Hockey fans in the kingdom will be celebrating in more ways than one this weekend as a tournament will take place during National Day … alongside a guest appearance from British Olympian Sam Ward.
On Friday, St Christopher’s School in IsaTown will be hosting a Hockey 5s competition, which will, for the first time, adopt Asian Hockey’s new preferred format, rather than six-a-side.
Saturday will be a ‘festival hockey’ day,which means opening the tournament to children and mixed teams combining men and women in more of a family-friendly, less-competitive manner.
Ward is being invited as a guest of honour, although he won’t be able to play as he is currently nursing an injury. His journey to the British national side was a tough one, but the pinnacle of the 25 year-old’s career came this summer in Rio as he was a starter during TeamGB’s campaign.
Ward’s career in hockey began as part ofthe ‘Banana Bunch’, which was the name of the Leicester Hockey Club junior development team, where it was clear he had a special talent.
He progressed to the Midlands Regional U13squad a year young, and featured all through the age groups of regional hockey to the age of 17 and regularly was the scourge of the opposing goal keepers with quick feet, a quick mind, and a devastating shot.
Francis Treadgold, who coached at county and regional levels in the UK before becoming the manager of the UK Lions team from 2003 until 2012 when he moved to Bahrain, believes he saw something special in Ward as soon as he met him.
Treadgold explained: “I first met Sam when I became manager of the U13 UK Lions team, which was an unofficial, touring side selected from the best players from the U13 regional tournament.
“He was a big hit in the team with hisc haracter, his skill level, and his total ability to engage. My favourite memory of him is when we toured in Northern Ireland, and I was umpiring, to which he questioned a decision…something that Sam regularly did. I told him toget on with the game, to which his response was ‘Fran, you best stick to managing the team!’.
“Once he broke into the national team, I knew that it would be a difficult task to remove him, as he knew he had a golden opportunity on his hands, and won’t let anyone take that away from him due to his character.
“What Sam has is total belief in himself, great guidance from his family, and above all, the will to want to achieve atthe highest level.”
The Friday tournament will be contested between 10 teams, six of which are coming from overseas with three from SaudiArabia, two from Kuwait and one from Oman. Hockey 5s is a faster form of thegame as the momentum is quicker and there are fewer stoppages, mainly due toboards around the pitch to keep the ball in play.
Also playing will be a Bahrain youthdevelopment team, which includes local phenomenon George Axtell, who hasattracted the attention of scouts in the UK and is a member of the UK Lionsteam as featured previously in GulfWeekly.
His father, David, is one of the organisersof the weekend’s festivities and believes it’s an exciting time for the sportin the kingdom.
He said: “It is fantastic for BahrainHockey to be able to contribute to the celebrations surrounding the 200 yearanniversary of official relationships between Bahrain and the UK by attractingan Olympic player of the calibre of Ward.
“I know that the schools he will bevisiting are excited to hear his stories from Rio while also learning what ittakes to be a professional athlete.”
Treadgold concurred. He explained: “To havesomebody like Sam come to the island is great news for both players, hockeyassociations and the island alike.
“Having him here is a great opportunity toshare the beliefs of people such as him, sharing what it takes to become anelite sportsman. In my honest opinion, it needs regular visits from elitesports people to ensure that this attitude sticks in the minds of the aspiringathletes on the island.”
