Primary School's Hockey
Primary Quicksticks Competition 2010 |
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Photograph of Helen Grant handing out medals, accompanied by Will Fulker (left) and Mark Atherton (right), Surbiton HC coaches.
Six Kingston Borough Primary Schools sent children to play "Quicksticks" hockey at Surbiton Hockey Club on Friday afternoon. With 68 children taking part in the tournament and their parents lending vocal encouragement from the sidelines, the afternoon was a lively event.
All the schools invited to play in the tournament are offering after school hockey sessions, run by Surbiton Hockey Club coaches Will Fulker and Mark Atherton, as part of a Kingston School Sports Partnership and ProActive South London sports initiative. The schools involved are Lovelace Primary, The Mount Primary, King Athelstan Primary, St Pauls Primary, Coombe Hill Juniors and Malden Manor Primary.
After much mouthguard moulding and handing out of shinpads, the children were given a briefing, sent on warm-up runs round the pitch and then played in a six-a-side tournament organised specifically for them. Teams were named after World Cup countries and competition was fierce. For most of the children this was the first time they had played a game of hockey on a proper pitch and the watering sprinklers on Surbiton's waterbase pitch provided an added source of amusement. The children were given match and skills coaching during play and were using the Quicksticks rules which have been developed for beginners in hockey.
"Argentina" won the tournament, the team comprising a mix of schools. The top three teams received medals from Helen Grant, Surbiton HC player and coach and ex GB and England player with 120 caps. Described by her colleague as "the Alan Shearer of hockey", she said she was delighted to be able to see the kids taking part and hoped that this would be the start of long hockey careers for many of the children.
Surbiton Hockey Club runs sessions each week during the season for children from ages 6-18 and has one of the largest Colts sections in the country with over 500 children playing hockey.
Surbiton Hockey Club |
Further information about hockey can be found at the Surbiton Hockey Club website or by viewing the documents below.
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