KUALA LUMPUR – South Africa, powerhouses in the worlds of rugby and cricket, have quietly witnessed the ascent of field hockey, a sport that is rapidly gaining prominence among the nation’s youth.
Affectionately known by fans as “Ama Stokke Stokke,” they have so far participated in six Olympics and have also guaranteed their slot in next year’s edition in Paris.
As a nation that views sports as serious business, schools in South Africa have played a significant role in recognising the potential for growth and the need to diversify sporting opportunities.
St Andrew’s School in Bloemfontein became the first school in South Africa to construct an AstroTurf pitch in the country in July.
Since then, many other schools followed suit in constructing their AstroTurfs without government aid, aiming to provide aspiring hockey players with a world-class pitch to hone their skills with precision.
Speaking to Scoop, South African Schools Hockey vice-chairman Wayne Marsden said that the construction of AstroTurf pitches has elevated the quality of their country’s hockey gameplay and has introduced a new generation of young athletes to the sport.
Wayne shared that there are 120 hockey turfs constructed across the nation, costing around 9 million South African rand (RM2.29 million), a move to unearth talent.
“Hockey is considered a significant sport in our country, and we have been improving in several aspects of our game since the construction of the AstroTurfs at schools.
“So far, we have a talent pool of nearly 12,000 players through our school initiatives and programmes.
“We don’t have a professional league in our country, but with our under-13, -16, and -18 programmes, many of our players have gained exposure by playing with the best players in the European leagues.
“I’m happy to see that many of these players who are from the schools have risen to play for the South African side in major tournaments such as the Olympics, FIH Men’s World Cup, FIH Men’s Junior World Cup and the FIH Pro League,” said Wayne when met at Bukit Jalil during the Junior World Cup.
At the same time, Wayne also said that he is impressed with the youth hockey development programmes in Malaysia and highlights the vast number of talents in the country.
“I have been to Malaysia many times, and I have to say that the people over here are big hockey fans.
“I have been to several schools and hockey clubs in this country, and those running their youth development programmes are doing a good job as Malaysia has a huge pool of talented players,” Wayne said, adding that he wished for the same help for South African hockey as provided by Malaysia for its hockey body.
Previously, Malaysian Hockey Confederation president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal pledged to work together with the National Hockey Development Programme and the National Sports Council to make the sport more accessible with the hope of developing young talents.
The confederation is planning to reach out to schools such as SMK Cochrane, SMK La Salle Sentul and St John’s Institution to construct AstroTurf pitches.
At the ongoing Junior World Cup, 18 of the South African players are a product of the nation’s school hockey development programmes.
For the record, South Africa, with an average squad age of 19 in the Junior World Cup, have so far scored a total of 18 goals and will be playing the ninth-place classification match against Belgium later today.
South Africa’s best finish in the tournament was at the 2021 edition in the Indian city Bhubaneswar, where they finished ninth out of 16 teams. – December 15, 2023