CITY of York Hockey Club’s youth section is on the up.

The under-14s girls, U16 girls and U16 boys all won their respective Yorkshire Youth Hockey Leagues and the U14 boys finished runnersup in their league.

The U12 girls have reached the final of the North of England In2Hockey knockout competition, while, in the England Hockey Plate, both the U18 boys and girls team reached the quarter-final stage of the national competition before bowing out.

There was triumph for the U14 girls, who won the North of England Hockey Cup, held at Bowden, and the U16 girls and U16 boys finished runners-up in their categories.

Club chiefs have given Robert Maltby, youth section organiser and chief coach, much of the credit for the season of success.

Having joined York Trojans as a teenager, and started coaching in his early 20s, he persuaded the committee to invest in pitch hire for coaching purposes, establishing a youth development programme that has introduced hundreds of young people to the game - many going on to represent City of York Hockey Club.

Maltby said: “This could not be achieved without a team of coaches who put in many hours of work with the youngsters, nor without the support of parents and club members who help with the logistics of fulfilling fixtures.”