129 128 The Chronicle 2021 Centenary Edition Hockey overview Back row (L-R): Aryan Sewsunker, Joshua Woolven Middle row: Dylan Jewitt, Joshua Owen, Ben van Herzeele, Kyle McGladdery Seated: Connor Soulsby, Bakhe Dlamini (Captain), Mr Greg Thomson, Jens Otto, Daniel Beere HOCKEY 2ND TEAM Back row (L-R): Tim Dladla, Cade Peens, Josh Lee, Zipho Cele Middle row: Rubin Rheeder, Dean Gibbs, Bryce Wiggett, Jacques Minnaar, Kai Hielckert, Dylan Wiggett Seated: Daniel de Kock, Campbell Duckworth, Mr Wayne Marsden (Manager), Menzi Mhlungu (Captain), Mr JJ Reed (Coach), Calvin Davis (Vice-captain), Matthew Foord HOCKEY 1ST TEAM The hockey season was, unfortunately, cut short again because of COVID-19. This was very disappointing, as our thorough preseason preparation led us to anticipate an incredible year for hockey. Unfortunately, the massively curtailed season also meant that no provincial teams were selected. This was a great disappointment because we expected another excellent year of provincial representation amongst our talented players. Thankfully, when contact sport was allowed to resume at the end of the first term, the KZN schools wasted no time setting up “preseason” festivals for the U14A, U16A and 1st teams. This ensured that our A-teams could play five matches against other KZN schools. Our teams performed exceptionally well at these festivals and produced some outstanding results. Our hockey teams all played in a triangular set of fixtures with Hilton and St Charles before the league fixtures began to make up for the lost opportunities. It was fantastic to allow our teams to play competitive matches again. We managed to play two fixtures in the season - against Michaelhouse and Northwood. While we had mixed results across the board, our U16A and U14A teams played well in both fixtures. The commitment and enthusiasm of the hockey staff played a significant part in this. The boys had worked incredibly hard in preseason was also a positive to take from this year. We attempted to organise an internal hockey league for the boys once the inter-school fixtures had been stopped due to COVID restrictions. This worked incredibly well for the first set of fixtures. The boys loved the concept and bought into playing and having fun. Unfortunately, COVID restrictions forced this league to be abandoned before it could be fully established. I thank the hockey coaching staff for their passionate approach to the sport, the parents for their enthusiastic support behind the scenes, and lastly, but most importantly, the boys for their commitment to hockey. I have thoroughly enjoyed being in charge of the hockey fraternity over the last three years. I thank everyone involved for making this a wonderful experience for me. I look forward to the continued growth and improvement in the hockey community and will watch with interest to see Kearsney hockey reaching great heights. Mr Greg Thomson MIC Hockey Pictured: Menzi Mhlungu, our fantastic captain
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