HOCKEY

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 6, 6 July 1935, Page 31

HOCKEY

GAME IN THE SCHOOLS

LACK OF INTEREST

EXCOUKAGEMENT . NEEDED

IS I 'For the future of hockey, there is a i need for young players with a knowledge of the rules of the game, and it is in this connection that the primary schools show their .usefulness. The Wellington Hockey Association, realising this, has done a great deal to I foster the game in the schools by providing sticks where needed and helping to bear the expense of entertaining such representative schoolboy _ teams as have travelled to Wellington. I It is on record that the sum of over _ £19 was expended by the W.H.A. last - year to help just over 200 schoolboys. Comparisons are always odious, but "can any other sport show such a high rate per head of expenditure on the youngsters? Therefore, the Primary Schools' Hockey Association would like to record their appreciation of the help received from the parent body. It must be admitted that a very small percentage of the primary schools is interested in the game at all. Teams have been entered by nine schools, namely, Hataitai (4), I Newtown (2), Island Bay (2), BerhamI pore CD, South Wellington (3),.Karori (2), Northland (2), Wadestown (1), Miramar South (1). This makes a total of eighteen teams, or excluding emergencies and extra players not in teams, 198 boys. Now there are approximately 30 public primary schools in1 the city and its immediate environs, and a number of private and sectarian schools, all; of which could possibly /join in the game. Unfortunately, there is the difficulty of expense incurred in the purchase of sticks, but this is overshadowed by the difficulty experienced by even the largest schools to find a member of the'start to take over the necessary coaching and supervision. A typical school of grade VI or VII has, besides the headmaster, from two to four male assistants, who, besides their actual teaching, are expected to. take an active part in the supervision of school games. By the time that the Rugby and Association football interests are properly catered for there is little likelihood that any male member of the staff will be available for the coaching and supervision of hockey. HOCKEY SUFFERS. Where the help of outside coaches is available, and it must be said that there would be no difficulty in getting such help through the W.H.A., there is the difficulty of overcoming the rule of the responsibility of the headmaster and staff for any accident incurred during school hours, which in this case would include sports activities also. Many headmasters, aware of this responsibility, are therefore averse to allowing the game in their schools. It is hoped, however, that some means of overcoming this diffir culty will be found. Finally, and this is stated advisedly, there is that perennial bugbear of; the profession —apathy to all forms of extra-curricu-lar activities. The work of coaching all forms of school sports is purely voluntary-on the part of teachers, and it is here that the willing horse bears the burden. Few headmasters care to bring pressure to bear on their unenthusiastic assistants to take part in organised games, so some form of sport has to suffer—and statistics show that it is hockey that drops out. The matter of travelling to and "from matches, and the unavoidable splitting into separate teams of certain schools' hockey forces (one team to go to one field and another to travel to the far end of the town) are further bones of contention. 'Each team, under ideal conditions, would travel under care of a responsible master, but, as pointed out before, conditions are far from ideal, and headmasters, faced with the possibility of one or more of their teams travelling alone, would naturally be averse to fostering the game in their schools. In this connection it must be remembered that in the allied winter sports the town is divided into zones, and the 'schools within each zone compete among themselves. With the few schools participating, it would not be feasible to work such a zoning principle. with hockey. QUESTION OF GROUNDS. Up till last year the matter of supervision .of matches by responsible teachers was overcome. by having the matches played on Saturday mornings. Here again difficulties cropped up owing to the refusal of the City Council, through the Director of Parks and Reserves, to allow the use of suitable grounds. Soccer grounds on the Lyall Bay reserve (later converted to Rugby) were all that were available. One could quite see the council's point that the grounds having been marked out for the adults in the afternoon, it was not fair to have them messed up by a lot of youngsters, but here again.the W.H.A. stepped in and announced their willingness to allow the use of the grounds, and their willingness to risk having the grounds "messed up" for them. The matter was laid before the Mayor and the parks and reserves committee by deputation and the matter was adjusted for the time, to be discussed again later. However, the headmasters and others responsible for school sports pi enacted a resolution banning play on to other than school days, a decision of su which the Primary Schools' Hockey W Association was entirely ignorant at in the time. Other things banned at the w same meeting were play for any form al of trophy and the declaration of championships, th LACK OF COACHING. sti There seems to be no doubt that the youngsters thoroughly enjoy participating in the game, for practices are J well attended, and the matches are J fought in a keen and friendly spirit. „„ Some schools are more fortunate than .. others in that they have competent L( coaches on the staff, and these schools _ reflect their coaching by the high standard- of play they show. The m standard on the whole is quite good, but the want of .scientific combination is woefully apparent at times. In Uj some teams the idea of position is en- r tirely non-existent —wherever the ball - m is there is the greater part of the team well and truly entangled and th getting in one another's way. Par- j 0 ticularly is this the case in the circle, su where it appears particularly neces- in sary for all the defending team to clus- ex ter, within the circle and therein rush a j, about like a hive of disturbed bees. fr( Thus a team coached in scientific, open j; e play has an advantage which is reflected in the score. There is a de- ag finite shortage of referees, owing to io the fact that the one teacher is, as has | 0 been noted before, responsible for as ex many as four teams, and many of the j n teachers travelling with teams feel tic themselves incompetent to take the whistle. However, the Umpires' Asso- tv ciation has stepped into the breach, po and is supplying competent referees sp when and where needed. The display jn by one of these referees at Karori on (d a recent Friday impressed the writer, m who is of the opinion that such umpir- ill ing would be an education to the boys. Taking a firm stand right from the sh I beginning, ■when he ordered the teams sti

captains, he allowed no slip to pass, but pulled the game up, and with a few words explained the fault and awarded the penalty.

Those who have the interests of hockey at heart would like to see a great increase in the number of schools playing the game, and appeal to all parents, teachers, and members of school committees to see what can be done towards encouraging a clean, fast, scientific, and reasonably safe sport.