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All the news for Wednesday 25 May 2011

Black Sticks Women’s Development Team lose 4-2 to Japan

The Black Sticks Women’s Development Team played their first of five games against Japan tonight at the Gifu Green Stadium in Kakamigahara, Japan. Despite a spirited team performance and goals from Anna Thorpe and Carli Michelsen, Japan’s full strength national side won 4-2.

It was a scratchy first half performance for the Black Sticks Development Team, with Japan’s first goal coming early on in the game from a penalty corner. However, it did not take long for Black Stick Anna Thorpe, playing her 45th international test match, to counter attack and score from a field goal in the 18th minute.

Ranked ninth in the world, it was the speed and skill of the Japanese team, especially through the midfield, that led to Japan scoring two further goals in quick succession bringing the score to 3-1 when the whistle was blown for half time.

“Our performance in the second half was much improved. Although at times we panicked on defence, there were phases of play which were really good and individuals put in a strong effort with the team showing real potential,” says Black Sticks Development Team coach Chris Leslie.

North Harbour’s Carli Michelsen scored early on in the second half from a penalty corner strike, taking the score to 3-2, but Japan counter attacked 10 minutes later scoring from a field goal.

Canterbury goalkeeper Amelia Gibson had an outstanding performance in goal while Krystal Forgesson also had an exceptional game – Forgesson was strong on the ball and helped to counter attack Japan’s aggression and speed through the midfield.

Apart from goalkeeper Caroline Stuart who will alternate games with Amelia Gibson, all 18 players were rotated throughout tonight’s game.

The Black Sticks Development Team will play their next game against Japan on Thursday 26 May at 3pm (Japan time). The remaining games are on Saturday 28 May at 11am (Japan time), Sunday 29 May at 11am (Japan time) and Tuesday 31 May at 3pm (Japan time). All games are being played in Gifu, Japan.

Results
Full time score: 4-2 (Japan win)
Half time score: 3-1
NZ goal scorers: Anna Thorpe and Carli Michelsen

Hockey New Zealand Media release

Tickets selling well for EHL & EHCCC Finals weekend


© Euro Hockey League / Frank Uijlenbroek

In just over two weeks time, the Euro Hockey League and EuroHockey Club Champions Cup Final Four event will begin in Den Haag at the HGC club. It is the second successive year that the Europe's premier club competitions will take place at the same venue.

Euro Hockey League Chairman of the Board Jons Hensel described his feelings about the decision to host the event at HGC.

'The city of Den Haag, the KNHB and the club were all incredibly supportive and extremely keen that the EHL and EHCCC Final Four event should be held at HGC. We were convinced.'

The tournament will take place over two days from 11-12 June. The competition will feature the Semi Finals, Third Place Play-Off and the tournament Final. The first Semi Final in the men's competition will witness Edi Tubau's Club de Campo (ESP) facing England's Reading HC, a team that boasts Great Britain international siblings Richard and Simon Mantell. Rob Hammond's Oranje Zwart take on hosts and fellow Dutch outfit HGC (NED) in a battle to reach the tournament Final.

The women's competition will also feature the Semi Finals and Final of the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup for Women. England’s Slough and Leicester meet in the first Semi Final, with the winner certain to meet Dutch opposition in the Final as Laren aim to upset the odds against Den Bosch, who have been reigning European champions for the last eleven years. To see the confirmed match schedule, please click here.

Buying Your Tickets

Tickets for the three day event - which takes place between Friday 10th and Sunday 12th June 2011 - went on sale last week and are selling well. If you are considering coming, we strongly advise that you purchase tickets soon as the event is almost certain to be a sell out. To find out more about buying tickets for the Grand Finale of the world's finest club competition, please visit www.ehlhockey.tv .

Euro Hockey League media release

Lewis secures Paragon Big-Four spot

Vinode Mamchan

Alanna Lewis netted a first half goal as Paragon eked out a 1–0 win over cellar-placed Petrotrin to secure a spot in the T&T Hockey Board Women’s Championship Division Big-Four at the National Hockey Centre, Tacarigua on Sunday. Going into the match, Paragon was fifth on the table with seven points, one behind Notre Dame and Harvard Maritime Checkers, which occupied the final Big-Four spot.

However, 21 minutes into the match against the pointless Oil-women, Lewis, a member of the national women’s team and the 2010 Women’s Player of the Year, banged in what turned out to be the match winner to push her team up to third spot with ten points, two ahead of defending Big-Four champions, Notre Dame. Stag Malvern, with 16 points and defending league champions, Shandy Carib Magnolias, three points behind, are the top qualifiers for the tournament which flicks off on June 1.

Browne, Ottley inspire Dames

The Men’s Championship Division Big-Four line-up has also been completed with Queen’s Park, Paragon, defending champion Petrotrin and Defence Force (ten points), the qualifiers. However, Paragon missed out on a chance to end the first round of league competition on top after going under to the Kwandwane Browne-inspired Notre Dame 4–3. Browne, playing in only his second match since returning from his Canterbury club in England, opened the scoring with a trademark penalty corner goal in the minute. But five minutes later, Paragon drew level when national player Kiel Murray scored from a penalty for a 1–1 half time score.

Two minutes into the second half Glendon Superville put Paragon ahead for the first time and in the 42nd minute he made it 3–1. Browne and the Dames then turned the match on its head as he scored two quick goals, in the 43rd and 47th, both from penalty corners, to get his team even at 3–3 before Tobias Ottley slammed in the winner with the last play of the match. With the loss, Paragon remained second on the table on goal difference from Queen’s Park and ahead of defending champion, Petrotrin with all three clubs on 16 points. Defence Force is next with ten points, one ahead of the Dames.

Results

Friday:
Trinity Women:
Malvern 1 (Kelisa Alexander 63rd) vs Ventures 1 (Kristin Abreu 54th).

Sunday:
Trinity Women:
Ventures 3 (Kristin Abreu 35th, 42nd, Cyan Lue Sue 17th) vs Notre Dame 1 (Akili Williams 8th, Chantel Garcia 27th)

Checkers 3 (Narda Coker 39th, Christabella George-Ford 49th, Charnise Cato 69th) vs Police 1 (Nakena Edwards 68th).

Veterans Mixed:
Carib 1 (Kern Ramsammy 48th) vs Police 0

Championship Women:
Paragon 1 (Alanna Lewis 21st) vs Petrotrin 0

Championship Men:
Notre Dame 4 (Kwandwane Browne 26th, 43rd, 47th, Tobias Ottley 70th) vs Paragon 3 (Glendon Superville 37th, 42nd, Kiel Murray 31st pen)

Standings

Championship Division
Men:
Teams P W D L F A Pts
QPCC 7 5 1 1 28 10 16
Paragon 7 5 1 1 27 16 16
Petrotrin 7 5 1 1 18 11 16
D/Force 6 3 1 2 10 11 10
Notre Dame 7 3 0 4 17 14 9
Paradise 6 1 1 4 9 20 4
Fatima 7 1 1 5 11 26 4
Malvern 7 1 0 6 9 21 3

Women:
Malvern 6 5 1 0 20 5 16
Magnolias 6 4 1 1 24 7 13
Paragon 6 3 1 2 14 15 10
Notre Dame 6 2 2 2 19 9 8
Checkers 6 2 2 2 6 9 8
Ventures 6 1 1 4 10 25 4
Petrotrin 6 0 0 6 0 25 0

Fixtures

Today: Veterans: Notre Dame vs Malvern, 8 pm
Thursday: Veterans: Carib vs Fatima, 8 pm
Friday: Trinity Women: Magnolias vs Malvern, 7 pm.

The Trinidad Guardian

Kumar looking at the bigger picture

Principal Correspondent

Indian women's hockey team coach C.R. Kumar is looking ahead at the big picture — the Olympics qualification in February next year. He is trying to form a pool of players with the hope that each one of them will play her part in the run-up to achieve the target.

The camp for the Champions Challenge tournament, scheduled in Dublin (Ireland) from June 18-26, is going on at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here.

The selection trials are over. However, the list of selected players is yet to be announced as the team think-tank does not want to demoralise any player and hamper the preparations.

The selected list is expected to be out in around 10 days' time. It is likely to be loaded with experienced players as the younger ones, including the six spotted from the National championship at Rai, are in the process of catching up.

“This is a good opportunity for the young players to be part of the training camp with the experienced girls. They should make the most of it,” said Kumar.

In the Champions Challenge, India has been clubbed with Spain, Azerbaijan and Ireland in Pool ‘B'. Japan, South Africa, the USA and Scotland form Pool ‘A'. Currently, the girls are training hard to attain the peak of their fitness. They are also playing practice matches with local boys' teams.

Kumar strongly believed that the Indian players lacked in the tactical aspect of the game.

“If the opponent team is making several attacks, that means our midfield is not working properly. So, we have to address that problem,” he said.

Besides, he had been telling the players about changing their gameplan as per the rival side's approach. Kumar also underlined the change in positions of the players on the field.

The Hindu

Breeding ground

Chiow Chuan's programme leads the way for grassroots development

Haresh Deol

Unearthing passionate, qualified coaches and enthusiastic children eager to excel in hockey — that could well be the marketing 1Mas development director Lim Chiow Chuan has in mind.

This reporter received an email earlier claiming the 1Mas programme is a "misappropriation of taxpayers' money". What caught the reporter's eye was the allegation that the programme was "non-functional" in certain States. Apparently, Pahang — from where Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) president Tengku Abdullah Shah hails — is one of them.

When told about the contents of the email, Chiow Chuan laughed but to his credit, he wasn't defensive either.

Having played in the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics, he admitted some States were sleeping on the job.

"There's no point in hiding the facts. Yes, some State HAs had problems, including Pahang and Johor. Pahang had internal problems but the programme was revived in mid-April," said Chiow Chuan.

"Tengku Abdullah knew about it and he wasn't impressed at all. He made sure things were in order and now they are. Johor too ran into some coaching problems but that's all sorted out now."

There were "false claims" of training being held. With RM9 million being pumped into the programme, which was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last year, there were allegations that those involved were merely out to earn easy money.

However, Chiow Chuan plays it by the book. And now he plans to raise the bar by outsourcing the programme.

"I was told by several former players there were an enthusiastic bunch of hockey-lovers training regularly at a dedicated grass pitch in Jerantut. I visited the place and I supported their cause. They started the programme earlier this month.

"I've also got an application in KL to turn the Tun Razak Stadium into another centre. If all goes well, that will start next month. This will motivate more people with the right qualifications and attitude to help nurture young talents."

The 1Mas programme aims to create a larger pool of talent in three age-groups — Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16. Chiow Chuan explained it was not smooth-sailing at the beginning but it is certainly looking better now with more people joining in the fray.

He now hopes to see more outsourced centers mushrooming all over the nation. This could in turn be a healthy competition to the State HAs to get their act together in developing players. A 1Mas camp will be held in Seremban from June 6-11 where the fitness levels and skills of the participants will be assessed before they compete against each other in a tournament.

"It's a good collaboration between the State HAs and MHF. Facilities can be a problem in some States but it's no excuse. I grew up playing on grass while I know of some children playing on cement surfaces.

"For those wanting to know more about the programme or reckon they can handle an outsourced centre, they can drop me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ," he added.

Haresh Deol is a senior journalist with The Malay Mail. He is useless with the stick and ball but loves hockey nevertheless. He blogs at www.hareshdeol.blogspot.com and receives brickbats at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Malay Mail

Field Hockey Canada building for the Future - expands Technical Leadership Team

In alignment with FHC's recently developed long-term high performance strategy, a significant emphasis has been put on talent and sport system development. Both areas are critical for building the next generation of FHC's high performance program. As such, FHC is hiring a National Technical Director (NTD) and two Junior National Team Head Coaches.

The NTD will be responsible to lead the evolution of our Coaching Development & Certification program and the implementation of an innovative Long Term Hockey Development (LTHD) model. Canada's Junior Head Coaches will be accountable to lead and shape the future phases of our junior programs and the immediate "Target 2013" initiative. Both coaches will work closely with the NTD and FHC's performance coaches in supporting the implementation of our talent development strategy.

The expansion of the Technical Leadership Team is a strategic initiative guided by FHC's High Performance Strategy. The strategy, strongly supported by Canada's Own The Podium organization and funded by Sport Canada, is intended to assist FHC in building for the future.

The following three positions are available:

1) Technical Director (full time ): application and submission deadline on Friday, June 10th

2) Coach (full time), Junior Women's Team: application and submission deadline on Friday, June 10th

3) Coach (full time), Junior Men's Team: application and submission deadline on Friday, June 10th

All applications will be held in confidence.

Field Hockey Canada media release

Rajesh Chauhan opens hockey academy in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Former India player Rajesh Chauhan has started a hockey academy in the Capital to help the lovers of the game hone their skills.

Chauhan's " Jai Bharat Hockey Academy" was inaugurated at the Mata Sukhdevi Senior Secondary School, Nangli Poona by former Indian Hockey Federation president KPS Gill in the presence of former players like MK Kaushik and Mamta Kharab.

"Currently there are 80 students between the age of 9 and 20 who are getting training here," Chauhan said.

The Times of India