President of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) Philip Fernandes is thrilled with the quality of Guyana’s junior hockey players following the conclusion of the GHB Junior Nationals on Sunday at the National Gymnasium.
Fernandes, in an interview with Stabroek Sports, was so impressed that he made a bold pronouncement that some of the juniors may possibly make it into the senior squad, on present form.
“We have some really good talent who I think can surely break into the national ranks soon,” he told Stabroek Sports with a hint of commanding assurance.
He singled out a few of the juniors who really made an impression and caught the eye by producing the goods and who can potentially go on to do the ‘big things for Guyana.’
“On the Under – 16 level, we have on the female side Abosaide Cadogan, Sarah Klautky, Charlia Webb and Makeda Harding. Those are players who have been playing a high level and on the boys side we have Samuel Woodroffe, Kareem Mc Kenzie, and Warren Williams who is an outstanding young player.
“The Under – 21 we have some phenomenal players, Mc Kenzie again was really good and so was Omar Hopkinson who is a fantastic player and then on the girls side Minsodia Culpepper, who really was exceptional for Old Fort tonight (Sunday) and during the tournament,” Fernandes explained.
Commenting on the obvious success of the championships, Fernandes said that he was pleased to see the number of youngsters and fans who tuned out which augers well for Guyana’s junior nursery of players.
“I think that in recent times our efforts we would have made to develop junior hockey has been a critical aspect to the game and this kind of tournament shows that we are reaping benefits.
“We had a big turn out, good crowd support, good quality hockey, and I’m very, very happy with it.”
Some of the juniors will now turn their attention to the senior national indoor championships for their various clubs which will commence in a few weeks’ time. It will present another opportunity for them to measure their development.
The coming year, however, according to Fernandes, will see the GHB pulling the juniors together for training as a method to consolidate their growing interest in the sport and to keep an eye on their development.
