Hockey

With some brief relief from the havoc caused by Covid 19, we have had a fantastic year of hockey at St Dunstan’s College. We have continued to see a huge level of engagement from students across all years both during before and after school, and on Saturdays and as a result, we have played over 50 hockey fixtures against other schools throughout the course of the season.

On weekends where we have not had Saturday fixtures, we have always run hockey training and match play provision for those who are interested, and attendance at these has been strong, regularly involving 100+ pupils each weekend. Our U12 teams started well. With many of the pupils having never held a hockey stick before, the learning curve was a fast and steep one, but by the end of the first half term they were already enjoying competitive match play. Our U13 group have gone from strength to strength and continue to show their talent and prowess across our boys, girls and mixed teams. The U13s are a really exciting year group, and we are excited to see how far we can push their learning to ensure they reach their full potential. Our U14 group comprised some beginners and some very advanced players, but all of them share a real passion and enjoyment for the sport. Lots of the pupils in our U15 group were very new to the sport but got stuck in nevertheless and enjoyed lots of game play within Games sessions. They were a cohesive group who were highly committed and a joy to coach. Many of the experienced pupils from this year group are within the England Hockey Pathway. Our 1st XI enjoyed a transformed season of training and match play, with real focus on ensuring high quality throughout the season. The season and progression of individuals within the College was capped off nicely with 78 Senior School players being nominated to attend Development Centre trials, which is the first step on the England Hockey Performance Pathway. We have also seen a sharp rise in pupils wanting to pursue additional hockey outside of the College, with now many pupils representing youth and adult teams at local clubs such as BromBecks, Tulse Hill & Dulwich, King’s & Alleyn’s (Honor Oak), Blackheath and Elthamians HC. Throughout the season there have been a number of highlights, these include our Friday night lights game against Colfe’s which was held at the Jubilee Ground with over a hundred spectators. Further highlights include the U14As placing third in the Kent County Tournament, narrowly missing out on the final by getting knocked out on penalty strokes. My final highlight would be seeing some Year 7 pupils, Rohan Mellish, Charlie Mander and Ted Beadle, coming to help coach the Year 3–6 after school hockey club, which was fantastic to see them passing on their knowledge and starting to shape the legacy of hockey here at the College. Well done to all of those involved this year!

Mr L Corbin O’Grady

Coordinator of Hockey