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Both the boys and girls took a very young and inexperienced squad for the nine day trip with only six out of thirty-two athletes having played international hockey before. The management was also learning to work together with the boys having a new Head Coach, Andy Mitchell and a new manager, Richard Colchester. The girls also had a new Head Coach, Andy Ible while Llian Trew continued her role as manager.

Overall the tour was very successful with both management and players getting a good understanding of the requirements of international hockey while highlighting areas of strength and weakness within their squads. With the priority being the Europeans in July the tour was process driven with an improvement in performance every time the squad took to the field.

The athletes and management were a credit to their country performing both on and off the pitch and highlighting the development that is being done at the junior end of Welsh Hockey. Both squads are heading to the Europeans with high hopes of performing on an international stage.

Match Reports

12th April 2006
Junior Academy Girls v Belgium U16
This was the squad’s first game together and the lack of experience showed. The Belgian team were more experienced and with their high individual skills took the game to Wales. However, with nerves and individual errors the Belgians went on to win the game 5-0. The game highlighted the lack of experience and the different physical levels played by both teams. Even though the girls were disappointed with the outcome, the squad learned a lot of lessons and went into the next game with more confidence.

13th April 2006
Junior Academy Girls v Belgium U18

Following a thorough debrief by the whole squad the management highlighted three key areas to concentrate on for the second game. Firstly the squad needed to match the physical levels of the opposition, secondly the girls needed to defend more as a unit and finally the girls had to move the Belgium press. The squad fulfilled these objectives and were unfortunate to lose 2-0. Some of the senior players stepped up and lead through example. With all the squad now having international experience the squad looked much more confident and were coming to terms with the demands of international hockey. The girls went to France with a lot of confidence.

16th April 2006
Junior Academy Girls v Flanders

Flanders was a French regional U16 side. The Welsh Junior Academy produced a performance good enough to win the game 3-0, however overall were disappointed with their performance. With the tour all being about improving every time they stepped onto the pitch the girls did not perform their basic skills to the level they had demanded of themselves and as such did not win the game by the margin they should have. However, for most of the squad this was their first victory in a Welsh shirt and so was pleased with the victory. The goal scorers were Rhian Cummings, Ceri Madoc-Jones and a penalty stroke from Heather Morris.

18th April 2006
Junior Academy Girls v Cambrai

Cambrai are one of the top senior French clubs side. They fielded eight first team players and a male goalkeeper. The Junior Academy matched them from the whistle with aggression, a high level of basic skills and good movement off the ball. They created a lot of chances but with a lack of composure in the circle these were not converted. The difference between the sides was clearly demonstrated with Cambrai’s first serious attack leading to an early goal in the second half, but the team continued to press until the final whistle. The final score was 1-0 to Cambrai. As this was a process oriented tour starting on the defence performance first and the final third last the squad were very pleased with their performance and finished the trip on a high.

Summary
Overall the trip was a great success with all athletes well aware of the demands of international hockey and the steps that they need to take in order to be successful at the Europeans in July. Many thanks must go to all the management team who all gave up their time to develop these athletes and without whom hockey within Wales would cease to exist. Both squads now look forward to preparing for the focus of the year in July.

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