123 1st Hockey Team The 1st XI enjoyed an excellent build-up to the 2019 season focusing on increasing fitness levels, short corners and a new structure, all under a new coach. The team gave attention to the attacking short corner team, with an experienced drag-flicker in Chase Kelly. Warm-up games focused on the new structure and creating a platform to build on for the season. We were fortunate to play a few warm-ups before our first official fixture against Hilton College. The boys played exceptionally well on the Mason Astro in front of a packed house. We lead for most of the game, which eventually ended in a draw in the dying minutes, through a penalty stroke. The second match saw us beat DHS 9-1. Our final opponent was St Charles where we misfired as we couldn’t find the back of the net and the game ended in a draw. We had an incredible tournament at this year’s Founders Festival, winning all six of our games. The results were as follows: vs Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) 3-1 vs Dale College 4-1 vs SACS 2-1 vs Parktown Boys’ High 2-1 vs Queen’s College 3-1 vs Potchefstroom High School for Boys 7-1 The boys focused on addressing weaker skills and improved steadily throughout the tournament. The team’s senior players Chase Kelly, David Hudson and Hayden de Kock played exceptionally well, giving the junior players a chance to experience hockey at this level. The KES Festival started after a three-week holiday, and the team arrived full of confidence and ready to take on some of the best schools in the country. This festival held mixed results, identifying some of our weaker areas and allowing us to build and improve. Our results were mixed and provided a great learning curve for the team. Morale took a dip after the festival, but the boys had a week to focus on critical areas before their first game back against DHS. It was a good game with a 4-3 win. The game gave the players time to reflect and to find some of the form and spirit from the season’s start. Team training focused on creating unity, fighting as a team and building on the vision with which we had started. Our next few games highlighted this training ending with a win against Maritzburg College in the final minutes and a win against Michaelhouse. The game saw an excellent performance from David Hudson and Chase Kelly, both taking control of the match and igniting the comeback. HOCKEY 1ST XI Back row: Dylan Thompson, James Maguire, Jack Hayes, Christopher Kiggen, Calvin Davis, Menzi Mhlungu Middle: Campbell Duckworth, Thomas Constable, Daniel de Kock, Kai Hielckert, Jacques Minnaar, Gontse Machaba, Tim Dladla Front row: Ronan Farquharson, Mr Wayne Marsden, Hayden de Kock (Captain), Chase Kelly (Vice-captain), Mr Jarred Reed (Coach), Joshua Barrett Absent: David Hudson Hockey
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTc3MDU5Nw==