Curro clinic attracts big names in hockey

“If you are not enjoying it, hang up your boots.”

These were the words of Patrick Tshutshani, the current South African u/21 women’s coach, when talking to hockey girls from across Mpumalanga who were invited to the high-performance clinic at Curro Nelspruit last Sunday. He was responding to a player’s comment about the clinic being “fun but intense”.

“You have to work hard but as long as it’s still fun, carry on and go as far as you can,” he said.

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The girls were invited to a three-hour session in the morning and boys attended for three hours in the afternoon. The temperature was high, but the energy among the players from around the region was even higher.

The objective of the clinic was to award opportunities for players to maximise their individual and team potential.

Players identified in the Mpumalanga hockey region with above intermediate ability, were invited to attend it.

Nika Nel, a former u/21 hockey player who had been working at the school since January, assisted Tshutshani on the day. SA u/21 players, Marizen Marais and Amy Etherington, provided invaluable help too.

According to Nel, she invited Tshutshani to help players in the province with technical skills.

“I hope this will give our players the opportunity to compete at a high level and to make the South African teams. We need to get the right people in to share knowledge with the upcoming boys and girls,” she said.

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“In the end, it’s about the development of Mpumalanga hockey and encouraging an overwhelming love of the sport.”

Tshutshani added that he had seen a great deal of development in hockey in the province.

“Kids are becoming more excited about the game; they watch it more on TV. They are slowly developing on skills level but there needs to be more top-class coaching.

The game has changed so much over the past few years,” he said.