Secondarys pitch in to tournament

YOUNGSTERS from most of the island's secondary schools will meet in three year-group hockey tournaments over the next week. Friendly mini tournaments have been running at Foote's Lane over the last couple of weeks in the build up to the small-sided events.

Grammar, Elizabeth College, Les Beaucamps and St Peter Port are certainly expected to take part in the boys' tournaments for Years 7, 8 and 9.

The competitions repeat a format used successfully last year and have the full support of the teachers involved.

They said that such a competition was a good way to offer their pupils more hockey when time on the artificial pitches was notoriously difficult to secure.

Grammar PE teacher Chris du Feu said that the schools had agreed to shorten the football season to allow more time for other sports such as hockey.

But the restriction on pitch availability - when all schools are pushing for the same times - means that hockey still struggles for exposure in some of the States schools.

'But compared to what there was, it's a great improvement,' said du Feu.

He said that students tended to bracket themselves as a footballer or an athlete and needed to realise that they could spread themselves further in sport.

'When you're 14 or 15, you can do everything,' he said.

St Peter Port is one of the schools without a hockey culture now making strides in the sport.

'When I first came here, we didn't play a lot of hockey, but like the Grammar School, we're trying to broaden what we offer to the children,' said head of PE Jill Pritchard.

'I've always offered hockey to boys and girls in previous posts, but here I inherited a football/netball culture and rugby too.'

Pritchard has secured more time for PE in certain age groups in the school and tries to broaden the activity base as a result.

She hoped that the school would place in the top three of the tournaments it enters - its Year 8 boys' team is particularly strong - and, longer-term, that the boys would graduate to 11-a-side hockey.

A combined Year 7-8 team will play the school's under-15 girls to give both sides experience.

'They don't get good-quality practice, but now the boys are taking an interest, there could really be some knock-on benefits.'

* The Year 9 tournament takes place this afternoon at Foote's Lane. Year 8s meet on Friday and Year 7s on Monday.