Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Tigers’ win gives credence to sport’s emergence
– Guyana women jumps 20 places on FIH latest ranking
By Rawle Welch
When GCC Tigers defeated Trinidad and Tobago’s Malvern in the final of the just concluded Diamond Mineral Water International Indoor Hockey Festival anyone who has followed the work done by Head Coach Philip Fernandes with this club and the national female squad would’ve seen it as no surprise.
Alysa Xavier
Fernandes, who also serves as President of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) has over the past two years sacrificed a lot of personal and family time to develop a team that is now at a level where it can challenge the traditional regional powerhouses in the sport for supremacy.
The team is a mixture of youth and experience, with the former the more distinct feature, but the combination has worked to perfection so far as evidenced by their domination on the local scene which has now spread to the Caribbean and further afield.
The Tigers dominate the national squad and this is by no coincidence, they are a dedicated bunch willing to put in the time to hone their skills to meet the levels and demands required to be regarded as elite.
Fernandes no doubt must be credited with the team’s success; here is a Coach who over time has stressed to the team the importance of thorough preparations heading into tournaments, while much time has also spent imparting his knowledge on the technical and tactical aspects which from the results garnered this year has borne dividends.
Presently the team consists of 9-10 members on the national unit and this is a reflection of how well the players have responded to the coaching proficiency of Fernandes, who is a former national player with loads of experience, exposure and knowledge of the game.
Malvern is no pushover and though much of their members are past their prime, they are a team filled with players who’ve represented T&T at the highest level with much distinction so the Tigers success over them was hard earned, but deserved.
The Trinidadian, earlier had shown how dangerous a team they are when they beat the highly touted Canadians in a game that many felt they could not win so getting into the final, they would have started as favourites, but the Tigers had other ideas and produced a stunning performance to capture the title.
Fernandes’ impact has been felt at every level in the female game and it has helped Guyana jump 20 places from being ranked at #58, before they participated in the Pan Am Cup in Argentina earlier this year, to a present ranking of #38 on the Federation of International Hockey (FIH) latest release.
GCC Tigers! They are the face of women’s hockey in Guyana.
Another remarkable achievement has been the inclusion of goalkeeper Alysa Xavier on the Pan Am Elite team which also includes 7-time FIH Player of the Year Argentine Luciana Aymar, who has made it on the list for the fourth straight time.
This is growing evidence of hockey emerging as a sport to note in the’ Land of Many Waters’ and while the game still struggles to gain the attention of major stakeholders, the recent achievements by the women’s team and Xavier’s exploits should be enough to jolt a positive response from them.
Guyana badly needs a synthetic turf to be able to host international tournaments outdoor and while the DMW Festival continues to gain support from the region and North America, the outdoor version has the attractiveness to engage the attention of teams from Europe and Asia.
The players have held their end of the bargain so now it is up to the relevant authorities to fulfill their end of the deal.
Guyana for years have been blessed with athletes possessing natural talent, but in the absence of facilities to further enhance those natural qualities then getting to the elite level will always be an uphill struggle, especially against teams and countries that are furnished with the requisite tools to perform at the optimum level.
Our regional neighbour T&T have an international hockey Centre that has hosted many high level tournaments and they’ve been the standout team in the sport in the Caribbean for many years, but due to an impressive programme designed by Fernandes Guyana is beginning to narrow the gap between the two countries in the women’s segment, all this in the absence of a synthetic surface.
Guyana is now six places below T&T, while other regional countries such as Jamaica and Barbados are below us. Hockey in spite of the many shortcomings has made its mark and deserves more support.
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