WAIS Trio in Burras Squad
Hockey Australia this week announced its U21 men’s squad to compete at the next month’s Sultan Johor Cup in Malaysia.
The group comprises those athletes considered prospects for the 2016 Junior World Cup and has been selected with a view to providing them with a rare opportunity to gain valuable first class international experience at junior level.
Australia’s Burras will face Great Britain, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and Pakistan in the six team round-robin competition in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, between 12-19 October. After departing on 6 October, Australia will face Singapore and New Zealand in two warm-up games in Singapore prior to arriving in Malaysia on 9 October.
The 18-athlete squad contains four members of the gold medal-winning squad that won the Youth Olympic Games Hockey5s tournament in Nanjing in August. Nathanael Stewart, Tim Howard, Max Hendry and Alec Rasmussen were all part of the team that beat Canada in a shoot-out after a 3-3 draw. Also included are three young athletes that were emergency reserves for Nanjing; Simon Benetti, Hayden Walker and Oliver Crane.
The squad also contains WAIS program athletes; James Benneti, Simon Benneti and Hayden Walker.
Only Will Gilmour has previous experience of the Junior World Cup having played in the tournament in December last year in Delhi.
Athletes selected to represent their state and territory teams at the 2014 Australian Hockey League powered by Premier Technology Solutions, which takes place immediately prior to the squad’s departure for the tournament, were not considered for selection.
The Burras will be led by Head Coach Ben Bishop, who has served as an assistant coach to the senior men, the Kookaburras, for the past 18 months. Bishop was Assistant Coach to the Burras at the 2009 Junior World Cup, which was held in Singapore and Johor Bahru, and has previously led Australia ‘A’ tours. As an athlete he played 20 times for the Kookaburras before entering coaching. Prior to joining the Hockey Australia set-up, Bishop was Head Coach for men’s and women’s hockey at the ACT Academy of Sport and led the Canberra Lakers for three years in the Australian Hockey League.
Hockey Australia’s National Junior Coach, Paul Gaudoin, who leads the program said, “The Sultan Johor Cup provides an opportunity for our young athletes to compete on an international stage at the only FIH-endorsed junior international competition outside of the Junior World Cup.
“It’s a valuable opportunity for our athletes to be exposed to different international playing styles ranging from Asian teams to European teams, and Oceania teams, to experience different cultures, and to be exposed to all that goes on in and around international tournaments.
“Tours such as this allow us to assess our young athletes on an international stage, to help with their individual development to become Kookaburras of the future.”
The squad’s participation in the tournament is supported by the Australian Commonwealth Games Association through its Australia Junior Commonwealth Games Squad program.
-HockeyAus