East Grinstead Hockey Club is a

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting c ...

club based in

East Grinstead East Grinstead is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the extreme northeast of the county, the ci ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

, England. It is one of the most successful clubs in the United Kingdom with National League Outdoor and Indoor honours. It was founded in 1897. The home ground is at EGSC, near Saint Hill. The club has a water-based pitch with seats for the spectators as well as a 3G Hockey/Football pitch and clubhouse. The stadium is named Saint Hill with a maximum capacity of 250. The Men's 1st XI play in the

Men's England Hockey League The Men's England Hockey League is a field hockey league organized by England Hockey that features men's teams from England and Wales. Format Regular season There are 62 teams in the league, the top tier consists of a Premier Division of twelve ...

and the Ladies 1st XI play in the

Women's England Hockey League The Women's England Hockey League is a field hockey league organised by England Hockey that features women's teams from England. From 2011-2020 it was sponsored by Investec and was referred to as the Investec Women's Hockey League. Format Regul ...

. The club currently fields six men's teams, five women's teams and respective youth development teams. Every three years, the club hosts the Jacques Paloume tournament.

History

EGHC Men's 1st Team first EHL title came in 1983, they then won the National Indoor Hockey League in 1986. In 2006 the men's Indoor squad were the National Indoor Champions, so that the 2006/7 season saw East Grinstead competing in Europe for the first time in many years. The Club represented England at the European Indoor Champions Trophy in Brussels, winning Silver medals, and securing promotion to the A Division of the Indoor Championship next season. In 2007 the indoor squad became National Indoor League Champions for the first time in their history, and finished runners up in the National Indoor Championship. In the 2006/07 season the 1st XI finished 4th in the English Hockey League and were finalists in the EH National Cup for the second successive season. In order to gain experience of playing in a more competitive environment the men's 2nd XI and 3rd XI both made their debut in the London Higgins League, with the 2nd XI finished in top half of the Premier Division, while the 3rd XI entered the League in Division 2 and won promotion to Division 1 by finishing second. The U21 boys were Sussex Champions for the 4th year running; the Men's 2s and the Vets both won the Sussex Cup. Five of the 1st team squad and the team manager were selected to take part in the inaugural GB Super Leagues at the end of the season. EGHC won the BBC South East Club of the Year Award. In 2008 EG successfully defended their National Indoor League title, were finalists in the English National Cup in 2006 and 2007 and obtained their highest ever placing in the English Hockey League in 2007/08 as runners-up meaning that they qualified for

Euro Hockey League The Euro Hockey League is an annual men's field hockey cup competition organized by the EHF for the very top field hockey clubs in Europe. The competition was launched at the start of the 2007-08 field hockey season when it merged and replaced t ...

. In 2009 the 1st XI won the English Hockey League for the second time, they won the National Indoor Hockey League and also got to the last 8 of the European outdoor finals. They retained both their crowns and added the European Indoor Trophy after winning the competition for the first time in their history, but unfortunately got knocked out of the last 16 in the European outdoor finals. The club was awarded England Hockey 'Club of the Year' in 2009. They competed in the National Indoor Finals 2011 as reigning champions and retained their crown after only losing 1 of 10 games and winning the rest on the way to the final at Wembley Arena, they beat Beeston 8-5 in the final. In the 2010-11 season outdoor season, despite dominating the league, they lost in the championship play off final to Beeston 2-1, in the Euro Hockey League they got knocked out in the Last 16 to rivals Reading HC. The Ladies 1st XI have been Sussex Premier Division champions on several occasions, and also won the EH Vase in 2009. They won promotion from the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

Club's Women's Hockey League Division 3B to Division 2 in 2010/11, from Division 2 to Division 1 in 2011/12, to the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

East Conference in 2012/13 and to the Premier League in 2014/15 for the first time in their history. The club mourned the death of Dennis Leman who died on 12 August 2010, he was a key figure in promoting EGHC status into what it is today. He was the EGHC president from 1972–1977 and was captain of the 1st XI side from 1952- 1962. EG also mourned the death of Frank Farrell who died on 3 June 2010. He was president of the Sussex Hockey Association between 1983–1993 and also managed Lewes HC for many years but was a frequent visitor to EGHC. During the 2020–21 Women's Hockey League season, the women's team led the Premier Division before it was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic but the team gained consolation by defeating Clifton Robinsons 5-3 in the final of the Women's Championship Cup.

Players

Men's First Team Squad 2021–22 season

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captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

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Ladies First Team Squad 2021–22 season

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Ladies first team honours

* Women's Championship Cup winners - 2020-21 * EHL East Conference Champions - 2014/15 *

Club's Women's Hockey League Division 1 Champions - 2012/13 *

Club's Women's Hockey League Division 2 Champions - 2011/12 *

Club's Women's Hockey League Division 3B Champions - 2010/11 * Indoor Team of the Year - 2010 * EH Vase Winners - 2009 & 2010 * National Indoor Finals Champions Women - 2016, 2019

Men's first team honours

* EHL Premier Division Champions - 1984/85, 1985/86, 2008/09, 2009/10 * EHL Premier Division Play Off Runners Up - 1989/90, 2007/08, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2013/14, 2014/15 * EHL National Cup Winners - 1983/84 * EHL National Cup Runners Up - 2005/06, 2006/07 * European Indoor Trophy Champions - 2010, 2013 * National Indoor Finals Champions - 1986, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 * National Indoor League Champions - 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 * Men's Vets National Plate Winners - 2010 *

Participants - 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2014/15, 2015/16

Notable players

Men's internationals

Women's internationals

Individual honours

* Ashley Jackson - World Young Player of the Year Award 2009 *

Barry Middleton Barry John Middleton (born 12 January 1984) is regarded as one of the greatest British field hockey players in history. He played as a midfielder and forward for England and Great Britain and is the most capped British hockey player in histor ...

- Captain of England & GB * England Hockey 'Club of the Year' 2009

References

East Grinstead Hockey Club Official Website

Official East Grinstead Hockey Club Academy

Men's Hockey League

Investec Women's Hockey League

Super Sixes Indoor Hockey League
{{reflist English field hockey clubs 1897 establishments in England East Grinstead Sport in West Sussex Field hockey clubs established in 1897