News for 09 December 2020
All the news for Wednesday 9 December 2020
No Stars Awards early 2021
Following the postponement of many international matches this year, including the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has decided to cancel the Stars Awards initially planned for early 2021.
FIH CEO Thierry Weil said: "Due to the high number of international matches which could not be played this year because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no FIH Stars Awards this time. But we of course intend to renew with these Awards in the future, once the situation will enable international hockey to be played on a regular basis again."
FIH site
Chance for stars of the game to shine in Spain
The Copa Del Rey and the Copa de la Reina, which will be played from 11 to 13 December, will provide a great opportunity for the best athletes in Spain to come together for a three day intensely competitive hockey event.
The good news for hockey fans worldwide is that the following matches will be available to watch LIVE on the Watch.Hockey App, which can be downloaded for free on Apple and Android devices.
Copa de la Reina (Women’s)
- 12/12/2020, 10:30 CET, Semi-final 1
- 12/12/2020, 12:45 CET, Semi-final 2
- 13/12/2020, 08:45 CET, Match for 3rd/4th place
- 13/12/2020, 11:00 CET, Final
Copa del Rey (Men’s)
- 12/12/2020, 15:00 CET, Semi-final 1
- 12/12/2020, 17:15 CET, Semi-final 2
- 13/12/2020, 13:30 CET, Final
After the disruption of the global pandemic, hockey players the world over are itching to get back into regular competitive hockey. For the top eight men’s and women’s club sides in Spain, the Copa Del Rey and the Copa de la Reina, will provide just that opportunity.
The two competitions are hugely important to Spanish hockey heritage. This year is the 36th playing of the women’s event and the 104th time the men’s event has been held.
This year’s competitions are being held in the coastal city of Valencia. This is the second time that Valencia has hosted the competition; it also hosted the event in 2018. Last year, the Copa Del Rey and the Copa de la Reina took place in Can Salas in Terassa, where Real Club de Polo and Club de Campo were men’s and women’s champions respectively.
Of the participating teams, the two reigning champions have by far the best track record. In the men’s competition, 2019 winners Real Club de Polo has 31 titles, with Club Egara on 17 trophies just ahead of Atlétic Terrassa on 16 and Club de Campo with 13 trophies to their name.
The most successful women’s team is Club de Campo, who have been champions for the past five years and have a total of 17 winner’s trophies. Also appearing on the honours list are CD Terrassa (5), SPV Complutense (4), Real Club de Polo (4) and Real Sociedad San Sebastián (3).
The tournament is a great showcase for the stars of the national teams. Most Valuable Player awards have, over the years, gone to illuminates of the game such as Matías Rey, Xavi Lleonart, Roc Oliva, David Alegre, Maria López, Rocio Gutiérrez, Georgina Oliva, Begoña García and Lola Riera.
The competition will comprise four quarterfinal matches, with the winners heading straight to the semi-finals, before the finals and bronze medal match, which take place on Sunday 13 December.
Talking about the competition, women’s national team player and Club de Campo captain Bea Perez said: “The Copa de la Reina is always a special tournament for us, because of the crowd and because in just one match anything can happen and any team can win.
“This year the celebrations of the Copa may be different because of the worldwide pandemic but I am sure it will be equally exciting and the players can’t wait any longer and we are looking forward to the start of the game and we will enjoy every minute on the pitch.”
And Miguel Delas, captain of FC Barcelona, added: "It will be great because all the best players will be playing on the same pitch over a weekend. It will be inspiring for followers of Spanish hockey. As you know it has not been easy, it has been very challenging, so we will take care and make sure everything goes well. The main thing is to be part of this. After many months, we just want to play hockey and have fun and we hope you will all follow the action over the weekend."
FIH site
Enough of training, more hockey matches needed
By Jugjet Singh
The seniors and juniors played a friendly match on Saturday, their first since the Razak Cup in September. - Pic Courtesy of MHC
AFTER two months of training under strict Covid-19 SOP at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, the Malaysian national hockey players are finally getting to see match action.
The seniors and juniors played a friendly match on Saturday, their first since the Razak Cup in September.
Team manager Datuk Mirnawan Nawawi, elated with the latest development, said: "We need matches even though they are just between national seniors and juniors.
"They have been training under strict SOP for two months and it's becoming a little robotic.
"We will play more matches next week to let the players change their routine and become more competitive.
"The first match was quite close as the underdogs (juniors) put up a good fight when their backs were against the wall," said Mirnawan.
However, national coach Arul Selvaraj pointed out that the players were lacking in certain aspects.
"The passing and receiving under pressure was lacking. But that is to be expected as the players have been doing only training for so long.
We will play more matches (seniors and juniors) next week."
The national players participated in only two local tournaments this year after Covid-19 wiped out all the international tournaments.
While the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) was held in February and the Razak Cup in September, the Junior Hockey League, as well as under-14 and under-16 tournaments, were postponed as it involved school-going children.
Next year, Malaysia will kick-start their international calendar with the men's Asian Champions Trophy on March 11-19 in Bangladesh, while the women's edition will be held on March 31-April 7 in South Korea.
Until then, it's training and playing friendly matches among the players for another month until the MHL, which is expected to start on Jan 8.
New Straits Times
Making Her Own Name: Kylie Dawson Adds to Family Field Hockey Legacy
When Meghan Dawson joined Eastern High School’s field hockey team in 2003, a two-decades long dynasty was still in its early years.
But the tall, talented multi-sport athlete still felt the lofty expectations placed on her that weren’t quite the norm for most 14-year-olds. She walked into the school as a freshman three months after the graduation of her older sister, Rachel Dawson.
Rachel was the best player in the history of Eastern’s program. The best player in the state in 2004, she was the eventual winner of the Honda Award for the National Player of the Year at the University of North Carolina and a future, three-time U.S. Olympian, too.
Meghan’s other two older sisters, Natalie and Sarah, were accomplished players in their own right who earned Division I college scholarships and also became members of the U.S. Women's National Team.
“Being the younger sister, you just look up to them and you have all of this love for them,” Meghan Dawson, now the head coach at Appalachian State University, said last week. “You (say to yourself), ‘I want to do what they’ve done and I want to be as good as they are.’ And then the pressure starts setting in.
“My response was, ‘OK, fight.’ … It instilled this kind of fight and it helped me deal with it,” she added. “Instead of looking at it as pressure, I looked at it as just competing. And admiring my sisters and all they accomplished and all they had done, wanting to do that, but also wanting to make my own name and be myself.”
The mindset worked out well for Meghan, who followed Rachel to UNC, where she helped the Tar Heels to two national championships after being a two-time NFHCA all-American and New Jersey Player of the Year at Eastern and before also making the U.S. National team. She continued to pave a path for her two younger sisters, Hannah and Melanie, too.
And perhaps better than anyone, Meghan knows exactly what it’s been like for current Eastern defender Kylie Dawson. 
Two years ago, Kylie Dawson –– Meghan’s niece and the daughter of Dave Dawson, the oldest of eight Dawson siblings — arrived at Eastern. For the first time since 2009, there was another Dawson on the Viking roster, and it was impossible for a freshman with that name at that school to fly under the radar.
Two years later, Kylie’s coming-of-age story is not unlike those of her aunts: the tall and talented junior helped Eastern collect its 22nd straight sectional championship last month in a win over Shawnee and has emerged as one of the top defenders in the state, too.
“Work, and my coaches and teammates pushing me in practice,” Dawson said of her meteoric rise from junior varsity player as a freshman to highly-recruited Division-I college prospect as a junior.
And as for trying to live up to the name on the back of the jersey?
“My whole family is really supportive,” Kylie said. “They build me up, so I really don’t feel that much pressure. I don’t feel the pressure to carry the name, because everyone is just so supportive of me doing my own thing and being my own person and just playing.”
Dave Dawson said his daughter has had an independent streak since she was a baby and that it’s served her well in leading a new generation of Dawsons at Eastern. (Unlike her aunts, Kylie doesn’t have any sisters; her younger brother, Logan, is in eighth grade).
“When she would go to college clinics or USA Field Hockey events, and the players would introduce themselves, she would always just say, ‘Kylie’ (instead of her full name),” her father recalled. “But then her teammates would be like, ‘No, tell them your last name so they know you’re a Dawson!’ and Kylie would be like,’No. I’m just telling them my first name.’ She wanted to do it on her own.”
And the kid who had a hockey stick in her hands before she learned to walk and grew up in the bleachers at Eastern, UNC, and U.S. national team events, has done just that.
“She’s creating her own name,” Meghan Dawson said. “And we all had to do that. I had to be Meghan Dawson, and not Rachel Dawson’s or Sarah Dawson’s sister. But she’s got it now.”
Kylie, who also runs on Eastern’s track teams in the winter and spring, saw her field hockey career take an important step prior to her junior year. While continuing to grow as a player on Eastern’s highly competitive team (the Vikings have won a national record 21 straight state championships), and with club teams UPRISE (led by former Eastern coaching legend Danyle Heilig) and her current team, Spirit of USA (where she’s coached by former Camden Catholic standout and U.S. Olympian Michelle Vittese), the newest field hockey Dawson was one of three Eastern players selected to the United States U-16 National team.
Only 34 players across the country were selected for the team, which prior to COVID, was scheduled to train in North Carolina and California earlier this year before a trip to England, too.
“Obviously all of that got canceled,” Dave Dawson said. “But it was a big jolt to her confidence.”
Kylie’s game continued to blossom just within the abbreviated fall high school season, too. Not long before the playoffs began, Eastern coach Alex Marshall gave her rising-star defender some homework: Watch the first game of the season and your most current game and let me know what you see differently about yourself.
“And she said, ‘Wow, look at my confidence, how much stronger I’m playing. I’m stepping up to the ball,’” Marshall said, relaying their conversation. “So after watching her grow this season, I’m excited about her coming back next year.”
College coaches are excited with Kylie’s potential to keep improving, too. Last June, when coaches were cleared to reach out to recruits, Dawson received more than two dozen emails and phone calls from colleges across the field hockey world, from the ACC and Big Ten to Ivy League schools, too.
“It’s a little stressful but exciting at the same time, finding where you fit in,” Kylie said.
The same could probably be said for the lifelong path of following her aunts into field hockey stardom.
“We have such a great community here (at Eastern), all of the alumni, the players on the team, it’s really nice,” Kylie added. “And I can always text my aunts and ask for help. And just (for) motivation — anything.”
Kylie isn’t dissimilar from the Dawsons who came before her in that way. She’s as humble as she is skilled.
“I don’t think people understand the pressure she’s been under,” Meghan Dawson said. “She would be playing little kid field hockey, and the first question when she says, ‘I’m Kylie Dawson,’ is, ‘Oh, are you related to the Dawsons’ or ‘Your aunts are the Dawsons?’ and, ‘Oh, you’re Rachel Dawson’s niece?’ From Day One. So she’s never escaped that. And going to Eastern added that extra pressure. You’re following in the footsteps and can you handle it?
“I’ve known since she was younger that she was going to take her time to develop,” Meghan continued. “Luckily with my job, I’ve been able to watch her grow, from recruiting tournaments. She just does so much good, that it’s simple. She’s not flashy, she doesn’t need to do everything, but she does a lot of little things right, and that is really making her (a complete player). And now she has the confidence to explode.”
Content Courtesy of Ryan Lawrence, The Sun Newspapers
USFHA media release
‘We Take Pride In What We Do’: Referees & Custodians
The match began to the sound of an electric whistle. Players on the bench were spread far apart, watching. The cheers of the spectators were muffled by masks. This was not a normal field hockey game.
Lyn Vera has been officiating the sport for over 40 years, but this season she faced new challenges. Due to the pandemic, referees this fall were understaffed and officiating a dramatically shortened season. However, they remained dedicated to the sport they love.
As the game began, Montpelier and Missisquoi players charged across the field at Montpelier High School, calling to each other as the ball rocketed from stick to stick. This year there was a new addition to the uniform: both players and referees were wearing facial coverings.
“We wear masks, even though referees are exempt from it,” Vera said. “For safety as well as empathy.”
The rules of the game had not been changed and the match was just as fast-paced as usual. Sharp whistles broke up play frequently.
When referees wear masks, signaling with a whistle is impossible, so officials came up with a solution. The bright orange electronic whistle is held in a referee’s hand and a button is pushed to release the familiar shrill sound. This presents its own set of issues regarding “Whistle Talk,” a term used in the referee community to describe the intent of a signal varied through the length, tone and volume of a whistle signal.
“When you are trying to emphasize a point with a player you don’t usually speak,” Vera said. The electronic substitute isn’t quite as flexible.
The season itself was cut in half this year, with teams playing roughly seven games less than usual due to a late start in the season. The decrease was also linked to schools attempting to limit exposure to the virus.
The Vermont Field Hockey Umpires Association (VTFHUA) worked closely with the referees. The organization held a Covid Protocol Training for their members and conducted their annual rules seminar virtually.
The organization was also understanding about members backing out. “If people decided they really couldn’t umpire this season, they were certainly not penalized,” Vera said.
Kristina Sickmuller, Vera’s partner overseeing the game, was leaving the match as players and fans headed home. She echoed Vera’s positivity towards the organization. The league’s leadership and communication had been prompt. “It’s exactly what we need right now,” Sickmueller said.
Even with flexibility from VTFHUA, the organization lost referees to injuries, covid cases and quarantines. This left the remaining few spread thin.
Vera is working games seven days a week. “Those of us who are working are working a lot,” she said.
From the bench to the sidelines, players and parents were grateful for the referees sticking with the season.
Cece Curtain, Captain of the Montpelier Varsity team, said she was glad that she was simply able to play. “I think they are doing everything right to keep us safe and happy,” she said.
Reagan Walke, a middle school player watching the game, sat with her friends on the sideline. With restrictions in place she felt comfortable playing.
“We are socially distanced,” she said, “and I trust the people on my team.”
During a break in the game Bob Berger watched the game from his folding chair, clad in Missisquoi Blue:
“I am just very thankful we are able to come and watch them play.”
Content Courtesy of Anika Turcotte, VTDigger
USFHA media release
England Hockey publishes important new Planning Safe Hockey guide
England Hockey has today published an important new guide entitled Planning Safe Hockey.
The guide is intended to be used as a checklist by anyone delivering or planning hockey activity. England Hockey strongly encourages all clubs/organisations and their members to familiarise themselves with the guide and also to address any unsafe practices.
The guide was created in memory of Luke Hobson, a 14-year-old junior player who tragically died on 28 March 2019 having sustained a fatal impact head injury. The guide was created with the co-operation of Luke's parents.
We all have a responsibility to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all those who play hockey; it is therefore important that we take steps to minimise risk to all engaged in hockey, enhancing their experience and reassuring players, parents and guardians.
The rules of hockey are constantly evolving, therefore it is imperative that all those who plan and deliver hockey activity do so in a way that ensures the safety of all involved in our sport.
For the full 46-page guide, click here or on the image below.
England Hockey has recently included the reporting of injuries using EH’s online Injury Monitoring Form as a term of Affiliation and requires all clubs to report any injuries sustained on the field of play which meet the criteria outline in EH’s Injury Reporting Policy.
All of this information - as well as a series of posters for clubs - is available on a permanent basis at www.englandhockey.co.uk/planningsafehockey
England Hockey Board Media release
WA and SA Institute of Sport hockey job vacancies
Applications are open for exciting coaching positions at the Western Australia and South Australia Institute of Sport’s hockey programs.
Position(s): WAIS Hockey Coaches
The Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) has an exciting opportunity for two hockey coaches to join the Pathways Performance Enhancement Team to develop Western Australia’s best future Olympic hockey talent.
The two roles, head coach and coach, form part of the Hockey Australia National Athlete Pathway Program and are responsible for developing identified WA talent to the standard required for selection to the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras squads.
Further information about the positions and applications can be completed through the WAIS website and SportsPeople.
Applications close midnight AWST, 23 December 2020.
Position: SASI Head Hockey Coach
Role Purpose: The South Australian Institute of Sport (SASI) Head Hockey Coach is responsible for the day-to-day management and coaching of SASI’s high performance hockey program ensuring that the program athletes are selected for National Teams and that player development and progression is in line with international best practice.
In addition, the SASI Head Hockey Coach will provide strong management and coordination to South Australia’s high performance coaches and hockey community and will endeavour to work closely with Hockey Australia’s (HA) key high performance staff as part of a collaborative approach ensuring system alignment between the SASI’s hockey program and the National high performance program.
Full position details and to apply
Applications close on 3 January 2021.
Click here to view all current vacancies and volunteer positions in Australian hockey.
Hockey Australia media release