Meanwhile Galway Hockey club organised a blitz for who had not travelled to Sligo. Kinvara, Greenfields and Galway took part. All teams played really well and many strong performances displayed. Several young players had their first outing at this level and really stepped up to the challenge. Thanks to Jenny Cunningham, Eli Noone and Sinead Minihan who took charge of the teams. To finish a busy day, Greenfields hosted an under 10 blitz for Athlone, Galway and Greenfields. For the first time we also had an under 8 section as several very young player have joined us since Christmas. In fact some of the girls who played in this section had only just joined! In all 14 teams competed with 70 under 10 players. The IHA Guidelines for under 10 games were followed. The pitch format was 1/8th of a pitch with two sets of goals for each team. This encourages movement and vision. A really high standard of hockey was displayed among all the teams and all players improved as the afternoon progressed. It was a wonderful afternoon of activity and fun. A special thanks to all the young umpires who helped and all the team managers. Thanks to all the parents for the support. Thanks to Norma Mc Cambridge and Jenny Cunningham who helped organise a very successful blitz.
News
Underage Report
November 8, 2018
It was a very busy weekend for all the under age – primary school players. 3 teams from 6th class and 1 team from 5th class travelled to Sligo for the annual Mc Cormick tournament. The teams competed against teams from Sligo, Athlone and Galway along with teams from Muckross and Genesis in Dublin.
The tournament was organised on a group basis with two teams coming out of each group to play a quarter final. All our teams competed really well against very strong opposition. All teams won some matches along the way. Lauren Mackey’s team was the only Connacht team to progress to the quarter final stage. The team beat a Muckross team in a very exciting quarter final. Lauren Mackey put Greenfields ahead and Muckross dramatically equalised with a few min to go. Extra time followed and match finished all square. A penalty shoot out followed. Lauren Mackey, Jean Brennan, Claudia Mc Nicholas , Ciara Shaughnessy and Eva Mannion stepped up to take the penalties. Nothing could separate the teams and it had to go to sudden death. Greenfields held their nerve and won. They were eventually beaten by a very strong team from Genesis who play their hockey in the Leinster league. It was a great experience for all the players who had a great day’s hockey.
Thanks to coaches Jean Mackey, Aedin Pagden, Yvette Quinn and Eleanor Whyte who travelled with the players and were really proud of the performance and hard work shown by all players.
