twice; after the first World War and again in 1947 after the Second World War. The club has grown steadily from the 1960's, initially from supply from local secondary schools, but since the early 1980's from our own Mini-hockey Scheme.

St. Mary's Community Sports Partnership
Our Club is in partnership with St. Mary's RC High School and has a "state-of-the-art" sand filled artificial turf pitch, originally laid in 2001/2.

The pitch was resurfaced with new "carpet" and shock pad, both to the very latest (and top) standard for sand filled pitches, in the Summer of 2014

Youth Development
Our Club relied heavily on the local schools to provide its new members until the early 1980s. It became clear that school sport was in the decline, especially for minority sports such as Hockey.
In an effort to address the perceived problem, two members of the Club decided to run what was then a new "Mini-Hockey" scheme primarily for youngsters from the age of 7, but willing to take on any child physically able to held a stick and enjoy the sport.
Right from the start, the scheme was kept open to both sexes and the "cost" of participation was kept to an absolute minimum encouraging as many as possible to have a go. We have attracted boys and girls from Chesterfield and a substantial area of North Derbyshire since that initial scheme.
The scheme has continued every year since then, with numbers occasionally exceeding 50. We have coached many youngsters who have gone on to represent their County, the Midlands and even their Country through our links with the County Associations. On occasions, 75% of the Derbyshire Under 18 squad have been from our Club.
But coaching for excellence is only part of our aim. Our principal objective is to persuade more youngsters to have a go, to enjoy themselves and hopefully to continue to play the sport into their adult life.
We have achieved sponsorship at times during the years from the Sports Council (originally, to help fund the set up costs of sticks, balls and goalkeeping kit), from the TSB Bank, from our Local Council and from a local firm, Clarence Industrial Services, who continued to offer support throughout our existence until their closure. More recently, we has been assisted by grants from regional and national sports funding organisation. This, together with the totally voluntary coaching, has helped to keep down the cost of participation.
It is only over the last 15+ years that we have enjoyed the real benefits of artificial turf for our sport. It is particularly important for those youngsters, new to the sport, to play in such ideal conditions. Their development is rapid and the skill levels achieved very high compared with what could be achieved on the rough old grass pitches we previously had to use.
We have become very much involved with St Mary's School and with the use of the pitch for taster sessions and coaching for youngsters from that school and others both mid-week as well as at weekends.
The 2009/2010 season marked the enhancement of Chesterfield Hockey Club's mini-hockey scheme with the assistance of coaches from Staveley Ladies.
Our junior-hockey scheme is the foundation for our future and is once again returning to the success it enjoyed a few years ago. It is now led by Paul Speed with regular help from several other adult Club members.

The Haddock Legacy
Chesterfield Hockey Club was first formed in 1899 and amongst the earliest members was a Mr. T.J. Haddock who acted as a club umpire.
The Club temporarily suspended activities during the first World War, resuming in the early 1920's. The same T.J. Haddock was involved again during this period, his name occurring regularly in newspaper reports through to the 1930's.
A second suspension of activities resulted during the second World War, following which, in 1947, the Club as we now know it, was reformed. One of the young men involved was a Mr. Ken Haddock, the Club goalkeeper.
Ken became an active administrator in the Club, holding the office of Treasurer for many years as well as Club Captain. He captained the lower sides for many seasons as the Club expanded and helped numerous youngsters, some of whom are still playing with the Club (and well into the "Vintage" category!). When he ceased playing, he continued to help by umpiring for as long as his eyesight and the health of his wife permitted. In his latter days with the Club, Ken was involved in the planning for our ground at Nethermoor. It had long been his ambition (together with his contemporaries) for the Club to have its own ground and clubhouse.
Ken and his wife Annie, known more affectionately as Nancy, had a son, an Army Chaplain (Captain) then Teacher, who was unfortunately killed in a car accident in the 1950s. They were left with no relatives. Both of them took up art and both displayed some real ability. Ken worked mostly in pastels, a hobby which occupied him increasingly after his retirement. Many still remember his sketching after games at the Civil Service Club. Ken died in 1991, followed only a few months later by his wife. They had been very close.
A few weeks later, our Club was contacted by the executor of Nancy's estate to say that we had been mentioned in her will. Ken and Nancy had drawn up very similar wills intending to leave the residue of their estate for the Club's Ground Development Fund.
Due to some legal difficulties, the residue of the estate was eventually transferred to the National Playing Fields Association which has ensured that Ken and Nancy's wishes have been honoured.
The Club formed a partnership with St. Mary's school and, with the help of the N.P.F.A., bid and secured Lottery funding to raise the balance of the funds necessary for the construction.

Pitch Plaque
Haddock Legacy Plaque
Our Club is deeply indebted to Ken and Nancy and early in 2002, we were able to honour them with the fulfilment of Ken's dreams for the Club, and celebrated the opening of a fine facility in their memory.

Chesterfield Hockey Club

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