As the August Bank Holiday approaches, thoughts inevitably start to turn to the impending hockey season, pre-season friendlies, and even - particularly for those not involved in summer fixtures, grass hockey or other sporting endeavours - the dreaded prospect of the training pitch in September.

The unanswered questions as to the likelihood of the 2017-2018 shirt still fitting, what articles of clothing might need replacing, and whether or not you ever did wash the contents of that smelly kit-bag after the last match in April, will all soon be clarified. But never fear … "kit never sleeps", and we shall be sending out three short missives via the website and social media over the next couple of days to keep you informed as to some exciting changes and improvements, as well as to a number of things - pleasantly enough - that will not be changing this coming season. These include 1) our kit manufacturer - O'NEILLS - who have generally fulfilled all our expectations in their first twelve months of collaboration with BEHC; 2) the kit prices, which at the time of writing are planned to be frozen for the coming season at last year's rates; and 3) the fact that no kit design or garment alterations have been made in the close season, which means that no new purchases are absolutely necessary if the 2017-2018 gear is still in good working order.

The committee has listened to all the feedback that playing members have fed back to them about possible improvements and additions to the catalogue, and some of this is indeed reflected in O'NEILLS' offering for the coming season. The kit announcements will therefore cover three main areas:

1) personalisation - good news for all those players who think of themselves as "more than just a number";

2) socks - never a simple issue, but always easy to put your foot in it; and

3) new items - one of which will be modelled by a select few members of the junior coaching staff.

The web-shop details are the same as last season too, so whatever you need, your first port of call remains THE BEHC ONLINE KIT SHOP.