Hockey Step-up Women's Team Preparations for Olympic Qualifier

The Ghana Hockey Association (GHA) continued with the preparation of the national teams with a 3-day week-end residential camping for the women’s team. This is the first in the series of such planned programmes spread over a period before the teams go into full residential camp ahead of the Olympic Qualifier. The qualifier, which is normally a part of the All Africa Games, has been re-located to Kenya due to the inability of the Algerian Authorities to provide hockey infrastructure for the All Africa Games. The International Olympic Committee in consultation with World Hockey and the African Hockey Federation agreed to stage the qualifier in Kenya during the period of the Algerian Games.

The programme for the camping promises to be hectic and according to Head Coach Richard Abaidoo, it would include skill and technique development, field drills, video and board-work instructional sessions and practice matches. The coaching team would have with them a coaching assistant Wietshe Annechien de Ruiter introduced by World Hockey. Wietshe, a Netherlands national has been involved in coaching with the Netherlands Hockey Board (KNHB) and is currently with her family in Ghana for a working visit. She has expressed positive sentiments about the women’s team and is confident that with adequate preparation and motivation, they can stand up to continental champions South Africa in search of the automatic slot for the Olympic Games.

In a practice match played on Saturday against a select side drawn from the National under-18 and under-21 boys’ sides, the women’s team put up a very good showing to draw 2-2 after leading 2-0 in the first half. According to the chairman of the GHA who was there to watch the match, he was impressed with the level of play the team which he said had improved greatly. He was very optimistic that if the team would maintain their current level of play, Ghana will be in Beijing in 2008.

The weekend camp ends on Sunday after team practice and other activities.