As the 24/25 EH league season draws to a close we wanted to highlight the remarkable Repton HC journeys of two long standing members, Dom Bennett (M1s) and Izzy Orpin (W1s & U18s), who both joined the club when it was formed 9 years ago. We hope their stories will serve as inspiration to our new joiners and youngest members on what can be achieved, as well as the fun to be had, playing club hockey!

Dom Bennett M1s Outfield
Why do you think you were drawn to hockey at a young age?
I was drawn to hockey probably due to its reputation at school so at a young age it was a sport we all wanted to be good at! Starting at a young age also gives you a bit of a head start on other people, meaning our teams were successful at a young age - and everything is more fun when you’re winning!
Where and when did your hockey journey start?
Hockey started for me at Repton Prep - Foremarke Hall back then… playing indoor hockey with plastic sticks and balls, similar to roller hockey.
Can you remember your first coach or any early standout coaches?
Martin Jones was involved in both our development and success at school level and for the club to get to where it is now.
What RHC teams have you played for? Can you remember your RHC Men’s debut?

I first played in the Mixed Vikings when we didn’t have a Men’s team in the leagues. We had some great trips to Lee Valley and won consecutive titles - largely down to the quality of our junior players (a prominent theme through RHC teams). I played for the Men’s first team in its first season - starting in the East Midlands Premier division. I joined halfway through the season and remember my first game was a loss away at Nottingham Trent!
What have you enjoyed most about playing for RHC?
The thing that attracted me was the project of taking the club from a new club to being a national league club. Seeing the progression each year to now being confirmed into EH Division 1 next year, alongside the W1s is a huge achievement. Also, playing with friends I’ve known for basically my whole life makes it even more enjoyable.
Over the seven years, what season was your favourite RHC team 1st XI to play for and why?
It’s a hard choice as we’ve had some great teams, it would be hard to ignore some of our indoor teams when we were in the indoor Premier Division a few years ago. Being a young team playing in the Midlands leagues at the time we managed to stay up and also had some big wins against established Premier Division teams, including beating Holcombe in back to back seasons.
Is there one league win that stands out above all the others? Do you have all the medals?
Winning the Midlands Prem was a big one as it finally got us to national league which had been our goal from the start as a club. It came down to one game against Khalsa in a winner takes all game at home, which we played our best game of the season to win comfortably and effectively win the league.
What have been your most memorable RHC experiences?
The best memories have been on some of our trips away. Going to Hamburg to play Alster who went on to win the European champs was a great experience, despite getting beaten pretty heavily we still managed to make the most of Hamburg’s Reeperbahn. Flying to Jersey in the Tier 2 Championship semi final was another great experience (and night out in Jersey).

Many internationals and Olympians have been playing for RHC, who has been your favourite M1 player over the years?
Too many players to choose from, although it was always nice to play as a forward when Lloyd Madsen was in defence as he could find you from anywhere on the pitch.
What has been the most challenging game in the seven years? Can you remember the opposition, the league and the year?
Surprisingly probably playing Warwick Uni in Midlands Division 1. We played them in school holidays twice when we could barely get 11 players together, James Byrne (Div 4 Berbatov) even made an appearance for us in one of the games. Apart from that Old Georgians bringing a GB team off the bench when we played them indoors was also quite a difficult game…
What are you most looking forward to in the 2025-26 season?
I think we’re all looking forward to playing a higher level again and a level we feel we’ve been good enough to play at for a while. There should also be a lot less travel which is also a bonus!

Izzy Orpin W1s Goal Keeper

Why do you think you were drawn to hockey at a young age?
I was drawn to hockey as I can remember watching my brother’s hockey games as a
young child and feeling left out that he got to play and not me, so I would always find a way onto the pitch after his games, so that I could stand in the goal and ask my dad to roll the hockey balls at me so I could save them. Which I guess was my calling from a young age that I would be better in goal rather than being an outfielder.
Where and when did your hockey journey start?
I started playing hockey when I was in year 3 at Repton prep, however back then I used to play outfield. It was only until year 5 when I begrudging agreed to play in goal at house hockey, (which we won due to my saves on the day) that inspired me to change positions.
Can you remember your first coach or any early standout coaches?
Soon after I had started playing in goal, I had extra training sessions by one of the sports coaches Mr Thompson, he has been one of my favourite coaches that I have had over the years. Come rain or shine he would make sure that the sessions I had with him were productive in my growth as a player but also fun at the same time. Without him I don’t think I would be at the point I am in my hockey career, so for that I cannot thank him enough for all the help and knowledge he provided me with.
What RHC teams have you played for?
I started playing for Repton hockey club back in 2017/2018, when I was apart of the
Under 10s team. I can only remember a few games from when I first started, however I do remember countless tournaments being held at Belper in which it would be won by either us or Beeston. I then went on to play for Under 12s, where similarly to Under 10s I can remember lots of tournaments at Beeston or Belper. I have then gone on to play Under 14s, 16s and 18s. And as of this season I have been lucky enough to play for the W1s, being a part of this team has allowed me to develop my skill level and knowledge of the game in more ways than I could have imagined it would.

Izzy playing, Dom and Lloyd coaching in 2019
Over the seven years, what season was your favourite RHC team 1st XI to play for and why?
My favourite team to play for has been the Women’s 1s, as I have been able to play
hockey to such a high standard, whilst also playing alongside some of my closest
friends, and I have made memories that will last a lifetime. Such as playing in the indoor super 6s in the Premier league and playing against current and former Olympians.
Is there one win that stands out above all the others?
My most memorable experience playing for RHC has to the game against City of York at Under 14s in the semi-final. I can remember that from our warm-up we were the better-looking team, which gave us all the confidence to play some of our best hockey, even though the final score was 3:0 it was an end-end game with myself and other defenders making many important saves and tackles in the D to prevent them from scoring.
However, the highlight of the day has to be when we all took a trip to Mc-Donalds in York to celebrate, which is a tradition that has continued throughout my time at RHC, as last week myself and the under 18s went to Mc-Donalds after a 3:1 win over Clifton in the semi-finals!
What have been your most memorable RHC experiences?
I made my debut for the women 1s at the start of this season against Beeston, and then after playing a couple of times during the indoor super 6s premier league I have started to play regularly on a Saturday for the team.
Many internationals and Olympians have been playing for RHC, who has been your favourite W1 player over the years?
I think my favourite RHC player has been Erica Sanders, from the moment I met her I
was in awe of her skill set and knowledge of the game, even though I never got the
chance to play with her, watching her play both indoor and outdoor showcased what an insane player she is. I have one main memory about Erica that highlighted for me what type of person she is, it was after having won the school indoor super 6s finals back in my O-Block year, even though I had not manged to play much during that day she came over to me and told me how good I had played all year for both school and club, and that I should keep pushing myself so that in the future I would be able to take my hockey to the next level. So, when I got the chance to play against her in the super 6s this year it felt like a full circle moment, which for my younger self felt very rewarding.
What are you most looking forward to with hockey going forward?
For my future of hockey, I am most looking forward to meeting new people and making more lifelong memories alongside playing the sport that I love. I am hoping that after I graduate university I will travel to Australia and complete my master’s out there whilst
also playing hockey and seeing a whole new part of the world.

Thank you Dom and Izzy for being such club stalwarts and sharing your story with us !