Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 23, 2015 Sports
A strong national junior men’s hockey team is scheduled to depart Guyana on July 30 to participate in the Players Tournament in Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) which will run from August 1-8.
According to the team’s management this is the second phase in the team’s preparations for the Junior Pan American Championships scheduled for Toronto, Canada in June of 2016.
The team which has been in training for approximately one year, ended its first phase of preparation in December 2014 with a successful developmental tour of the Twin Island republic, where they won three of four matches played.
According to the team’s coaching staff, during that initial tour the players were able to train and compete on artificial turf, many for the first time. Coaching sessions were also conducted by some of Trinidad’s most senior national players as they shared their experiences and techniques with the juniors.
The coaches also indicated they were pleased with the Guyanese youngsters’ performances and ability to match skills with the higher ranked Trinidadian National Squad in their 3-match series.
The team’s participation in this Players Tournament will present a new challenge for the squad with the team required to play two matches per day on some occasions.
Head coach Robert Fernandes expressed his disappointment that the teams from Pakistan and Mexico, who where originally scheduled to participate have since withdrawn and the tournament will now feature exclusively Trinidadian Clubs.
Fernandes remarked, “I was hoping that the boys would get to experience the intensity and creativity that teams from those countries bring to the game, it would have contributed greatly to their development and helped to prepare them for the tough task we face next year of competing against the Pan American region’s best. This tournament will however allow us to assess players’ ability to perform under the significant pressure and physical demands this tournament will create”.
According the tournament’s current format, Guyana will play Trinidadian clubs Fatima, Queen’s Park, Malvern and Paragon twice in the round robin phase to qualify for the semifinal round.
The team’s management is also working towards arranging a match against Trinidad’s junior national side on the tournament rest day.
Meanwhile, Meshach Sargeant, Eleomar Silva and Troy Hodge are the three new comers to the team which will be led by experienced captain Mark Sargeant.
The 18 man team also features three players who were part of Guyana’s bronze medal winning men’s squad that participated in the Indoor Pan American Cup in Uruguay in 2014, in Andrew Stewart, Aroydy Branford and Sargeant.
Shaquille Leung who was originally selected for the tour had the misfortune of having to undergo an appendectomy recently which ruled him out of the team.
The team has been fortunate to be partly funded by an Olympic Solidarity team preparation grant thanks to the Guyana Olympic Association.
The squad is: Mark Sargeant (Captain), Medroy Scotland, Kareem McKenzie, Keon McKenzie, Daniel Hooper, Meshach Sargeant, Rosario Ramsammy, Eleomar Silva, Aroydy Branford, Andrew Stewart, Leon Bacchus, Stephon Sprosta, Deheron Wilkinson, Hilton Chester, Paramanand Dindial, Shemar Boston, Ato Greene and Troy Hodge.
Manager – Devin Hooper
Coaches – Dwayne Alleyne and Robert Fernandes
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