The Hockey Field

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 145, 20 June 1936, Page 23

The Hockey Field

Huia and Karori 1 met on the Nae nae No. 1 ground, which was in fairl, good order, the ball travelling freely Actually the speed of the ball slowei the game to some extent, because th> clashes between opposing players wer so keen that two frequently hit thi ball at the same time, and made it g< out of play. Territorially there wa little between the teams, but Karor he appeared to have the better of the ex 3 y changes on many occasions. There wa: be a fair amount of bright stick work bj a t the Karori forward line, and the Hui; 110 defence had several awkward moment! °£ when the opposing forwards rushed th< goal-mouth with the ball on theii sticks. GOOD GOAL-KEEPING. The best play of the day was seer in the Karori goal where Moore won the frame for his side. His clearing was perfect. He took hard drives and soft shots with equal confidence, and sent his advancc guard away without loss of time. The Huia forwards liad several opportunities at jroal, and made pood use. ot them, but Moore was always ready, and stopped and sent the lv.ll away again with a coolness rarely seen in close play. Owen Wheailey, who has done well at goal scoring for the Huia side this season, did not get any opportunities to add to his score on Saturday. lie was given the ball fairly frequently in the early stages of the game, but was so closely watched by the Karori backs that he was attacked before he had time to make a move. The result was that he was starved of the hall later when he might have used it. The halves apparently took it for granted that he was always watcljed. The game produced fat too many penalties, the outstanding ones being "sticks," obstruction, and off-side play. Both sides gave ■ "sticks" frequently, and on one occasion an offence in the circle which led to a corner wat fol-

lowed by sticks on three occasions. The Huia forwards were caught offside fairly often, mainly because one of the Karori backs moved up to put his opponents off-side instead of tackling. His action could certainly be described as tactics, but not as hockey. As far as the obstruction was conccrned it is fair to say that the majority of the breaches were not premeditated. > HUTT CLUE'S KECOIM) r TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF \ HOCKEY : During the twenty-five years of its ' existence, the Hutt Valley Hockcy : Club, which is celebrating its silver jubilee today, in common with all ; sports clubs, has experienced its ups ■ and downs. It can claim, however, to ; have contributed very largely to the ; progress of hockey in the Wellington ; district. The club was founded originally in 1909 by the Rev. T. A. Williams, under the name of the Petone Hockey Club, unofficial matches only being played that year. In 1910 the club had three teams, two playing on Saturdays and one "on Wednesdays. The Wednesday team was later disbanded. The Saturday teams met with mixed success, sometimes winning handsomely, and sometimes losing by as much as twelve goals to nil. Several of the clubs playing at that time have since gone out of existence, among these being St. Patrick's, Greggs, Government Insurance, Metropolitan, St. Mark's, and Y.M.C.A.

At the second annual meeting it was decided to change the name to the "Hutt Valley Hockey Club," as moat of the members were resident in Lower Hutt. At the same meeting Mr. L. Webley was appointed secretary, and much of the early success of the club was due to his work. He was also a Very -consistent scorer in the junior team at that time. i Hockey in those days was not played under such ideal conditions as we have todny, and grounds had to be marked out each Saturday by markers appointed by the various teams. Frequently teams would arrive at Hull Park to find that the goal-posts had been taken down so that the ground could be used by aeroplanes. Games were often played without referees and teams would turn out three or four men short. BAD SHOOTING. An interesting extract from the report of a match played in 1911 runs as follows:—"Hutt had the best of the . game and should have won, but their shooting was very bad," so that one of the shortcomings of the 1936 senior A team is evidently not a new one. In 1912 only one team was entered and the aub had hard work to keep thi§ up to full strength. In 1913, however, the club took a new lease of life, starting the season by winning the six-a-side tournament nt. Karon, the team consisting of L. Webley, J. Smith. .1. Clout. R. McCaw, Udy. and , E. Taylor. No official record of matches ulayed ! was kept during the war years, and j , it is understood that no games were i ( played at all for two years, thus mak- , , intj this the twenty-fifth year of the j , club's active existence. Cut neverlhc- j.

(By "Sticks.") CHANGE OF FORTUNE LEADING- TEAM DEFEATED Interest in the men's senior A hockey competition was quickened last Saturday when the leading team met a reverse and the difference in championship points between the two first teams was reduced to one. A hard game had been expected when Huia and Karori 1 met, but the actual play was far from brilliant. Both teams showed over anxiety right through the game, and, except for occasional flashes, the play was not up to senior A standard. The improvement in play that was noticeable early in the season has been maintained by most of the teams, but there has not been any marked advance recently. The playing areas have been drier and easier to play on, but in some cases the surface has roughened, and that has put players off to a certain extent.

2-1 less during this period some player; y wex-e produced who have since made their mark in the hockey world, notably Bob Lusty (New Zealand capd tain) and the late Caotain Dillon, oi e the Indian Army. About this time a e team of young players was formed, e and they kept together as a team for 0 over ten years, and in 1924. 1925, and s 1926 won the senior championship. An •i extract from "The Post" at the end of - the 1925 season reads: "The whole s secret of the team's success may be y summed up in the one word, 'traina ing.' Regularly the Hutt boys had s their training nights, and according to e the trainer, Mr. R. Cairns-Lee. there r were seldom any absentees. And in addition there seemed to be a bond of fellowship which held them together, ! both on and off the field." 1 This same team is the one which to--1 day played the senior A team for the f Stoupc Cup, presented by Mr. Fred 1 Stoupe for annual competition be--1 twcen old-timers and present players, t These matches have been the most outI standing feature o£ the club's aclivi- ; tics during recent years, the suggestion - being first made by Mr. H. Hodgkin- ' son. The idea was taken ud enthusiastically by the "Old Timers." under t.lie organisation of Mr. Arney Smith, 1 and has been a big factor in maintaini ing the interest of old players in the ; game. HIGH STANDARD MAINTAINED. From the year 1920, when the club was reorganised after the war, a high standard has been maintained both in the- standard of play and in numerical strength. Ths following are some of the successes of the club since that date:— 1922, Third grade championship; 1923, third grade championship, 1924, senior championship, club championship, and Feilding five-a-side tournament; 1925, senior A and B championships; 1926, senior A and third grade

championships; 1927, third grade championship; 1928, third grade, championship; 1929, junior championship; 1935, senior B championship. Apart from the various players previously mentioned, the club has provided two New Zealand representatives in Cyril Smallwood and Eddie McLeod, and one North Island representative, Fred Thorpe, besides the regular quota of Wellington representatives. Among those to whom the club is indebted for their past services should be mentioned Barton Ginger, Cyril Harvey, Tom Dawson, the Lusty brothers, Jack Clout, Alex Eoss, Arney Smith, P. J. Atkinson, R. McCaw, L. and A. Webley, F. Hancock, Sid Diamond, and a host of others. The present members of the club are mindful of the splendid work of the early administrators in laying the foundations of the club, and at the jubilee celebrations today tribute was paid to them. THE ROLL-IN Many players have the idea apparently that the roll-in from the side-line is for the purpose of giving the team rolling in an advantage. This is not the case, it is merely for the purpose of restarting play. Also, players fail to realise that the term "roll in" means just what it says, and not "thrown in." A player and his stick must be on the outside of the line before he can deliver the ball. At Karori Park last Saturday, several players were pulled up for improper rolling in.

HOW TO PLAY HOCKEY

Back or Reverse Shots. — These should be resorted to very infrequently and in rare circumstances, as they lack the finish and the sting of the "right shots." Even a first-class leftwing is expected to make a turn and hit or pass the ball on the "right j shots." Every shot of a good player should be well thought out and accurate; with back or reverse shots a player, however good, can not be sure of these two essentials. A tap with the reverse stick prove:; as effective as a fine dribble, but a player should practise it well before he uses it. Dhyan Chand is master of this. His tap to his right-in with the stick reversed very frequently passes a defender unchecked and proves very effective in changing the direction of the game. Back Pass. —This is given by the right or reverse stroke and is very effective in freeing a player and in changing direction of the game. The execution and effectiveness of the pass depend upon perfect understanding and anticipation between the two players giving and receiving it. It should, however, be resorted to only at intervals and on suitable occasions. Too much indulgence robs the game of its speed and forward play. A left-in nearing the edge of the striking area and finding no opening for his dribbling or forward play can very well pass to his half-back or centre-half. The principle to be observed in using this pass is that if you find no opening for forward play it. is better to pass the ball back than give it to an opponent. "Back pass" is a fine tactical move if employed suitably and opportunely by the player concerned. —-M. N. Masud.