Waspies Minkey and Grads Program

MINKEY AND GRADS

For over 35 years Wesley and South Perth Hockey Club has hosted a junior development program for our little hockey players. On crisp winter mornings at Richardson Park, we have hundreds of participants and their families being active in the South Perth community.

Registrations are now open for season 2026 and we would welcome more juniors - so register now and join us:  REGISTER HERE

Grads: Year 3 - Year 4 (mixed boys and girls) | Saturday Mornings | Richardson Park | 8.00 - 9.30

Minkey: Pre-Primary - Year 2 (mixed boys and girls) |Saturday Mornings | Richardson Park | 8.30 - 9.30

Dates for 2026

New Date Sunday 26 April - Open Day Sundowner  | Skills Clinic by Premier Player | Bring and Friend |Socialise and meet other parents and families

Saturday 2 May - Saturday 29 August | Normal Saturday progamming | We don't host or organise minkey/ grads on long weekends or in school holidays and may move around a bit based on invitationals and carnivals.

Friday 4 September - End of Season Parents v Kids and Disco - TBC

Communication, Coaches and Volunteering

• Newsletter - We have a Minkey/Grads newsletter that will regularly be sent to parents to keep everyone updated on season calendar, cafe happenings etc. 
• Once Registrations are received, whatapp channels will be set up for teams 
• Volunteers - We are a club that is 100% run by volunteers. For this junior program to function every year we seek the following (in the spirit of 'many hands make light work'):
  • Coaches
  • Team Managers
  • Minkey Coordinator 
  • Grads Coordinator (Succession Planning this year; watch-out)
  • Cafe Roster Coordinator
  • Fresh food collector 
  • Local Primary School Champions
• Sausage sizzle and cafe - As part of the Club's fundraising efforts and to provide a good atmosphere, there is a sausage sizzle and cafe open every Saturday morning when Minkey/Grads are playing. All teams will get a BBQ and cafe duty (where they will be asked to bring some baked good to sell) or duties during the season. 

Fees

Fees are paid at time of registration.

MINKEY / GRADS 2026 Fees   Club Fees Payment/Transaction  Total     Minkey $130.00 $4.29 $134.29     Grads $150.00 $4.69 $154.69

Structure / Development

We plan for 14 rounds in our program, mostly played on our grass fields at Richardson Park (opposite Perth Zoo) on Saturday mornings.

Minkey partcipants will participate in 30 minutes of drills followed by mini games of '6 v 6' each week. These smaller sized games allow active involvement for all children (to touch the ball as many times as possible) and keep it fun!

Grads participants will have have 45 minutess of technical drills followed by 40 minute games, which will provide a good balance of skills development, enjoyment, and healthy 'competition':

• • Grads have 'lightning' rounds were there are multiple stations and coaches to rotate through
  • Games progress during the season from smaller fields to 3qtr size fields
  • By the end of the season year 4 players will be giving 'full field' hockey a go

Regional Carnivals and Invitationals

Our Club sees the value in our junior participants growing and developing by interacting and playing with other clubs and teams (it keeps things interesting and exciting!). In 2025 we hope to continue with our involvement in regional carnivals and invitationals with other fantastic local hockey clubs including Vic Park, Fremantle and Reds. These are usually opt-in opportunities for the juniors and the season calendar will adjust as we lock in dates, but to give an indication of the current planning:

• Hook into Hockey Carnival - mid June
• Friday Night Lights -  In past years Red Hockey Club and Fremantle Hockey Club have invited us to play round-robin games on their turfs. We reciprocate and invite their teams to Richardson Park towards the end of the season for larger field games (getting all of our Year 3s and 4s ready for full field hockey and enjoying interclub competition). 

Skills Clinics by our Premier League Players

Our Premier League players are terrific supporters of our Minkey and Grad programs. Not only do they coach our little stars, but they also organise and host skill clinics every year.

Save the Date:

Sunday 26 April | CLUB OPEN DAY | Try Hockey | PP - Year 8 | Technical Skill Stations by WASPs Premier League players - followed by Premier Squad and Year 5/6 Shirt Presentations | Sausage Sizzle | Mingle and make friends

CONTACT US

If you have any questions or would like more information, please get in touch:

Minkey
Mitch and Ash Bailey: wasphc.minkey@gmail.com

Grads
Hayley Prendiville: wasphc.grads@gmail.com

Ph: 0400 165 265