Selwyn Times: March 06, 2019

SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Wednesday March 6 2019 27
Hockey club places more
emphasis on performance
• By Jacob Page
WAIKIRIKIRI Hockey will
enter its third season with an
added emphasis on performance.
President Lyndal Marshall said
after two seasons of building
up the club with an emphasis
on people, pathways and
performance, it is now time for
teams to impress on the hockey
turf.
THe club has grown from 17
teams to 21 this season, and
includes fun sticks through to
senior division three sides.
THe club was affiliated to
Canterbury Hockey last year,
which Marshall said will
offer players a pathway to
representative teams.
“Our club motto is
participation, growth and
culture,” she said.
“Now it’s time to focus a little
more on performance. While
the juniors is still all about fun
and enjoyment, as the players get
older we’re introducing coaching
philosophies and strategies to
help bring them through the
grades, ” she said.
One of the long-term aims of
the club is to have premier men’s
and women’s teams.
“We have a lot of players
growing through our under-18
side, but what we’d like to form
is a division three over-18 team
ENERGY: More than 75 Waikirikiri Hockey club members turned
up for the first week of pre-season training.
PHOTO: WAIKIRIKIRI HOCKEY
SPORT
with the hope that there are some
older players out there that want
to get back in the game with an
anti-social level,” she said.
“We fielded a mid-week open
team for men and women last
year, but we’d like to have a
division three team so that
they can eventually merge with
our under-18 team and make a
division two team.”
The club was formed when
Waikirikiri and Malvern
joined forces to make a
Country Combined team,
which plays age-group games
against Kaiapoi, Rangiora and
Hurunui.
The clubs hope to include more
grades later this season.
Rolleston teen softballers
make NZ academy squad
• By Jacob Page
THREE 15-year-old Rolleston
softballers will head to Australia
to represent New Zealand in
October.
Liam Egan, Hayden Perriam
and Mitchell Dierck have been
selected in the New Zealand
International Softball Academy
under-15-16 years team for the
under-18 Blue Blaze tournament
in Sydney.
The event will see a squad of 30
split into two Kiwi teams to play
Sydney-based club teams.
It will be Mitchell’s second
time at the tournament, while
Hayden and Liam will make
their debuts.
Mitchell, a right-handed
pitcher, has been plating for the
past four years.
The trio have impressed at club
level and as pick-up players for
South Canterbury during the
season.
“I was forced to give pitching
a go when I was 11 and I realised
I was pretty decent and just kept
working at it,” Mitchell said.
“You need strong legs, height
and fitness.”
Hayden, an infield specialist
who can also play catcher, was
introduced to the sport by Liam
three years ago.
“I gave it a go and loved it ever
since,” he said. “I used to play
rugby and do swimming but
now I just love softball.”
TALENTED: Rolleston
softballers Liam Egan,
Mitchell Dierck and Hayden
Perriam will take on several
Australian club teams.
All three play for the Rolleston
under-18 team each week.
Liam is a pitcher, second base
and short stop. “I like short stop
because there’s a lot of action
there during the game and I’ve
gotten better each year.”
Rolleston club president David
Egan said it was thrilled to have
three representatives from one
team selected.
“It’s a great opportunity for
our boys to get some excellent
coaching from some greats of
New Zealand softball, like Dale
Eager, and to test themselves
overseas,” he said.
Each player has to raise more
than $3000 to get to Sydney
and their club will be running a
quiz night on March 25 as well
as sausage sizzles over the next
month.
•For more information on
their fundraising events,
visit www.sporty.co.nz/
rollestonsoftball
•More sport, pages 29-31
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