Hockey

Reflections from the 2021-22 captain, Margot Emlyn-Jones

It is safe to say that hockey has taken a massive hit this year because of Covid-19, but it has not stopped us from training and developing on and off the pitch. We have come very far this year as a team by breaking the barrier between the various year groups and working together to strengthen ourselves as one unit. We have introduced new training sessions to further develop our skills and endurance. We are all very much looking forward to getting back on the pitch next season and, fingers crossed, finally playing some matches together.

HOCKEY

As I sit down to write the customary review of the hockey season it seems strange not to structure the report around results. Previously, there has been huge emphasis on the results of fixtures between independent schools, therefore going into a term of hockey with it unlikely that we would play any fixtures at all, seemed very odd indeed.

Although different, this has actually been one of my favourite seasons. The inability to play fixtures allowed us to focus on the learning and integration of new and core skills and on the holistic hockey development of the individual, rather than the end results of a match. Many students have been given the support to learn advanced skills such as flicking, aerials and reverse hitting. We were still able to inject some healthy competition as we finished our term with a three-week block of House Matches for Years 7–10, as well as our Saturday morning ‘world cup style’ tournament play. Pupils were responsible for their own warm-ups, team talks, and management throughout the games, which is testament to how engaged, responsible, and mature we recognise our pupils to be. These fixtures were some of the most intensely contested I can ever remember seeing, as pupils gave their all for their Houses and learned some valuable lessons in sportsmanship. During the Michaelmas term, many schools reported all-time low rates of pupil participation, however, the opposite was true for us, with 100+ pupils attending every Saturday session, and almost 200 pupils regularly attending the after-school sessions during the week. These numbers are very healthy, and clearly represent the effort and commitment from our pupils. In addition to the extremely strong engagement we have had in school, we have also seen an increase in our pupils representing clubs, which is something that we hope will assist in a lifelong participation in sport. Well done to all those to whom this applies and best of luck with your performance pathways. The future of hockey at St Dunstan’s is bright and we are looking forward to a more ‘normal’ term next year.

Mr Corbin O’Grady

Coordinator of Hockey