The Night Owls wing in to welcome new players to ice hockey in Medway

It’s 10.30pm on a Saturday night and a group of hockey players are only just hitting the ice, ready for an after-hours training session.

They’re a mixed bag: different ages, varying abilities, but all with the same passion.

Meet the Night Owls, a team of eager players who, while the rest of us are tucked up at home or perhaps in the pub, are out on the rink at Planet Ice Gillingham, honing their skills with the puck.

They’re a recreational team – the underdogs when it comes to the ice hockey hierarchy – set up eight months ago by manager and player Christian Dixon, who has been playing the sport for 15 years.

The 57-year-old says it’s mainly for former players who, for a variety of reasons, might have stopped but now want to start up again.

“There are a lot of people like me who used to play hockey when they were younger and they kind of drifted away from it due to having children, or work or family commitments, but they want to give it a go again,” he explains. “The team was founded so everybody could have a chance to play no matter their health or ability.

“It’s an open door for people who want to get back into it or need an outlet.

“The recreational side allows people to enjoy what they used to do. But rather than them approaching clubs only to be told ‘Oh I’m sorry, your ability is not high enough’, we let them in.

“We have an open door for people who want to play hockey again or new up-and-comers who can skate but want to learn hockey.

“We have all sorts coming along. All we ask is that you can stand on your two feet on skates and know a bit about hockey.”

For those who are perhaps a little wobbly on the ice, there is help at hand and they get sent to a development team until they are more confident on their skates.

Then, under the cover of darkness they come out to play, typically late on a Saturday night.

“We have an open door for people who want to play hockey again or new up-and-comers who can skate but want to learn hockey”

Admittedly, for many of us, that might not seem that appealing, but for the Night Owls it’s nothing.

“You get used to coming out that late and the guys love it,” says Dixon. “It sometimes varies on when the ice slots are free, but our main time would be Saturday at 10.30pm and we’ll do an hour and a half then.

“It’s quite difficult to find a slot as there are other recreational teams and there are league-playing teams as well.

“We have figure-skating here, too, and they take the majority of the day slots with the juniors and then evenings are taken by recreational teams and the two priority teams, which are Invicta Dynamos and the Mustangs.

“They will get an earlier slot whereas the rec teams, like us, are the runts of the litter and get the late ones.”

He says the name, the Night Owls, comes from the late-night hours they play.

The team has 15 registered players on its books plus two keepers and they also have ‘drop-in’ players who turn up to training and do ‘pay and play’.

They invite men, women and all ages over 18 and they face off in matches against other recreational teams – in their new kit that proudly displays the sponsor logos of ‘cene Magazine and the NHS.

Dixon says there are men heading back to the ice to play, despite being even older than him.

“They turn up and it’s like a breath of fresh air, it brings that youth back to them and you can see it in their faces how keen they are – they love it,” he says.

“We invite people to come give us a try for an evening, meet the team or come and watch and then we’ll invite them out on the ice and give them kit.

“The only thing we ask is that you have your own skates.”

He says the team has become a social base and he says he finds it thoroughly rewarding.

“If you’ve got a problem you can talk to your teammates – we’ll have a welfare officer on there as well and I’m trained for counselling.

“If you’re having a bad time you can talk about it. As a team we work on things together. We build that person’s confidence.

“You see the transition within a few weeks, you see the development and confidence grow and they make great players.”

Dixon says in a few years he’ll stop playing and work on getting qualified to become a coach and referee. But for now he’s keeping a stick in his hand and staying put in the team.

“I’m 58 this year. I’m fully active – if I stop I’ll start becoming old.”

INSTA: @nightowls_IHC