Youngsters get a taste for hockey

MORE children than ever are learning to play hockey in the island. The Collins Stewart Schools Outreach Pro-gramme, which was launched in 2004 with a series of five sessions being completed at four schools, has doubled in size.

Last season around 160 children from Years 5 and 6 went through the scheme and more than 400 youngsters from those groups will experience hockey within their PE curriculum this season.

There are eight primary schools involved, with 20 series of five sessions in the pipeline, taking the development team through to the summer term.

Becky Hubbard, the Guernsey Hockey Association development officer, was delighted with the way the scheme had expanded.

'The schools in which we delivered sessions last year have all asked for sessions this year, which is a good indicator that the sessions were well received,' she said.

'The number of children experiencing hockey in schools is hard to quantify but a really good indicator of a developing interest in hockey at this level is our Collins Stewart Sunday Morning Scheme where the number of children attending has significantly increased from last season.

'We have had up to 80 children attending every week and we are looking at expanding the scheme to accommodate the rising demand.'

The benefit of the outreach programme is that youngsters are able to learn about hockey from qualified and experienced coaches in the school environment, enabling children to try a different sport with a different face.

'The programme also gives the teachers ideas on how to deliver hockey sessions which they may not have been confident doing before,' Hubbard added.