Bermuda

By James Whittaker

The graduates of Bermuda’s youth hockey programme for boys head to Barbados today for their first taste of international hockey.
The team is a development squad, all aged between nine and 19, and the tour is part of a long-term preparation for Bermuda to send an under-21 side to the PanAm Games in 2008.
The youngsters will be pitted against local youth sides in five different games and will have a chance to train with the Barbados youth side.
The 19-member squad are all part of the Bermuda Hockey Federation’s youth development programme, which has taken massive steps forward since the astroturf pitch was built at the National Stadium.
Liz Osbourne, the BHF’s vice-president, said the new pitch had made a huge difference this season as astroturf was a much better surface to learn skills on than grass.
She added that the Barbados tour would be the first of many in preparation for PanAm 2008.
The youth programme and the trip to Barbados had been made possible by sponsorship from the Bank of Bermuda Foundation, she added.
“For half the team this is the first foray into competitive hockey, previously having only played in school competitions and local league games in Bermuda. “ Our primary goal is that all these players improve and more importantly to really learn to love the sport and be motivated to continue with hockey into the future.
“This is also a tour to foster friendships and develop connections with our Caribbean counterparts.
“The squad are very excited. They have developed into a close-knit team over this training period and we hope the tour will serve to enhance the camaraderie even further and that the players will return hungry for new challenges.
Bermuda squad (Ages in brackets): Logan Alexander (19), Gregory Rose (19), Alexander Godet-Fisher (9), Joshua Iris (12), William White (10), Neil Wilson (10), Shannon Simons (18), Chris Chapman (18), Carlos Lima (13), Marcus Uddin (13), Brian Ventura (13), Andrew Smith (16), Tyler Smith (16), Lawrence Doughty (14), Benjamin Sheere (14), Trey Durham (10), Hubert Butterfield (12), John Lake (15), Diondae Symons (13). Travelling Officials - Catherine Godet (Manager); Maria Pichery (Assistant Manager); Andrew Travis (Coach); Nigel Pichery (Coach) Simon Van De Weg has been coaching the squad in Bermuda but is unable to travel.

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