… Ladies to have their work cut out – coach Davson
THE Guyana Hockey Board’s (GHB) National Women’s Hockey Team yesterday commenced training in preparation for the Central American and Caribbean Championship scheduled for July 22 – 31 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
Training commenced yesterday at the GCC ground under the guidance of national coach and president of the GHB, Philip Fernandes, and assistant coach Rawl Davson. The final squad will be selected before the end of March.
Davson said, “The ladies will have their work cut out for them, as there are no weak sides in the CAC Games and all of the countries except Guyana have their own artificial pitch.”
In the preparation schedule between February and July, the squad is required to travel twice to Trinidad on weekend trips to familiarise themselves with hockey on an artificial pitch.
This, according to Fernandes, increases the cost of preparation and attendance at the Games significantly, but the coaching staff considers it critical if the ladies are to perform well at the Games.
The schedule includes training sessions three days during the week with an additional weekend day for practice matches.
Guyana has never been represented by a women’s team at the CAC Games, so this will mark a historic first.
After a resuscitation of the women’s game in 2001, Guyana entered only two women’s international competitions which resulted in their second place finish in a tri-nation tournament against Venezuela and Brazil in 2005 and a fourth-place finish in the Caribbean Cup of 2007.
Guyana’s last appearance in the CAC Games took place in Puerto Rico as well when their men’s side secured fifth place out of eight teams in 1993.
Both coaches (Fernandes and Davson) will be very familiar with the conditions and what can be expected from the competition as Davson was the right back on the 1993 squad while Fernandes took time out from his studies abroad to join the technical team on the bench.
Those included in the squad are: Alysa Xavier, Tonza Sarrabo, Natalie Hing, Tracy Atkinson, Jonelle Webster, Tricia Woodroffe, Sonia Jardine, Tiffany Solomon, Vanessa Pires, Wendy Boodhoo, Vashema Bourne, Tricia Fiedtkou, Thalia Fiedtkou, Makini Harry Marisha Rodrigues, Shondell Durant, Maria Munroe, Chantelle Fernandes, Cora Towler, Amanda Garnett, Brennette Gordon, Ulrica Sutherland, Carol Caines, Gabriella Xavier, Dominique DeGroot, Kerensa Fernandes and Avonda James.
