Senior hockey debuts

Press, 29 May 1982, Page 64

Senior hockey debuts

David Penfold and John Radovonich, the two Christchurch schoolboys in the New Zealand Junior hockey team announced this week, will play in the Noel teeming senior championship from today. Penfold, from Burnside High School and Radovonich, from Linwood High School, have been given clearances to play for Harewood and Pegasus respectively. The request for the’pair to play senior hockey came from Trevor Blake, the coach of the New Zealand

Junior team which will contest the Junior World Cup finals in Kuala Lumpur in August. Mr Blake spoke to the manager of the team, Mr Ross Gillespie, and he in turn spoke to the coaches of the boys’ respective schools. “Trevor was concerned that the boys would have to adjust from schoolboy hockey to international hockey and that that would be a tremendous adjustment," said Mr Gillespie. “He thought it would be easier for the players with a few hard games behind them

to adapt to international play. We appreciate the schools allowing the boys to play senior hockey. These two were the only pair in the team not playing senior hockey." Both Penfold and Radovonich have trained w-ith their respective senior sides. Penfold has' entered the Harewood squad at an opportune time. The regular reserve in the squad, Chris Innes, has been transferred to Timaru, and the regular left-half, Chris Hayde, is on crutches after a fall at training this week.