GHB Vice-President praises effort of national men’s team

Apr 15, 2014 Sports

– Urges more tangible support for the sport

By Rawle Welch
Vice-President of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) Ivor Thompson, speaking with Kaieteur Sport via telephone yesterday, showered praise on the national men’s team following their outstanding performance, at the just concluded Pan Am Hockey Cup in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The Guyanese finished third in the competition which also had powerhouses Canada, the eventual winners, USA, Argentina and Uruguay with the winner gaining a place at the 2015 World Cup in Germany.

Ivor Thompson

According to Thompson, himself a former national player, who represented this country at many regional and international competitions including the Central American & Caribbean Games (CAC), all the players performed outstandingly and deserve all the praises which will be forthcoming when they return.
“I watched most of the games and even though I was privy to the arduous training and preparations that the team went through prior to departure, when we beat Argentina, a team rated higher than us in our opening game I was surprised, but when we faced them again and beat them for a second time I was completely shocked,” Thompson said.
Thompson, when asked about the kind of impact the result could create for the sport right now, he responded by saying that it will boost every aspect of the sport’s development since it clearly demonstrates that despite the obvious shortcoming, which is the absence of an artificial turf, we still possess players with the quality and calibre similar to those from countries that have invested in the appropriate infrastructure.
He recalled a similar performance by the ladies team who according to him has been steadily closing the gap on their regional counterpart Trinidad and Tobago who’re regarded as the strongest team in the English-speaking Caribbean.
“Hockey has been enjoying a renaissance and it is all due to a robust developmental programme which was conceptualized and put into action by the Board and enjoys the support of all the clubs.”
Asked to highlight any individual (s) whose performances were pivotal in the team’s overall display, Thompson said there were many outstanding individual performances such as the attacking play of young Jamarj Assanah, Aroydy Bradford, the experienced Devin Munroe, Robert France, Aderemi Simon and Shane Samuels, but he singled out goalkeeper Tony Cole’s dazzling display between the uprights as deserving of special mention.
Cole produced some brilliant stops against the Argentines in the third place playoff which definitely allowed us to defeat the opposition for a second time in the tournament.
Thompson lamented the absence of an artificial surface which he advised is critical towards the further development of the game.
“We’ve seen what the players can do, they’ve done their part and it is now up to the relevant stakeholders to play their part since Sport could be used to eliminate antisocial and deviant behaviour within our society, whilst also providing an individual with another path to be a productive citizen.