BY their own admission Wycombe Hockey Club are minnows on the national stage.

They aren’t a National League club and they don’t have the resources of a Cannock or a Beeston or a Reading.

But this time last year their U16s girls and U18s boys left reputations in the locker room to become English champions, and now, after both won regional finals before Christmas, they’re aiming to do it again.

U18s manager Tim Maunder said: “It’s very exciting. We’re defending champions and it’s great to be going back with a chance of winning it again.

“We’re absolutely as good as we were last year, but you never think you’re the favourites.

“We go there with a good chance, but you’ve got the best clubs at that age group in the country there and they’ll think they’ve got a good chance too.”

Underlining the slim margins between success and failure, Wycombe won both semi-final and final by the odd goal last year and only won the South Regionals on penalty flicks against Havant – a team with five five outdoor England players.

Countering that, Wycombe can ‘only’ boast England U18 assessment squad members Sam Burroughs and Noah Sharples.

Maunder said: “We’ve got talented individuals, but they’re talented individuals who play as a team and have played together for a number of years.

“We’ve still got a good core from last year and the boys have been successful indoors and outdoors over the years.

“They have experience of national finals, semi-finals and quarter-finals.”

Despite that though, Maunder admits the very nature of indoor hockey makes it too tough to call.

He said: “In indoor hockey there are lots of goals scored very quickly. It’s like basketball, it goes from end to end with lots of chances.

“It’s a great sport to watch, but it’s not so good for you blood pressure.

“We’re probably punching above our weight and there are a lot of ifs and buts between now and winning it again, but I’m quietly confident.”

U16s girls coach Kate Porter would echo that, although they will be defending their title with an almost entirely new team.

Only three of last year’s victorious squad are eligible again this year, but they went unbeaten as they romped to the Regional title and Porter believes her players should take a lot of heart from that.

She said: “We won the South resoundingly and doing that with girls relatively new to indoor hockey was just incredible.

“Now we’re going to the nationals for the second year on the trot and I’m very, very proud.”

And Wycombe might just have an ace up their sleeve. Porter’s daughter Lottie now plays for Beeston, the team they beat in last year’s semi-finals.

She is too old to be playing against her mum’s team this weekend, but her new club are again expected to be Wycombe’s biggest threat.

But Lottie might just be in the perfect position to help plot her new club’s downfall – she’s going to be her mum’s assistant coach during the finals.