Tara Murray
The next generation of stars at Caroline Springs Hockey Club will be on show at Junior State Championships.
Six Springers players have been selected to be part of the championships, which is a massive step in the right direction.
All six play in the same under-14 team that is coached by Melissa Lake. The team currently sits second in the Hockey Victoria under-14 mixed district NW competition.
Lake said it was pretty exciting for the players and the club itself which is still in its early days.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever had that many players picked in the one JCS team,” she said.
“We’ve had no more than one in a team before and only had about four players total picked.”
The players were selected after a trial day, where the best players from the region tried out.
Aayman Deol, Ky Lake, Laila Ward, Luca Sinnott, Royal Mann and Charlotte Wright have been picked in the under-13 squads.
“We had five players picked in the North West Tigers squad,” Lake said. “We had one player named as a train on player.
“There was a spot available in another zone, so she is now playing for them as a fully fledged member and gets to play the tournament.
“For us it’s exciting for the kids no matter which team they’re playing with.”
Lake said they weren’t sure why so many more players had been picked this year from the club in comparison to other years.
But she said having played together for a number of years might have had something to do it with it.
“They all play in the same under-14 team,” she said. “They’ve been playing for a bit longer and started out at a younger age.
“Most have been playing for more than three years and we’ve seen that development over time.
“They’ve gelled well together and they are good for each other’s games. It’ll be good to see that on the next level.
Lake said they were hoping that this would mark the start of putting the Springers on the map at a bigger stage.
She said that good performances at this event could lead to selection in the junior academies and/or state selection down the track.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” she said.
The JSC will run from June 30 to July 3. Lake said the players were doing weekly training sessions with their sides with some round robin matches to be played in the lead up in preparation.
Meanwhile, the Springers senior sides had a well earned rest on the weekend, due to the competition wide bye.
The men’s metro 1 north-west sits in fourth spot, with three wins, three draws and three losses.
The women’s metro 1 north-west team also sits fourth. They have five wins from their nine matches.
