… pays courtesy call on Minister of Sport Dr Anthony

GUYANA national women’s hockey goalkeeper Alysa Xavier has landed a coveted hockey scholarship to the Miami University of Ohio in the United States of America.
This was disclosed by president of the Guyana Hockey Board, Philip Ferrnandes, on Thursday.Fernandes said Xavier, the top women’s goalkeeper in the English-speaking Caribbean, has received the unique distinction of being named to the Pan American elite team for 2013.
On Thursday, Xavier paid a courtesy to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony who lauded Xavier on her achievement and also had a few words of encouragement to offer.
He is hopeful that her elevation to the Elite squad will serve to inspire more female players to get involved in not just hockey but other disciplines as well.
Xavier said she was enjoying the scholarship thus far and although managing studies and playing hockey is “hard’, it is not beyond her ambit.
According to Fernandes, every two years, the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) selects an elite team of its top players based on their international performance for the year and for the period of 2012/2013 the women’s selection included five players from the world champions Argentina, three each from the USA and Canada, two from Chile and one each from Mexico, Uruguay and Guyana.
“Alysa finds herself in esteemed company and is the only player from the English-speaking Caribbean to be selected.
This is a significant achievement and is the first time a player from Guyana has ever been selected for this accolade.” Fernandes stated.
Xavier began playing hockey at thirteen years old. She excelled both at goalkeeping and field play but chose to pursue the former as she was also a keen football player.
Being one of those gifted athletes to whom all ball sports seem to come easily, Xavier excelled at hockey goalkeeping, rising rapidly in the ranks to earn her first national selection less than two years later.
Since 2007, Xavier has been a fixture in the women’s national hockey team as their first-choice goalkeeper and was one of the key players responsible for Guyana’s rise in world ranking over the past few years, including a record 20-place jump in 2013.
“She is known in the Caribbean as one of the top hockey goalkeepers, winning more individual awards for goalkeeping than any other active goalkeeper in the English-speaking Caribbean,” Fernandes remarked, adding “her goalkeeping exploits were soon noticed by North American coache -, which landed her a coveted hockey
scholarship to the Miami University of Ohio in the USA in 2013.”
Xavier continues to represent Guyana with distinction in international competition as evidenced by her selection to the 2013 PAHF elite team.
“The Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) hopes that other young men and women can follow Alysa’s example of maximising their potential through hard work and dedication to the sport or any other pursuit that they love.
The GHB also wishes to thank the Ministry of Sport and the Guyana Olympic Association for their support – especially throughout the past few years – which has enabled the Guyana women’s team and Alysa to showcase their talents on the international stage.” Fernandes said.