HOCKEY Australia is on the hunt for the next Olympic star and with the help of the Hook-in2-Hockey recruitment program, they might just find the player they are after right here in Swan Hill.
The Hook-in2-Hockey program, which held the first of its sessions last Monday night at the St Mary’s Primary School, will run for six weeks in Swan Hill and comes on the back of a visit by Hockey Victoria state-level players to the schools across the region late last term.
The program is designed to provide children aged four to 12 with the opportunity to learn the basic skills of hockey in a safe and fun environment
Over 10,000 youngsters will participate nationwide in the Hook-in2-Hockey program in 2013 and, in the first year that it has been conducted here, 34 children aged between four and 11 have registered to be part of the Swan Hill arm of this national recruitment program.
Before engaging in a series of skill-based drills and games at last Monday’s session, participants were delighted to receive a hockey pack comprising a fold-out backyard hockey goal, a replica Australian hockey singlet, stick, ball and shin-guards.
Swan Hill Hin2H program coordinator Anthony Davies said he hoped to see the regrowth of the sport in the district.
“Hockey used to be a thriving sport in Swan Hill, and hopefully the program will spark an interest in once again establishing hockey as a sporting alternative for Swan Hill kids,” he said.
