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USA World Cup player here for Diamond Mineral Water Hockey Festival
– Festival starts tomorrow
When the Diamond Mineral Water Indoor Hockey Festival attracted Trinidad and Tobago star Kwandwane Browne in 2007, Canadian national players Scott Sandison and Jonathan Roberts, many felt that it had reached its limit in terms of getting high profile players to participate in the event, but the presence of USA’s Peter Jones for this year’s tournament has evidently put that sentiment to rest.
Jones, a naturalised citizen of the USA who was born in England, arrived in Guyana to participate in this year’s tournament with a wealth of experience at his disposal and fans of the sport will have the opportunity to get a glimpse of someone who has not only participated in the Indoor World Cup and other major tournaments as a player, but a successful Coach as well.
He sat down yesterday at the Hibiscus Restaurant on Middle Street with Kaieteur Sport to talk a little about his career and the reason for his presence in Guyana.
USA hockey player Peter Jones seen in an interview with Kaieteur News reporter Rawle Welch yesterday.
Jones, who grew up in England told this newspaper that even though he played a lot of cricket in his early days at school he somehow always had a passion for hockey, especially the indoor format simply because of the strategies and tactics that had to be employed during the course of the game.
He revealed that after migrating to the USA to study Business Administration at Harvard University his passion for the sport grew stronger and even though he played both outdoor and indoor formats, his real love was to play the latter version and got his first chance in 1989 which was the USA’s initial involvement in indoor hockey.
Jones, who describes himself as a junkie for indoor hockey, has travelled far and wide to participate in tournaments including playing in Poland, Denmark, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Scotland and Trinidad and Tobago among others.
Admitting that the sport is still not as big in the USA, Jones, who became the Head Coach of the national indoor team in 2007, disclosed that the country’s first real success came after they defeated powerhouse Argentina 6-1 in the Pan Am Championships and that was followed up by qualification for the World Cup in Poland after finishing runners-up to Canada in 2010.
At the World Cup, Jones said their best game was against England rated among the top nations in the sport at the time, adding that the game was tied at 2-2 with about eight minutes left, before the Brits got the go ahead goal to win the match.
He, however, stated that the experience was invaluable since they got the opportunity to play against 5 of the top 5 countries that play the sport.
Quizzed on how he became associated with the sport in Guyana, Jones recounted his initial meeting with Philip and Alan Fernandes which occurred during a tournament a few years ago and since that time they’ve always stayed in touch.
Jones said he always wanted to come and play in Guyana, but the timing of the tournament was often times out of sync with his schedule.
“I was invited a few times previously, but it always seems to coincide with a big tournament which is held around Thanksgiving weekend and that precludes me from coming,” Jones stated.
Asked how much he knows about the standard of the tournament, Jones said he knew Philip and the team has always sought to attract quality teams and from the information that he has received, they’ve done a good job in doing so.
Jones has the distinction of being the oldest male player to appear in a World Cup game at the age of 45 years, a record according to him that still stands today.
Commenting on Guyana’s hockey, Jones said he had the privilege of seeing them at the Pan Am Games in Venezuela and felt that when they are at full strength, they play fantastic hockey which at times seemed close to the top level.
He, however, opined that they play a little too fast and sometimes a team needs to slow it down and maintain possession much longer.
Jones added that the core skills that he saw from the Guyanese was great and believes that this country even though there isn’t a large pool to choose from could still be a force to reckon with across the Caribbean.
The Festival which starts tomorrow at the National Gymnasium with seventeen teams slated to compete in three categories will run until December 2.
Seven teams from overseas have confirmed participation.
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