The Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) officially staged a two week U19 Developmental Camp for boys from July 14-25 at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground, Bourda.
The instructors were national men’s coach Robert Fernandes and national players Alysa Xavier, Robert France and Andrew Xavier.
The camp, which attracted 40 participants, was designed to develop the individual skills of the participants in the outdoor aspect of the sport, since most clubs and schools train on indoor surfaces.
Some topics covered during the camp included moving with the ball, 3D skills, passing and receiving, goal scoring, and creating space, defending, goalkeeping and penalty corners. Upon the conclusion of the event, a mini-tournament among four teams featuring all the players was held.
The players were split into teams representing Germany, Argentina, England and Colombia contesting the round-robin format followed by semifinals and the final.
In the semi-final, Colombia defeated Germany 3-2 via sudden death penalty shootout after the score was tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation time, while England breezed past Argentina 3-0. Colombia would eventually walk away with the title, defeating England in the finale 4-1.
According to the GHB, they intend to select an U19 training squad to begin training and competing in all local tournaments as part of the preliminary stages of preparation for the Pan American Junior Championships scheduled for 2016.
