News for 01 July 2017
All the news for Saturday 1 July 2017
Scotland U21 women lose to England in first test match at Lilleshall
Chloe Hardie Scotland U21 Women
In a score line that didn’t truly reflect the encounter, Emily Dark was the only scorer for Scotland in a 5-1 defeat away to England.
Scotland U21 were put under pressure by a strong England team at Lilleshall on Wednesday. England scored twice in the opening quarter taking advantage of loose defending to get their noses in front.
After going 2-0 down, Scotland responded in the second quarter with a fast break down the left side by Emma McDiarmid. The ball was passed deep to Lorna Cruikshank who drove strongly along the baseline through the English defence before threading the ball across the goal for the rushing in Emily Dark to finish in style at the back post.
The balance of play was more even in the third and fourth quarters but England managed to take more of their chances running out 5-1 winners.
England’s fifth goal came in the dying seconds of the match, the ball was picked up outside the D and the runner was able to dribble through and score from close range.
Overall Scotland didn’t play badly and perhaps the score flattered England. There are things to work on, and areas to improve, but Scotland matched England for fitness and speed although the hosts were very clinical in front of goal.
The team’s next match against England is today at 3pm.
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Women’s hockey team gets ready to kick some butt
Abhimanyu Mathur
The Indian women's hockey team is in Delhi to prepare for the upcoming World Hockey League Semifinals in South Africa. While the team, which leaves today, has been sweating it out in their training camp every day, they had a little 'extra-curricular' break this week, when the focus shifted briefly from hockey to contact sports like kickboxing and boxing. On Tuesday, the team visited a kickboxing gym in Greater Kailash as part of Hockey India's efforts to mix some fun with their intense training. The girls put on their boxing gloves and tried some 'jabs' of a different kind under the surveillance of their trainers. During an hour-long session, they were taught some basic punching and kicking techniques as well as light exercises to improve footwork. Rahul, a trainer at the gym, told us, "We focused on functional training. The coach told us that even in hockey, they have to 'jab' with their sticks if they want to pass or shoot. So we worked on improving their punches and jabs and building on other skills, which come in handy in both boxing and hockey."
The team's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne was quite pleased with the girls' workout. He said, "An important goal here was to have fun. We're always on the hockey pitch, training. Sometimes it's good to get away from that for a while and that's what we did today. The girls had a lot of fun. They had really good instructors and I'm happy with that." According to the girls, the biggest help they got was with respect to footwork. Rani Rampal, the team captain, said, "In hockey, we have to be quick on our feet, particularly when defending. Footwork is just as important in boxing too and the trainers helped us get better with that." In fact, the players were positive that apart from the fun they had in the session, it might also help them improve their game. Sushila Chanu said, "It was great fun but quite useful too. I'm sure what we learned about footwork will come in handy on the field too."
But it wasn't only their tryst with boxing that the girls had during their stay in the capital. The following morning, they were paid a surprise visit in their training camp by Olympic medalist Mary Kom. In a brief interaction, the accomplished boxer spoke to the team about the importance of never being afraid of any opponent and always being proud of one's background. "I always had the aim of achieving financial stability for my family through boxing. It is very important for one to be proud of their background and to showcase it in front of the world," she told the team.
The Times of India
PHF secretary Shahbaz blasts hockey team for lack of temperament, intellect
ISLAMABAD: Expressing dejection at national team’s pathetic performance at the recently-concluded World Hockey League, Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Shahbaz Ahmed Senior has said the current outfit lacked in “intellect and temperament to win matches.”
“Playing for the country is a big honour. But I am really dejected to see that our current team has neither fighting spirit, nor the will to win,” Shahbaz told APP.
Pakistan at the WHL lost to arch-rivals India 7-1 in their opener, went down to the Netherlands 4-1, and were thrashed 6-0 by Canada.
They somehow managed to qualify for the quarter-final as the fourth team from Group ‘B’ with just one win against Scotland. In the quarter-final, they were beaten 3-1 by world number one Argentina.
Then they again lost to India 6-1 for the fifth position match. They however finished seventh in the tournament by beating China 3-1 in the seventh/eighth position match.
Shahbaz said when he took charge in September 2015, he had predicted that the current Pakistan side could not be among the top six teams in the next two years as players lacked confidence and spirit to win.
“Our players just don’t know what sort of hockey they should be playing. They are just passing the time and their sole priority is to play for different leagues.
“The way they lost to India is quite depressing. I have never seen such a spiritless side,” Shahbaz said.
He said the PHF did whatever it could to prepare the players for the important event.
“We’ve spent fifty million rupees on these players during the past three months. We sent them on a 20-day Australia-New Zealand tour to prepare them for the World League. Similarly, they were sent to Ireland 15 days ahead of the event. But at no stage in the tournament they showed that they wanted to win.
“I was expecting they will bounce back like our cricket team and will make them (cricket team) a role model. But unlike them they kept on making the same mistakes and demonstrated the same poor hockey,” Shahbaz lamented.
He believed the habits of the current players had become so strong that nobody could change them now.
Shahbaz, however, pinned high hopes on Pakistan’s under-18 team stating that it was heading in the right direction.
“The boys in our under-18 team are working hard. They seem eager to win. They have shown great fighting spirit in Australia’s national hockey championship and defeated their top clubs.
“I’m sure our hockey will rise when they become part of the senior hockey team,” Shahbaz added.
Dawn
Comment: Pakistan's Government needs to pull socks up for hockey’s revival
Anwar Zuberi
THIS Eid brought joy and sorrow to the nation at the same time in the aftermath of cricket team’s 180-run victory over none other than India in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy and hockey team’s debacle at the hockey World League semi-finals, both in London.
Pakistan finished a poor seventh in the 10-nation competition and has qualified for the 2018 Hockey World Cup being held at Bhubaneswar, India, thanks to the FIH which has raised the number of teams from 12 to 16. However, it is alarming the way the green-shirts lose their matches by huge margins.
Successive humiliating defeats at the hands of India by 7-1 in the league and 6-1 in the 5th to 8th position classification match has perturbed the entire hockey family in the country who are demanding resignation from PHF officials and team management.
It took India three-and-a-half decades or 35 years to avenge its 1982 Delhi Asian Games hockey final defeat of 7-1 at the hands of Pakistan. Barring a few exceptions, the matches between the two nations have been fought fiercely and decided on narrow margins.
That was not enough as minnows like Canada also registered a record 6-0 whitewash against Pakistan. The green-shirts were thrashed by eventual champions Netherlands by 4-0.
Pakistan could only win one group match by 3-1 against low-ranked Scotland. The reigning Olympic champions Argentina also taught Pakistan a lesson inflicting a 3-1 defeat on them in the quarter-final.
Their second success, also by 3-1 scoreline, came against China in their last game that enabled them to grab the seventh spot.
Results are a true indicator which is evident from the fact that they conceded 28 goals as against nine scored by them in seven matches.
Meanwhile, the final turned out to be a one-sided affair as the Netherlands trounced Argentina by tennis score of 6-1 to win the title.
Pakistan’s worst-ever performance has drawn severe criticism from former Olympians and internationals at home.
The incumbent PHF hierarchy has done nothing rather than wasting money doled out by the prime minister over the years, noted former Olympian Samiullah.
Criticising the performance, he told Dawn that lack of coordination between the team and the team management was visible during the matches.
Lambasting the PHF, he lamented that it’s unfortunate that no proper scouting of talent was carried out nationwide for under-16 and under-18 tiers except on paper.
Known as Flying Horse for his speed, the former Olympian said there’s abundance of talent across the country and it was the job of the PHF to dig them out.He said the poor performance should be taken as an eye-opener and at the same time demanded of the government to take notice of the continuous decline of the national game and replace the present PHF set-up with honest people.
The green-shirts had earlier failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, held at The Hague, followed by omission from the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Retired Brig Khalid Sajjad Khokhar and former Olympian Shahbaz Ahmed are going to complete two years in office in August this year.
Final standings at hockey World League:
1-Netherlands, 2-Argentina, 3-England, 4-Malaysia, 5-Canada, 6-India, 7-Pakistan, 8-China, 9-South Korea, 10-Scotland.
Dawn
MHC to do some data crunching after strong show in London
by S. Ramaguru
KUALA LUMPUR: While the men’s national hockey team enjoy their well-deserved two-week break, the coaches and officials will be busy conducting a post-mortem of Malaysia's performance in the World Hockey League Semi-Finals in London.
This is necessary as the team have two more assignments for the year – the KL SEA Games in August and Asia Cup in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in October.
A third assignment – the World Hockey League Finals (December) – is a remote possibility. Malaysia can only qualify if the fourth-placed team in the other World Hockey League Semi-Finals in South Africa this month are ranked lower than them.
So, for now, the World Hockey League Finals are not in the Malaysian Hockey Confederation’s (MHC) plans.
National coach Stephen van Huizen acknowledged that the players deserved the long break as “they’ve been training since March, immediately after the Malaysian Hockey League ended”.
“This break will help them to recharge and be ready for the next stage. The SEA Games will remain a priority, but we first need to look at their performance in the recent World Hockey League Semi-Finals in London and see what needs to be rectified and worked on,” said Stephen.
“We have 23 players in the training squad and some in the development squad. We will look at how to manage the teams effectively and how to give the players the opportunity to gain experience.”
The Asia Cup in Dhaka was earlier a priority event for the MHC as the winner would gain automatic entry to the 2018 World Cup in India.
But since Malaysia had already secured their World Cup berth – by virtue of their fourth placing in London – the MHC have had to re-set their priorities.
“We will still take the two assignments seriously. The only change will be the players we take to the two tournaments,” said Stephen.
“Whatever programmes we come up with after the post-mortem will depend on MHC’s approval.”
Stephen also plans to re-look their three major assignments next year – the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games (qualifier for the 2020 Olympics) and World Cup.
“There are a lot of things to consider, including the domestic league where the players have commitments with their clubs,” he said.
The Star of Malaysia
Project Hockey: A long way to go for India despite success
The sport has shown signs of progress in India recently. But it still has a long way to go. How is Hockey India going about the job? TOI finds out...
Elena Norman, Hockey India's CEO, and David John, federation's high performance director, came to the TOI office recently and shared their vision for the growth and development of the game in the country with Times Sport.
The federation's main emphasis is on ensuring an improvement in the men's and women's teams' performance in big tournaments. The recent losses to Malaysia and Canada in the HWL Semifinals must have come as a setback for the men's team and the federation, but both Elena and David are confident that India will soon reap the benefits of a programme which is directed at achieving excellence in the fast-changing world of modern hockey.
Excerpts from the interaction...
We don't have enough hockey happening in Delhi. How can we get media coverage in this scenario and promote hockey in the city?
Elena: Things like hosting camps are dictated by the weather and infrastructure. At the moment, given what we have in other centres such as Bangalore and Bhopal, the camps are hosted there because that's where the best facilities are. Then, whether it's happening in Delhi or somewhere else, it's still of national relevance. Hosting events in Delhi is a real challenge. You have probably seen when we go to centres like Bhubaneshwar, Raipur and Ranchi, we get great crowds and it adds to the event. Having a crowd at an event just takes the event to a new level.
How do you plan to tackle the issue of the Pakistani team coming and playing here?
Elena: They have to qualify first. If we beat them in every single tournament, and everyone else beats them, then they are not going to make it here. So we will see.
Has Hockey India made an effort to revive the India-Pakistan hockey test series?
Elena: We actually talked about it some years ago. I think maybe 3-4 years ago we signed an MOU with them. Unfortunately, since then there have been a few incidents which were unsavoury, which kind of turned us off.
There was that Bhubaneshwar event. They misbehaved, they were asked to apologize...
Elena: They still haven't. Our board has taken a strong stand on that. And I think even the government separately has taken a strong stand in terms of playing bilateral series with Pakistan.
So there's no possibility of it happening in the near future?
Elena: In the current scenario, yes.
Not even at a neutral venue?
Elena: Well obviously you look at such things as the new Hockey Pro League and obviously the Pakistan team has been announced within that. As part of that we will have to play Pakistan one match away, and one match at home. That is still a year and a half away so you never know what happens between now and then.
India won the Junior World Cup and quite a few juniors have come into the senior team in the transition period. So what is the long term plan?
David: We aren't the only country that has done that. Australia have only kept 3-4 from their Olympic team and have completely changed. England have changed, I have yet to see Germany. So, I think we are at the right age. We have enough players who were here in 2012 and we said in 2012 that it would take 4-8 years for us to start getting rewards. We have enough of those players now, who have played together for 100-150 matches. So they have good cohesion, good experience, a mature body type to be getting results. So I don't actually see a lot of those Junior World Cup boys coming into the team for the World Cup. Manpreet, Harmanpreet or Mandeep are already in the senior squad. But then you have another three years before the Olympics and that's a long time away. A lot can happen injury-wise, fatigue-wise.
When these juniors come to camps, are they well versed in modern techniques and tactical drills?
David: I think having Roelant Oltmans (chief coach) here for the last three and a half years and having the continuity has helped. He provided a lot of tactical inputs for the Junior World Cup as well.
Harendra Singh's was more of a mentor role, and together they worked really well. It was a nice fit. So I think having him here and having the continuity will benefit those young guys. We were by far the fittest team in 2016 Junior World Cup. But we are probably the only country in the world to have spent a large amount of money for three years on a group of 33 boys. The emphasis has always been there on improving the fitness of the players here, because we accept we have great skills. We need to match other countries in terms of their fitness and I think we did with those junior boys.
Elena: They are now at a level where they are much closer to the senior level than what they ever have been before. The transition isn't so difficult now.
If there proper understanding of modern hockey in the core hockey centres of the country?
David: No, the skill level is still very high, but the concentration in the academies is on developing skills and not necessarily a game sense or a game awareness or a different game strategy. And it's not on developing fitness either. That's my role.
And that comes later...
David: Well, I want that being developed from a young age. I don't want them coming at 18, and having to start at that stage. I want to start at 12 years of age, like they do in other countries. We are making efforts in bringing their fitness levels up when we should be spending that time and money on game awareness and tactics, strategies.
Elena: And this is where our coaching development programme that David is currently putting in place will help. I think all the coaches understand what is required now.
Does it need a lot of work?
David: No we just need to get on the same page. In all respect, they haven't caught up to the modern game. I don't want the Indian players to lag behind again simply because the game has changed significantly with the 4x15 minutes (four quarters of 15 minutes each) format. At the academy level we are still playing 2x35 (two halves, 35 minutes each).
What exactly is the shift from 2x35 to 4x15?
David: Speed. The game is so much faster. The reactions are so much faster. I sometimes call it chaos. There are so many substitutions happening. You are on the field for three minutes at a time generally and rotating continuously. It's demanding physically and mentally and that's the change.
But is it also less demanding in terms of skill?
David: I don't think so, because you now have to perform your skills under fatigue at top speed.
We don't have genuine players of skill who can take on defenders, get past them. We had those players in the 70s...
David: It's actually become a 3-dimensional game, so because the attack line is so good, the flat attack line, the players you are talking about now in other countries are using three dimensional skills - lifting the ball and carrying the ball. Akashdeep has that ability but he doesn't do it enough. And I see young Indian players do it at junior level. But I don't see them doing it under pressure in matches yet. And I am very conscious of not creating robotic players. I want the Indian flair to come.
But are you saying that dribbling cannot happen anymore?
David: Yes it can, but the tackling is so much better than it was. Yes, when we are trying to get the ball out of defence, players use very close skills to pass the ball. Sardar still has brilliant dribbling skills.
Which are the core areas where the talent in India is coming from?
David: There's actually a mix across nine regions. In the junior team, UP contributed four. MP had four. Odisha has quite a few, Jharkhand 6-7, then Haryana. There were three from Manipur in the girls' programme and one from Mizoram.
How many astroturfs do we have in India, 30 or 40?
Elena: We have got around 125 and there are 25 under construction. We are putting in international standard astroturfs. So we probably have the highest number of international certified turfs now in the world now.
What effort is Hockey India making towards grooming players?
Elena: Our women's programme have English classes and computer classes to help them use the internet and access emails. We teach everyone now to have an email address because a lot of our correspondence goes on emails. We need to teach them how to view their own performance as well as match analysis. We have very long camps because a couple of things we appreciate is that a lot of these athletes need to go back to a faraway centre which will take them a long time to travel. When they go home, obviously their mum likes to feed them up as well, so they might be eating something that might not be conducive for an athlete. We are trying to introduce them to local food and cultures when they travel. And I think the athletes are more open to it then when I first came here 6 years ago. On tours abroad, earlier, they always insisted on going to an Indian restaurant.
What's the kind of statistics are you looking in a hockey player?
David: In the past, it's been team-based statistics - how many circle entries, how many shots you hit, the percentage of time spent in your position. I am more concerned about the individual, like how involved they are, how effective they were with their passing, attacking and tackling; what's their decision making like. Just like there has been a change in the fitness levels over the four years, we have to start selecting and talent identifying the best decision makers at an early age.
You think that's an inner skill because somebody like Sardar had it from a young age?
David: Yeah, it's very difficult. And I call that game awareness. So when we come to talent identification now, we look at three criteria - fitness, skill level and game sense. So we can have someone who is not as fit, not as fast but has extremely good game sense and we can put Sardara in that region now.
Of these things would you say skill is the easiest to work on?
David (laughs): No, fitness is easiest to work.
In hockey, most of our players come from the lower middle class background. Does that stop them from having proper game awareness?
David: No, I don't think so. I think it's lack of exposure, two different game styles as they have come up through academies which teach differently. We expose them to more scenarios and I think Hockey India league has been fantastic -certainly for the men -because they had that experience of working with the Germans, the Dutch and Belgians and working with Australians and receive that just sitting, talking, listening. They learn so much.
As far as diet is concerned, was it tough to get the Indian players eat the right way?
David: I actually think Indian food is pretty healthy. I have lost 9 kilos since I came here (laughs). So one thing I tried to do when I first came was to increase the size of the players by putting on the muscles which will increase your speed and to do that you need extra protein. So we use weight protein and SAI provide us with enough weight proteins for every camp. It's also very important for their recovery because of the training, sometimes three times a day and to prevent injury, they need that extra source.
You are running a huge project. So is the money enough? Is the government paying you enough money?
Elena: We have never been short of getting money for what we need, what we really need. So pretty much anything we will ask the ministry and SAI for that we really need for the team, they have never said no to us.
The Times of India
Stakes high as Kenya Police, Butali Sugar Warriors face-off at City Park
By BRIAN YONGA
Chase Sailors' George Mutira (left) vies for the ball with Billy Mollah of Butali Sugar Warriors during their Kenya Hockey Union Premier League match at City Park Stadium on June 28, 2017. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
For a while now, the Kenya Hockey Union men’s Premier League match between Kenya Police and Butali Sugar Warriors has been more than a battle for three points.
The two giants, who have dominated the local league over the last decade, share seven of the last nine league titles with only Sikh Union (2012) and Strathmore University Gladiators (2016) disrupting their dominance.
With bragging rights and three points at stake, Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash between the two bitter rivals promises to be no different. The 6pm kick off at City Park Stadium, which is one of the 10 matches that will be this weekend in the leagues in Nairobi and Kakamega, has all ingredients for an epic battle.
Leaders Police and Butali, who are second on the log, are bidding to win to win back the title. Police last won the title in 2013, while Butali were dethroned by Strathmore University last year.
Fittingly, the two sides are the only ones yet to lose a match this season and if past encounters are anything to go by, fans will be in for a treat. Police lead Butali by five points in the title race.
Police go into the match with a slight edge over their rivals courtesy of their impressive form so far this season. The law enforcers have won 11 out of 12 matches this season, with their only blemish being a 3-3 draw against Wazalendo early last month.
Both teams have scored 37 goals, the best scoring record in the division, but Police have only conceded nine. Their form has stand-in coach Patrick Mugambi bullish ahead of the tie.
“This is a big one. Matches between us and Butali have always been special and this will be no different. I think we are favourites based on our good form but it will be a tough encounter and I hope we utilise our chances well,” Mugambi said Friday.
BEAT SAILORS
The tactician has a fully fit squad to choose from with Moses Cheplaiti expected to lead the attack alongside Samuel Wokila and the impressive Amos Barkibirir, who has scored nine goals for Police, playing out wide.
In midfield, Mugambi will look to skipper Oliver Echenje and Brian Saina to dictate the pace of the game.
Butali come into the match on the back of a 2-1 win over Chase Sailors on Wednesday and will be looking to build on that.
Butali coach Godfrey Wakachunga has played for both clubs and knows what to expect Saturday evening.
“We have got to take our chances and also defend pretty well if we are to come out on top,” he said.
Emmanuel Simiyu, Frank Wanangwe and Seth Oburu will be the danger men for Butali. Butali’s veteran playmaker Zack Aura is still away due to work commitments.
A win for Police will give them an eight-point cushion as the league nears the half-way point while victory for Butali will cut the gap to just two points.
In their last three meetings, both clubs have won once with the other ending one in a 2-2 draw.
In the only women’s premier league match this weekend, University of Nairobi take on Kenyatta University on Sunday at City Park Stadium from 9am.
Men’s premier league defending champions Strathmore University Gladiators will be out to revive their season when they take on Parkroad Badgers Sunday at 5pm as former winners Sikh Union battle Chase Sailors at the same venue.
FIXTURES (All matches at City Park Stadium unless stated)
Saturday
Men’s National: Wazalendo Youth v JKUAT- 12noon
Men’s Premier: KCA-U v USIU – 2pm, Western Jaguars v Nakuru- 3pm (Kakamega), Chase Sailors v Wazalendo- 4pm, Butali v Kenya Police -6pm
Sunday
Women’s Premier: UON v KU Ttians – 9am
Men’s National: Thika Rovers v Wazalendo Masters -11am
Men’s Premier: KCAU-U v Parklands- 1pm, Sikh v Chase Sailors – 3pm, Strathmore v Parkroad Badgers – 5pm
Daily Nation
Warriors tackle Police in KHU league match
By Elizabeth Mburugu
Kenya Police's (left) Calvin Kanu and Kevin Oduor of KCA University during Kenya Hockey Union League at City Park Stadium on Sunday, Oct 8, 2016. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]
It will be a battle of former champions as bitter rivals Butali Sugar Warriors and Kenya Police face off in a Kenya Hockey Union men’s Premier League match today at City Park Stadium.
Police top the table with 34 points five more than Warriors who are second. The duo are unbeaten.
Police have had 11 successful outings out of 12 after dropping two points in their 3-3 draw to Wazalendo.
Warriors on the other hand have already surrendered four points in a barren draw against Greensharks and 1-1 away to Nakuru.
Their last encounter ended in a 1-1 stalemate. Warriors Captain Kenneth Nyongesa said they will fight to the final whistle.
“We will just have to be at our best and fight relentlessly to the end because playing Police is not easy. They are in good form and we expect a stiff battle,” Nyongesa said.
The law enforcers are hoping to end a three-year trophy drought.
They last won the title in 2013 but failed to successfully defend in 2014, relinquishing it to Butali. In 2015 they played second fiddle to Butali once again and dropped one place down to third in 2016.
Long serving Police striker Moses Cheplaiti said that it will be a tightly contested match.
“It will be a very tough match but we will fight for maximum points,” Cheplaiti said.
In other premier encounters of the day, Kenya College of Accountancy University (KCAU) take on United States International University of Africa while Chase Sailors tackle Wazalendo.
Western Jaguars will entertain Nakuru in Kakamega.
Jaguars are currently? courting relegation and a win at home will boost their chances of surviving the chop.
Tomorrow, defending champions Strathmore University Gladiators take on Parkroad Badgers in hunt for their third victory of the season.
Gladiators have been in poor form and have failed to impress or show intent to successfully defend their title. KCAU will return to action against Parklands in their second weekend encounter while 2012 champions Nairobi Sikh will play Chase Sailors.
The Standard Online
Scotland U21 men’s squad announced for EuroHockey U21 Men’s Championship II
Hamish Imrie (Photo: Duncan Gray)
The Scotland U21 men’s squad for the upcoming EuroHockey Junior Men’s Championship II tournament in St Petersburg has been announced. The Scots will also travel to Belfast this weekend for matches against Ireland U21 men in preparation for the tournament.
The Scots have been drawn in Pool B for the tournament in St Petersburg along with Russia, Poland, and Italy. Pool A has Ukraine, Turkey, and Czech Republic drawn together.
Scotland will play against Poland on Monday 16 July, Italy on Tuesday 18 July, and Russia on Wednesday 19 July before fixtures are finalised for the latter stages of the tournament.
It’s a squad full of potential with players such as Murray Collins, Hamish Imrie and Patrick Christie all with senior international experience. There are also many talented players who have come through the U18 European programmes over the past two years included in the line-up for St Petersburg.
In preparation for the tournament, Scotland U21 Men will travel to Belfast this weekend to play two matches against Ireland U21 Men.
The matches against Ireland U21s will be played on Saturday 1st July at 3pm, and Sunday 2nd July at 2pm at Queens University, Belfast. Ireland will provide a good test for the Scots ahead of the Euros in Russia.
Scotland U21 Men’s Head Coach Graham Moodie said:
“The squad have done a fantastic job fundraising for the programme and this has been the reason we are able to play these preparation matches in Ireland. We would like to thank all the children, and parents, that have attended and supported our camps in Fife, East Lothian and Glasgow over the past eight months.
“It’s great to have these games in Ireland; although we have been able to play some games against Grove Menzieshill, Scotland O40’s and a Club All Stars team we have had no international matches in our preparation so far this summer.
“The squad has trained extremely hard over the last 12 months and we have a lot of potential in the squad. Murray Collins, Hamish Imrie and Patrick Christie all bring senior international experience to the squad, and we also have a great crop of players with high potential who have come through the U18s European programmes over the past two years. Combining the U18 & U21 programmes in these years has been of real benefit.
“With limited match practice the aim for the games in Belfast is to get the guys to gel as quickly as possible, and try to learn as much as we can in preparation for the Euros.”
U21 Men’s Squad:
Douglas Gourlay, Dunfermline Carnegie
James Carrie, Watsonians
Murray Collins, Loughborough University
Aidan McQuade, Grove Menzieshill
James Nairn, Grange
Hamish Galt, Grove Menzieshill
Jack McAllister, Loughborough University
Joe McConnell, Western Wildcats
Cameron Golden, Grove Menzieshill
Joe Waterston, Grange
John McCluskey, Grange
Conor Annand, Loughborough University
Patrick Christie, Durham University
Hamish Imrie, Schaerweijde
Callum MacKenzie, Cannock
Rob Harwood, Western Wildcats
Patrick Lonergan, Clydesdale
Luke Cranney, Grange
Scottish Hockey Union media release
U-19 Junior National Camp Selections Announced
LANCASTER, Pa. - USA Field Hockey is pleased to announce the selected U-19 athletes who will be invited to participate at the 2017 U-19 Junior National Camp. Junior National Camp is the premier camp for Futures athletes, comprised of the top 80-100 players in the country as selected from the Citi National Futures Championship, presented by Harrow Sports.
Based on their performance at Junior National Camp, these athletes may earn invitations to additional USA Field Hockey Junior High Performance programs including the STX Select Event in December 2017.
Congratulations to the following U-19 athletes:
Kiley Allen
Mackenzie Allessie
Elizabeth Allgeier
Gabby Andretta
Gabrielle Barraco
Kayla Blas
Christen Conley
Leah Crouse
Sam Davidson
Charlotte De Vries
Emma Deberdine
Miya Denison
Lindsay Dickinson
Theodora Dillman
Riley Donnelly
Riley Fulmer
Greer Gill
Halle Gill
Fusine Govaert*
Kyler Greenwalt
Mary Harkins
Madalyn Hosler
Katie Jean
Mackenzie Karl
Jonna Kennedy
Margaret Lynch*
Ali McCarthy
Caroline McGovern
Katherine McGuire
Kaylie Mings
Marykate Neff
Maddy Orobono
Kathryn Peterson
Abigail Pitcairn
Sammy Popper
Shelby Querry*
Romea Riccardo
Megan Rogers
Elizabeth Romano
Alison Sahaydak
Grace Sambrook
Meghan Schneider
Elizabeth Shim
Meredith Sholder
Emma Tamer
Peyton Tollasken
Anna Unger
M. Grace Wallis
Jacquelyn Wilkins
Paityn Wirth
Brynn Zorilla
*Denotes athletes have been selected for a training opportunity only.
Junior National Camp for U-19 age division will be held from June 30 to July 3 at Spooky Nook Sports in Lancaster, Pa.
USFHA media release
Hall of Fame inductions for Olympic stars
Danny Kerry (centre)
Two Olympic stars from Great Britain Women’s Hockey gold medal triumph in Rio have been inducted into Loughborough University’s sporting Hall of Fame.
GB women’s head coach Danny Kerry and Hannah MacLeod were both inducted at a celebratory dinner at the University Stadium on campus to celebrate their achievements.
The Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding athletes and coaches who are alumni of the University and have made a significant contribution to sport at Loughborough and beyond.
This year’s inductees have ten Olympic and Paralympic medals between them, including four won at the Rio 2016 Games.
The event was hosted by the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Robert Allison alongside Loughborough alumnus and 2016 Hall of Fame inductee, Carl Johnson, who introduced each of the 2017 inductees.
A range of alumni and friends of Loughborough also attended, together with colleagues involved in sport from across the University. Originally launched in 2011, the Hall of Fame now boasts a membership of 55 notable sporting alumni.
Other members include University Chancellor Lord Sebastian Coe KBE, Paula Radcliffe MBE, Dr David Moorcroft OBE, Sir Clive Woodward OBE, Andy Robinson OBE, Nick Knight, Ben Kay MBE, Dr Bob Wilson OBE, James Gibson MBE and Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE.
England Hockey Board Media release