Americas

THE BARBADOS FLAG was flown proudly by the Bimshire Junior hockey outfit in Trinidad and Tobago over the Easter holidays.
The Bimshire Juniors enjoyed a successful tour, winning the Under-12 and Under-15 titles in the fifth annual seven-a-side tournament, staged by the Trinidad and Tobago Hockey Board’s youth committee.

In the Under-15 division, Bimshire, under the guidance of former national women’s player Ingrid Mayers, played unbeaten enroute to championship success.

They defeated Fatima 2-0 and Trinity College East 1-0 and had goalless draws in their other games against Queen’s Royal College, Tobago Combined and St Anthony College to end with nine points.

In the Under-12 mixed division, Bimshire reached the final and Keron Taylor scored the match-winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Futuristic II of Trinidad and Tobago at the National Hockey Centre in Tacarigua.

The team also returned home with a number of individual awards. In the boys’ Under-15 division, Curwin Brewster was voted best defender, while Taylor had a double award, winning the best forward award in both the under-12 and under-15 categories.

Rashida Corbin was named best goalkeeper in the Under-21 girls division, while Dario MacClean, who kept goal in both the Under-15 and Under-21 divisions, was one of the outstanding players.


Outstanding

Queen’s College student Gina Belle was also outstanding in the defence. Curtis Sealy and Jamar Lashley assisted Mayers with the coaching duties as the touring squad was a large one, with a 42-member contingent of boys and girls.

“The group is made up from all the schools, ranging in ages of six to 17. Once you expose these children from early to good ground basic skills, they tend to develop quickly and this would help develop the base for the national junior teams,” Mayers said.

The Bimshire juniors train every Saturday morning at Wildey Astro Turf and Mayers said the sessions are open to children from six years up, who are interested in playing hockey.


Giving back

“It’s free of cost. Once they are interested in playing hockey, they can come. I have gained a lot from playing hockey for my club BNB Deacons and Barbados over the years, so I am giving back something to hockey,” Mayers said.

“I have some sticks and balls which were donated to me and we let the children use them,” she added.

The programme is already bearing fruit at the national level as seven boys, who played with Deacons team, just represented Barbados at the Pan American Junior Hockey championships in Cuba.

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