SCHOOL HOCKEY ON THE MOVE




School hockey is definitely on the move on Curacao. Currently 8 local schools have subscribed to be part of the 2008 school hockey program. This is a very encouraging trend seeing that all past and current efforts are paying off and showing good progress.

Alessandro Piccardo

One of the key persons to keep the ball rolling is Alessandro Piccardo. He arrived in February on Curacao to assist in the School Hockey program on the island. Allessandro (24) is a devoted hockey trainer from Schearweijde, The Netherlands with great organizational talent and a big heart for the kids of the island. Every week he visits different schools and conducts hockey clinics for the school kids (boys and girls) in the age group of 9-12 years.

"The kids are very motivated and eager to learn”, Alessandro states. “The boys and girl are keen in sports and many have a natural talent for the hockey. Field hockey is a technical sport. On Curacao the kids are used to grow up with baseball thus are familiar with the timing related to ball and stick. They pick up very fast the specifics of our hockey techniques and developing their skills quickly during the sessions." Alessandro concludes.

Alessandro is also heavily involved in the regular NAHA youth training program week by week. His contribution to hockey development on the island is considerable and deserves every respect.


Henk Pepping
 

Under the good umbrella of NAHA, the annual School Hockey Tournament will be
staged on the 24th of May. Youth development coordinator Henk Pepping has put an organizational team together to make once again this event a great experience for the school kids. The organization has already started. 8 local schools will enroll their teams to battle out the pricy trophy which was won last year by the Albert Zweizer School. During the tournament, special hockey skill clinics will also be given and social activities for parents and spectators will flank this nice event.
 

“It’s fantastic to see how the school kids are getting into the hockey sport” Henk Pepping reiterates. “There are many fine examples documenting the overall progress. I just want to mention one boy from Goilo School. His name is Patrick and he made a presentation in front of his class talking about hockey. Well, beside that he received from his teacher an A+ for his presentation, the following week 3 boys from his class joint into the Wednesday youth training. Another fine example is a girl from Marnix School which previously did track & field athletics. After she attended two school hockey clinics she swopped over to hockey stating that hockey is so much more exiting and that she lost her heart in the hockey sport” Henk concludes. Henk Pepping can tell many success stories about local kids starting to enjoy hockey on Curacao.
 

  

  

With the devoted assistance of many volunteers, local sponsors, members of the National Teams and many other persons, youth hockey development is certainly on the move.

“One cannot expect any ‘quantum leaps’ here, we are a small island with little resources. But with our creativity, heart and devotion we are certainly reaching out to the kids of the island motivating them for the hockey sport” NAHA President Robert Paul van Bilderbeek remarks on the progress of youth hockey.
 

Noticeably, NAHA is facilitating most of the hockey equipment for all the clinics and training sessions. Kids can borrow the hockey sticks and enjoy the fun which comes along each training session. One thing is for sure, the forthcoming School Hockey Tournament at Blue Bay Hockey Field on the 24th of May will mark another good show case of what youth hockey development on Curacao is all about. It’s on the move!