Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony charged the National Men’s Junior Hockey team to focus on their academics even as they capitalise on the opportunities within the sporting fraternity.
Dr Anthony made these remarks when the team paid a courtesy call on him after they returned from their developmental tour in Trinidad and Tobago last month. Throughout the visit, the minister highlighted the importance of marrying education with sporting prowess, noting that several hockey and squash players have obtained scholarships from overseas universities. He also said that the sport could benefit from more local support.
The developmental tour is the first step in a two-year preparation programme designed to expose the team to a series of high level competitions as they prepare for the Junior Pan American Cup in Toronto, Canada scheduled for June 2016. To further augment this, the team will be travelling to Canada later this year to compete and familiarise themselves with the competitive environment in preparation for the following year.
Whilst on tour, the team competed in four matches. They defeated the Paragon Hockey Club and two National u-19 developmental sides. However, the suffered their only loss in their final match-up against another National u-19 developmental side.
