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News for 28 September 2015

All the news for Monday 28 September 2015


Women’s EY Hockey League – day one round-up

by Stephen Findlater



Two final quarter goals from Sara Alexander saw Ards produce a famous comeback against Ulster rivals Pegasus for a memorable opening round of the women’s EY Hockey League.
 
Their 3-3 draw was one of the highlights of the first day. Pegasus had led 3-0 via goals from Stephanie Thompson, Vanessa Surgeoner and Suzanne Beaney with 20 minutes to go in the tie. But Ards captain Caroline Adams gave them a lifeline from a corner before Alexander netted twice in the closing phases to grab a point.
 
Anna O’Flanagan’s hat trick earned Hermes a 3-2 win against her former club UCD, coming from a goal behind on two occasions to nick the result in the last play of the game.
 
Sara Twomey and Elaine Carey’s close range efforts put the students in front at 1-0 and 2-1 but O’Flanagan struck back twice before O’Flanagan eventually won the tie following a series of last-ditch penalty corners.
 
Ulster Elks came from a goal down to beat Pembroke 3-1. Sarah Clarke’s corner strike had the Dubliners 1-0 up at half-time but Shirley McCay turned the tide with a pair of goals before Jessica McMaster completed the victory.
 
Railway Union were comfortable 2-0 winners against Cork Harlequins as Emer Lucey and Niamh Carey scored in the first half to put new coach Colm Blennerhassett and his troops on course for victory.
 
UCC were the big winners on day one, coming away from Galway with a 4-0 success against Greenfields with Alex O’Grady, Antonia McGrath, Niamh O’Leary and Nicola Kerr among the goals.
 
Women’s EY Hockey League results: Railway Union 2 (E Lucey, N Carey) Cork Harlequins 0; Greenfields 0 UCC 4 (A O’Grady, A McGrath, N Kerr, N O’Leary); Ards 3 (S Alexander 2, C Adams) Pegasus 3 (S Thompson, V Surgeoner, S Beaney); Ulster Elks 3 (S McCay 2, J McMaster) Pembroke 1 (S Clarke); UCD 2 (E Carey, S Twomey) Hermes 3 (A O’Flanagan 3)
 
Day one extended match reports
 
Railway Union 2 (Emer Lucey, Niamh Carey) Cork Harlequins 0
First half goals from Emer Lucey and Niamh Carey saw Railway Union get their EY Hockey League campaign off to a solid start with a 2-0 home win over Cork Harlequins at Park Avenue.
 
Indeed, Lucey got the Sandymount hosts off to the perfect start when she fired home a direct strike from the first penalty corner of the tie just 60 seconds in. It was a tough blow for Harlequins who were trying to cope without skipper Cliodhna Sargent and injured goalkeeper Emma Buckley.
 
They continued to be put under pressure in the second quarter with Railway running up three more penalty corners. While those went unconverted, Emma Smyth’s mazy run created the second goal, laying the ball off to Carey – an Irish underage international – who slotted home on her senior debut.
 
Harlequins came more into the game in the second half with Olivia Roycroft playing a key role in defence and they won their first corner, drawing a fine save from Grace O’Flanagan. Railway, though, were always in control and – despite missing out from five further corners – were always comfortable.

Ards 3 (Sara Alexander 2, Caroline Adams) Pegasus 3 (Stephanie Thompson, Vanessa Surgeoner, Suzanne Beaney)
Sara Alexander’s late brace saw Ards produce a breath-taking comeback to earn a 3-3 draw having trailed by three goals, denying Ulster rivals Pegasus in a classic encounter.

After a low-key first quarter, the game burst into life in the second with Pegasus taking the box seat. After a flurry of three corners, the third was swept home first time by Stephanie Thompson from a smart switch left move.

On 21 minutes, Vanessa Surgeoner doubled the lead when she got on the end of a ball from the right of the circle, finishing off at the back post.

And the Pegasus ascendancy continued into the second half when Suzanne Beaney netted two minutes after the big break for a 3-0 advantage. Ards served warning of their danger when debutante Scarlett Holdwsorth flashed a shot inches wide and they had a lifeline on the stroke of three-quarter time when Caroline Adams’ penalty corner strike found the backboard.

Alexander set the Pegasus nerves jangling with seven minutes remaining when she slotted home and, with just two minutes on the clock, she pounced on a loose ball near the top of the circle and fired in the equaliser, rescuing a famous point.
 
Ulster Elks 3 (Shirley McCay 2, Jessica McMaster) Pembroke 1 (Sarah Clarke)
Ulster Elks came back from an early deficit to defeat Pembroke 3-1 on day one of the campaign with Ireland’s most capped female player Shirley McCay playing a key role in the success.

They had to do it the hard way, though, as Sarah Clarke’s 14th minute corner strike from a slip left put the Dubliners ahead.

And they held that lead through to the half-time break in spite of sin-binnings for Jilly Collins and Amy Kate Trevor as Stella Davis produced a fine save to retain Pembroke’s clean sheet.

The third quarter, however, saw a sea change in fortunes as McCay’s thunderbolt tied the game up in the 32nd minute. McCay took a green card soon after but, after serving a two-minute suspension, she returned to action to put her side in front.

It came from a penalty corner once again though this time the initial move was not stopped properly. The Elks improvised and McCay worked the ball onto her backhand from where she shot home.

Continuing her eventful quarter, McCay was served a yellow card to sit out a further few minutes in the sin-bin. Nonetheless, her side got home and hosed when Irish captain Megan Frazer picked up possession on the right and drove along the baseline before picking out Jessica McMaster to slide in for their third goal – a 3-1 lead.

Both sides won corners in the closing phases but none were converted to see the Elks over the line for a maiden victory in the new league.
 
UCD 2 (Elaine Carey, Sara Twomey) Hermes 3 (Anna O’Flanagan 3)
Anna O’Flanagan’s hat trick against her former club earned Hermes a thrilling 3-2 victory over UCD at the National Stadium in Belfield, coming from behind on two occasions to nab the win.
 
Indeed, Hermes featured a quartet of players who had lined for UCD last season and it made for a high octane affair throughout with many thrills and spills.
 
UCD made the stronger start, winning an early penalty stroke but Emma Gray saved from her international colleague Katie Mullan with a brilliant diving stick.
 
The students continued to attack and a penalty corner from the last play of the first 15 minute quarter was put away by Sara Twomey – a former Hermes player.
 
O’Flanagan equalised from a corner early in the second quarter but UCD retook the lead when Aisling Naughton crashed a ball into the circle for the waiting Elaine Carey to finish.
 
They had their chances early in the third quarter but lacked a clinical edge to extend their lead and Hermes bounced back. O’Flanagan punished some slack defending to find a gap and race into the circle to shoot in her second of the game.
 
Nikki Evans went close while Clodagh Cassin kept out a couple of corners as Hermes found their mojo. Leah Ewart played a key role in limiting the damage but, amid a series of three penalty corners, Hermes got their winner from the last play of the match with O’Flanagan grabbing the final touch.


 
Greenfields 0 UCC 4 (Alex O’Grady, Antonia McGrath, Nicola Kerr, Niamh O’Leary)
UCC opened their EY Hockey League account with a confident 4-0 win over Galway side Greenfields as their new look side gelled quickly.
 
The students showed early intent but initially found Greenfields hard to break down until the 22nd minute. Alex O’Grady – following a move from Cork Harlequins – broke the deadlock that left Greenfields a little deflated and, soon after, Antonia McGrath nicked the second goal from a penalty corner.
 
UCC upped the pressure further in the third quarter with Nicola Kerr nabbing a contentious third goal, the hosts arguing in vain for an earlier foot in the build-up to the goal, which killed off the game as a contest.
 
Greenfields went to three at the back to try and chase the game and it worked to an extent, creating more chances but the extra space did allow UCC to counter and score a fourth goal in the last minute of the game via Niamh O’Leary.

Irish Hockey Association media release



Men’s EY Hockey League – day one round-up

By Stephen Findlater



Gareth Watkins’ late double saw reigning national champions Monkstown snatch a 2-1 win over Railway Union to raise a dramatic curtain on the men’s EY Hockey League, the first full season national league for the sport.
 
His side looked to be in a perilous position after Mateusz Nowakowski’s second quarter deflection had given Railway an early lead.
 
But Watkins held his nerve from a penalty stroke with eight minutes to go before touching home Jonny Bruton’s pass for the victory.
 
It was one of a series of high octane opening ties. Lisnagarvey picked up an important 3-2 win over Pembroke in a match laden with international talent.
 
Timmy Cockram, James Lorimer and debutant Neal Glassey built a 3-1 lead for the Hillsborough side, rendering Alan Sothern’s double ultimately fruitless, his second coming with mere seconds remaining.
 
Irish Senior Cup champions Banbridge had too much in the tank for Annadale as the prolific Stevie Dowds got his season fired home twice in a 3-1 victory.
 
John Jermyn – Ireland’s record goalscorer – rolled back the years to shoot Cork C of I to a fine victory over Cookstown as the Garryduff hosts scored three times in a dramatic closing quarter for a 4-1 win.
 
Three Rock Rovers, meanwhile, had a similarly comprehensive victory over Glenanne as Peter Blakeney’s first half brace was augmented by goals from Ross Canning and Daragh Walsh.
 
Men’s EY Hockey League, results: Three Rock Rovers 4 (P Blakeney 2, R Canning, D Walsh) Glenanne 1 (S O’Connor); Cork C of I 4 (J Jermyn 3, P Brownlow) Cookstown 1 (K Black); Railway Union 1 (M Nowakowski) Monkstown 2 (G Watkins, J Bruton); Pembroke 2 (A Sothern 2) Lisnagarvey 3 (T Cockram, N Glassey, J Lorimer); Banbridge 3 (S Dowds 2, H McShane) Annadale 1 (P McKibbin)
 
Day one extended match reports
 
Cork C of I 4 (John Jermyn 3, Philip Brownlow) Cookstown 1 (Keith Black)
John Jermyn – Ireland’s record goalscorer – rolled back the years to shoot Cork C of I to a fine victory over Cookstown as the Garryduff hosts scored three times in a dramatic closing quarter for a 4-1 win.
 
Cookstown had started the livelier and made a series of breaks on the counter while Simon Wolfe had the pick of C of I’s early chances. The Co Tyrone side took the lead 17 minutes in after Mark Crooks made a fine run from the right and drew a foul and a penalty stroke. Keith Black converted for 1-0.
 
Jermyn levelled, though, before the big break from a set piece when he ripped in a low drag-flick for 1-1 just before the interval. Cookstown again were the ones to force the pace in the third quarter but found the C of I defence in unflinching form.
 
And, from that base, they counter-striked with a pair of goals in quick succession in the final quarter. First, David Harvey made a searing run down the right before finding Philip Brownlow mid-circle to finish off.
 
Then, Andrew Daunt found Jermyn free on the left of the circle and he made no mistake. Jermyn copper-fastened the win with four minutes left into an empty goal – Cookstown had withdrawn their goalkeeper for an extra outfielder as they sought to fight back – for the three-goal buffer.
 
Three Rock Rovers 4 (Peter Blakeney 2, Ross Canning, Daragh Walsh) Glenanne 1 (Sam O’Connor)
Peter Blakeney was at his aggressive best as Three Rock Rovers eased to a comfortable 4-1 win over Glenanne in the opening EY Hockey League game at Grange Road.
 
He struck twice in the first half before goals from Ross Canning and Daragh Walsh saw Rovers home with something to spare.
 
It took barely a minute for the hosts to get up and running with Walsh and Canning combining in a tight space in the corner to work an opening for Blakeney to finish off.
 
Glenanne’s best moment came from a corner but could not force a major opening and Rovers doubled their advantage early in the second quarter with a breathtaking efffort.
 
Harry Morris was the instigator when he latched onto a loose clearance out of defence and, after a quick free, he arrowed a reverse-stick cross into the path of Blakeney who ramped the ball into the top of the goal for a 2-0 half-time lead.
 
The Glens fought back after the big break with Sam O’Connor cutting the deficit from a second corner, sweeping in from the left of the circle.
 
But that momentum was short-lived as Rovers countered at pace time and again. Morris and Canning were left two on one with Lukasz Domachowski with the former passing the ball around the goalkeeper for 3-1 with Canning tipping in.
 
And Morris, in a superb individual showing, then bustled past a couple of defenders before again laying off selflessly to Walsh to pop home into an empty goal.
 
Pembroke 2 (Alan Sothern 2) Lisnagarvey 3 (Timmy Cockram, James Lorimer, Neal Glassey)
Neal Glassey’s debut goal for Lisnagarvey ultimately proved the difference in a high quality encounter at Serpentine Avenue in a match laden with international quality.
 
Both goalkeepers were called into action in an up-tempo first quarter with Garvey’s John Tormey saving from Alan Sothern while Mark Ingram, at the far end, parried over the bar.
 
He was unable to keep out Timmy Cockram, though, who bundled home a rebound from a penalty corner in the 24th minute for the only goal of the first half.
 
Sothern – in the first game of his third spell with Pembroke since returning from Racing Club de Bruxelles – equalised early in the third quarter. But James Lorimer restored the Garvey advantage in the 40th minute when he converted a penalty corner set piece.
 
Cockram had the chance to pull further clear but his stroke was saved by Ingram. Glassey, though, got the key third goal in the last quarter when he finished off following a great run by Sean Murray.
 
Sothern snatched his second goal in the final minute but it was too late to affect the outcome of the points.

Banbridge 3 (S Dowds 2, H McShane) Annadale 1 (P McKibbin)
Banbridge proved too strong for Annadale to record an opening victory in the EY Hockey League with Stevie Dowds’ double playing a key part at Havelock Park.
 
Bann dominated the early possession stakes with Eugene Magee firing an early warning shot before Dowds opened the scoring from a second penalty corner. Annadale came back strong and won a corner which was eventually scored from by Peter McKibbin from the third rebound after a series of Gareth Lennox saves.
 
Neil Gilmore hit the post from close range to keep the tie locked at 1-1. Dale had to scramble to clear another chance off the line but Banbridge’s momentum was slowed somewhat by Ross Beattie’s yellow card for a mistimed tackle.
 
Bann did go in front in the third quarter when Josh Moffett’s great run down the right got him to the baseline. From there, he picked out Dowds in mid-circle to dispatch into the roof of the net.
 
It led to a more sedate next phase before Bann killed off the tie in the closing quarter. Magee’s snap-shot was excellently saved by Jonny Moore before Hugh McShane was on hand to net a rebound for the final 3-1 lead.
 
Railway Union 1 (Mateusz Nowakowski) Monkstown 2 (Gareth Watkins 2)
Gareth Watkins struck twice in the last eight minutes to see Monkstown snatch victory from a perilous position to get the better of Dublin rivals Railway Union 2-1 at Park Avenue.
 
Mateusz Nowakowski’s second quarter goal had Railway on course for a shock result for a long time but Watkins’ stroke and a close range finish eventually turned the tide despite  Stephen O’Keeffe’s goalkeeping heroics.
 
O’Keeffe, on his return to Railway after a year abroad, showed his form early on with a great corner save while Peter Caruth also went close in a fraught end to end affair.
 
He produced a double-save early in the second quarter as Town continued to press but the sky-blues were stunned when Railway earned a free in a dangerous position. Kenny Carroll slapped it into the circle where Nowakowski touched home.
 
The hosts duly clung on to that lead for dear life with Carroll mopping up wave after wave of Monkstown attack, coping well with Richard Sykes and David Cole’s aerial assault.
 
O’Keeffe continued to be peppered but the assault eventually wore down the Railway defensive legs. Carroll was drawn into a rash tackle on Davy Carson which led to a stroke. Watkins held his nerve to net the equaliser.
 
And he struck again with three minutes left on the clock when Jonny Bruton ghosted through midfield and laid the ball on a plate to Watkins to tap in.

Irish Hockey Association media release



EY Hockey League begins with a bang


Picture credit: Adrian Boehm

Gareth Watkins’ late double saw reigning Irish national champions Monkstown snatch a 2-1 win over Railway Union to raise a dramatic curtain on the men’s EY Hockey League, the first full season national league for the sport in Ireland.

His side looked to be in a perilous position after Mateusz Nowakowski’s second quarter deflection had given Railway an early lead. But Watkins held his nerve from a penalty stroke with eight minutes to go before touching home Jonny Bruton’s pass for the victory.

It was one of a series of high octane opening ties. Lisnagarvey, pictured celebrating above, picked up an important 3-2 win over Pembroke in a match laden with international talent.

Timmy Cockram, James Lorimer and debutant Neal Glassey built a 3-1 lead for the Hillsborough side, rendering Alan Sothern’s double ultimately fruitless, his second coming with mere seconds remaining.

Irish Senior Cup champions Banbridge had too much in the tank for Annadale as the prolific Stevie Dowds got his season fired home twice in a 3-1 victory.

John Jermyn – Ireland’s record goalscorer – rolled back the years to shoot Cork C of I to a fine victory over Cookstown as the Garryduff hosts scored three times in a dramatic closing quarter for a 4-1 win.

Three Rock Rovers, meanwhile, had a similarly comprehensive victory over Glenanne as Peter Blakeney’s first half brace was augmented by goals from Ross Canning and Daragh Walsh.

Euro Hockey League media release



Midland and West secure Inter-District honours in Glasgow



A great experience of hockey took place at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre this weekend, with a successful staging of the U18 & U16 Boys Inter-District tournaments.

Midland were the winners of the U18 Boys Inter-District event following a narrow 1-0 win over East in the final.

Lewis Pyke scored the winning goal in the 37th minute.

In the 3rd/4th play-off, West were comfortable 3-0 winners over North, Lewis Murray, Rory McClure and captain Dean Baber scoring the goals.

Connor Downes of Midland was voted the Byte 'Most Valuable Player' by the coaches.





In the U16 Boys Inter-District event, West were the overall winners after some emphatic results, including a 10-0 win over Midland, 8-1 against Highland, a 6-1 victory against North, and a 3-1 success over eventual runners-up East.



North finished joint second with East, but took the runners-up spot by virtue of a better goals scored record.

John Stephen of Midland was voted Byte 'Most Valuable Player' by the coaches.




 
Photo Credits: Duncan Gray

U18 Boys Inter-District Results

Day 1

Midland 2-2 East
North 3-3 West
Midland 4-2 North
West 0-6 East

Day 2

Midland 2-3 West
East 4-0 North
West 3-0 North
East 0-1 Midland

Standings

Midland
East
West
North

U16 Boys Inter-District Results

Day 1

Midland 0-1 East
North 4-0 Highland
Midland 0-10 West
North 2-2 East
Highland 1-8 West

Day 2

East 1-2 Highland
West 6-1 North
Midland 0-0 Highland
West 3-1 East
North 1-2 Midland

Standings

West
North
East
Highland
Midland

Scottish Hockey Union media release



Penn State field hockey hit-or-miss on corners over the weekend

Andrew Rubin


Cori Conley (15) attempts a pass after a penatly corner kick at the field hockey complex on Sep. 27, 2015. Ohio State defeated Penn State in double overtime, 2-1.  Erin O'Neill

Two Big Ten games, two very similar statistical performances, but two very different results for Penn State field hockey this weekend.

In both games, the Nittany Lions dominated statistically. Friday night against Michigan State, they converted their chances, routing the Spartans 6-1. But, on Sunday afternoon against Ohio State, they dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 double-overtime decision to the Buckeyes.

As the Lions (4-5, 1-2 Big Ten) welcomed Ohio State to Happy Valley on Sunday, they were looking to get above .500 in both the Big Ten and overall.

After 94:48 of tight drama and a sudden-death overtime period, the Lions had outshot the Buckeyes 25-12, drawn 14 penalty corners to Ohio State’s one, but in the most crucial category, the Buckeyes outscored the Lions 2-1.

Penn State was unable to directly convert on any of the penalty corners it drew with the lone goal coming off of a Brooke Birosik penalty stroke drawn off of a corner 23 minutes into the first half.

“I thought we had chances in front of the goal where we just weren’t tenacious enough,” coach Charlene Morett-Curtiss said. “That is where we have to learn. We have to learn a little bit better stick work to finish. Their goalie obviously played well, but it is just no excuse, that execution needs to be better.”

With the exception of the two goals, the Lions defense played a strong game through the 94 minutes, only allowing six shots against a team that averages over 13.

“It was good that we only allowed them six shots, we played really tough defense,” defender Cori Conley said. “We didn’t even allow them a corner except for overtime.”

However, in those six shots, the Lions’ left goalie Jenny Rizzo all alone to defend a two-man breakaway which resulted in the tying goal in the second half.

Later in overtime, the Buckeyes’ Kile Morgan smashed home a goal into the corner of the cage from the edge of the box, leaving Rizzo no chance to make a save.

In Friday’s game against Michigan State, the Lions flat out controlled the game from start to finish, dominating statistical categories much like they did against Ohio State except they converted on six occasions to beat the Spartans 6-1.

Six players found the back of the net for Penn State. Mary Nell Smith, Stephanie Hussey, Aurelia Meijer, Shay Cannon, Brooke Birosik, and Gini Bramley all scored for the Lions. Hussey’s goal was the eventual game winner.

After the game, the coaching staff called the result the most complete performance of the season, as they outshot the Spartans 28-9.

Domination of statistics continues to be a theme this year for the Lions, however, after an impressive performance Friday, they were left disappointed once again after missed opportunities and some stellar goalkeeping Sunday.

“It’s just so many chances with the ball in front of the cage and people not being there,” Morett-Curtiss said. “That was the big difference in Friday night’s game, we had middies inside the circle and we didn’t [Sunday].”

The Daily Collegian



Officials Olympic-bound

FIH appoints ten Australians to officiating roles at Rio 2016 Olympic Games


Umpire Kylie Seymour is Rio bound

Australian hockey is celebrating after the appointment of no fewer than ten of its top officials to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero.

The five men and five women will fulfill a range of positions including umpires, umpire manager, judges and appeals jurors.

Heading to Rio for the men’s competition will be a trio of umpires – Murray Grime, Adam Kearns and Tim Pullman – plus Josh Burt, who will act as a judge and Ken Read, who will sit on the appeals jury.

Two field umpires – Kylie Seymour (pictured) and Melissa Trivic – will officiate in the women’s competition, supported by Lisa Roach, who has been appointed as a video umpire. Tammy Standley has been appointed as a judge with Minka Woolley heading to South America’s first Olympic Games as an Umpire Manager.

“We are rightly very quick to acknowledge the efforts and achievements of our athletes when they are selected for major international events and it is equally fitting to acknowledge and congratulate the large number of Australian umpires and tournament officials who have recently been appointed by the FIH to officiate at major international events in 2016,” said Ben Hartung, General Manager for Hockey at Hockey Australia.

“These appointments recognise the hard work and dedication that these officials have invested in developing and improving their skills and experience over many years.  The large number of appointments showcases the depth of officiating in Australia.

“It is vital for the sustainability of top level officiating in Australia that the hockey community is aware of the officiating pathways that currently exist for umpires and tournament officials. Training and development of the next group of officials for beyond the Rio 2016 Olympics has already commenced and we want to continue our proud tradition of developing and supporting our umpires and officials to achieve their goals.”

It will be Woolley’s fourth Olympic Games, an outstanding achievement. She was an umpire at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics in Athens and Beijing before taking on the Umpire Manager role at the London 2012 Olympics.

Rio will mark a third Olympic appointment for Roach, who umpired at the 2008 and 2012 Games and has taken charge at two outdoor World Cups and two indoor World Cups.

Trivic will make her Olympic debut having previously whistled the 2014 World Cup and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Her rise to the top is testament to her dedication to umpiring; having gained her international badge in 2004 she took four years off (2006-2010) to have children before returning to the game.

For Olympic debutants Standley and Seymour, the call ups mark an impressive rise to the top of their hockey profession having only received their first international appointments in 2011.

Men’s umpires Adam Kearns and Tim Pullman were both on the umpiring panel at the 2014 World Cup in the Netherlands with Kearns also taking charge at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last year.

For Pullman, Rio will mark a second Olympic experience after he officiated at London 2012, and for Grime it will be a well-deserved return to the pinnacle of the sport, coming eight years after his first Olympic appointment at Beijing 2008.

Josh Burt has previously officiated at the Indoor World Cup, Junior World Cup, Youth Olympic Games and Champions Trophy. Ken Read, the President of Hockey Tasmania and former Hockey Australia board member, is an experienced FIH official and the Chair of the FIH Competitions Committee.

There was more good news for Kylie Seymour with the announcement that she has been appointed to umpire at next year’s Champions Trophy in London, a significant preparatory event for the Olympic Games.

And Australian officials will also play important roles at next year’s Junior World Cups in Chile (women) and India (men). Tammy Standley will go to the women’s Junior World Cup as a Tournament Official and Aleisha Neumann as an umpire. Dalas Riseley (Tournament Official), Ben De Young and Zeke Newman (both umpires) will take charge at the men’s Junior World Cup.

Hockey Australia is proud to have so many officials appointed to major international events. Our congratulations to everyone appointed.

XXXI Olympic Games, Rio de Janiero (BRA), 6-19 August
Joshua Burt – Men’s Panel of Judges
Tammy Standley – Women’s Panel of Judges
Lisa Roach – Women’s Video Umpire
Murray Grime – Men’s Panel of Umpires
Adam Kearns – Men’s Panel of Umpires
Tim Pullman – Men’s Panel of Umpires
Kylie Seymour – Women’s Panel of Umpires
Melissa Trivic – Women’s Panel of Umpires
Minka Woolley – Umpire Manager
Ken Read – Appeals Jury
 
Hockey Champions Trophy, London (ENG), 18-26 June 2016
Kylie Seymour – Women’s Panel of Umpires

Women’s Junior World Cup, Santiago (CHI), 27 November – 3 December 2016
Tammy Standley – Tournament Official (TO) – 1 of 3 TOs
Aleisha Neumann – Panel of Umpires
 
Men’s Junior World Cup, (TBC) India, 1-11 December 2016
Dallas Riseley – Tournament Official (TO) – 1 of 3 TOs
Ben De Young – Panel of Umpires
Zeke Newman – Panel of Umpires

Hockey Australia media release



Junior hockey: Colts to begin final phase of training

KARACHI: The junior hockey team, preparing for the  upcoming 5th Sultan of Johar Cup under Olympian Tahir Zaman, will undergo the final phase of its training camp at the Army Hockey Club in Rawalpindi starting Monday.

“We will be focusing on strengthening the players’ stamina, their control with the ball and the speed of their movement on the field,” Zaman told The Express Tribune.

“We have an experienced player in Dilber Hussain who has been part of the senior team and has international exposure. His captaincy will help the rest of the team a lot.”

He added that the proper focus will be given to players in terms of their individual abilities.

Pakistan are scheduled to play the opening match of the tournament against India on October 11.

The Express Tribune



Groupism in hockey team

Strong punishment is the key

A news report on Saturday revealed that Michael Nobbs, who coached the Indian hockey team at the 2012 London Olympic Games, had complained that groupism in the team had caused India to finish last in the tournament. While the news of groupism and indiscipline in itself is not breaking news, a few damning details have emerged. Nobbs had said that some team members were keen to merely participate in the Olympics, and willing to go any length to achieve this goal. This included asking a fellow player to “get injured” so that a standby player could get a chance to play. These are very serious allegations; in fact, on the basis of Nobbs’ report, Hockey Indian had suspended one key player for over a year, and dropped another.

Groupism has existed in the Indian hockey teams for a long time, but when a team is winning or doing well, these things don't seem to matter. The hockey team has been struggling badly for around 40 years — during this time, whispers and reports of cliques in the team have emerged regularly. There are complaints of regionalism; whenever a significant number of players in the team is from a particular state or region, these fears and whispers intensify. To top it all, the Indian hockey association has been in a state of mismanagement for a long time, sometimes involved in corruption, often governed by dictatorial and unprincipled officials. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if the players too get affected by these attitudes.

In any Indian national team, made up of players from diverse social and linguistic backgrounds, it’s not possible to stop the players from forming groups. It can become harmful if these groups start working against the interests of the team. This seems to have happened often in the last decade. The results on the field have been quite distressing -— if India finished last at the 2012 Olympics, they failed to even qualify for the 2008 Olympics. To stamp out the problem of harmful groupism, a very strong disciplinary action needs to be taken.

The Tribune



What I should do with my NGO: Retain talent or encourage export?

K Arumugam

Having established a fairly sustainable grassroot development model that suits Indian conditions, my Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and its flagship project One Thousand Hockey Legs(OTHL) begs some questions right now, and await for suitable answers.

The brain storming kind of thing is needed to move forward without getting into irresistible urge for instant success, and without diluting the very purposes for which the NGO was formed at the first place.

Coming to the point directly.

Last year, one of the Delhi OTHL schools, Saket, won both the Nehru-Dhyan Chand Cup and then biggest ever school prize money event, Cairns Juniors Hockey Cup for NCR region.

The Government School in South Delhi was becoming a true force when six of the boys got an offer from private school. The offer includes English medium education at free of cost, scholarship etc. OTHL’s objective, second only to creating a hockey culture in schools, is to use hockey as a medium to transform lives of needy poor sections of students.

I allowed 5,6 Saket boys to move to the rich Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee managed school in Delhi, who took them in to reinforce their existing hockey team.

The best goalie of the Delhi OTHL also hailed from the Saket School. I sent him for trial at the National Institute of Patiala, where he got selected. My NGO bore all his expenses for this and even paid school fee of Rs.5.2k, and got him settled at Patiala in addition to other two boys. The boys got free education, boarding and lodging besides getting trained at the premier institution. Now there are at Bhubneswar playing inter-SAI tournament.

By and large, once the boys move out of OTHL, they belong to new label, and will become other’s property.

With the core of the team had gone, the Saket school team was back into building process; lost the semifinals of this year’s Nehru Dhyan Chand Cup, and fared not well in the recent Delhi State Jr. Championship.

Had I not allowed these boys to move out, Saket would have been a hot property in these tournaments and also the others likely to come up in the season. They would have given name and fame for the NGO.

The school set up which helped the team to come up and count is also disappointed that OTHL allowed its stars to go away.

BUT I DID IT BECAUSE,

***Incubation of talent is the first objective of OTHL, not seeking constant glory out of it
***School tournament wins are not right barometer to measure the success of any NGO, or any sport
***Its not boys but schools (management and coaches) who benefit because of such tournament successes which often lead to many ills (prolonging players’ spell in schools by cook or crook, importing over-age talents etc.).
***The real measure of success will lie when the students will knock the doors of State, National and international sides. Or, get career opportunity due to combined result of hockey and academic excellence.

However, the incubation concept and selfless nursery kind of approach – however laudable – will harm the NGO in the long run. Feels many who are also equally concerned about my work.

THEY FEEL THAT

***The NGO’s success will be measured by numbers, certainly not by qualitative objectives
***One day a question will be asked how tournaments your NGO won
***Not many successful players unearthed by the NGO will give credit to it because, the adopted institutions will claim them as their product, not the NGOs.
***A NGO cannot sustain without measurable field success.
***NGO needs to retain best talent, do well at Nationals so that it attracts the attention of selectors who normally focus after team reach certain stage like QF, SF etc.
***Only winning teams get many certificates and perks (scholarships, rewards by Govt, SHA etc)and their visibility help them get good jobs and land in good colleges.

I think there is merit in both arguments. I need valuable, unbiased views from all concerned with hockey.

It is actually easy for the NGO to pool best talents in one or two schools and keep winning every tournament and get instant success.

Is it the way forward? Or something else.

Stick2Hockey.com

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