Spar SA indoor hockey women’s captain Jamie Southgate will be relying on the experience the team have gained in recent times as they target a qualifying spot in next year’s FIH Indoor World Cup in Croatia.
The national team are currently in Swakopmund in Namibia, preparing for the Indoor Africa Cup which will be played from tomorrow to Sunday.
The top two sides from the women’s continental tournament will qualify for the world event and Southgate said they were fully primed to achieve that objective.
The 26-year-old defender from Cape Town is the team’s most experienced player with 92 caps.
“Yes, experience does really count a lot in big moments and having experienced players in the team allows for younger players to feed off them,” Southgate said.
“This helps players to learn how to manage key moments of the game and it will also help us to work out how to manage ourselves in a long tournament environment.”
The SA team produced one of their stellar performances by finishing fourth in the 2023 Indoor World Cup, which was hosted in Pretoria, and they have continued to underline their growing prowess.
“Maintaining positive results and constant team growth outside of the World Cup tournaments proves the true strength of a team,” Southgate said.
“We competed in several tournaments after the World Cup when the squad contained many debutants and those all produced fruitful results.
“Thus, further improving, preparing and broadening the squad members’ eligibility for World Cup selection has been one way we’ve begun to build.”
The SA team were crowned champions in the Tuanku Zara International Cup in November, when they defeated Switzerland in a dramatic penalty shootout in the final and were runners-up to African rivals Namibia in the inaugural Kathea Energy Nkosi Cup in Cape Town in December.
Jamie counts on experience to make indoor World Cup
SA hockey team seek to secure top two spot in Namibia
Image: ZAC ZINN
Spar SA indoor hockey women’s captain Jamie Southgate will be relying on the experience the team have gained in recent times as they target a qualifying spot in next year’s FIH Indoor World Cup in Croatia.
The national team are currently in Swakopmund in Namibia, preparing for the Indoor Africa Cup which will be played from tomorrow to Sunday.
The top two sides from the women’s continental tournament will qualify for the world event and Southgate said they were fully primed to achieve that objective.
The 26-year-old defender from Cape Town is the team’s most experienced player with 92 caps.
“Yes, experience does really count a lot in big moments and having experienced players in the team allows for younger players to feed off them,” Southgate said.
“This helps players to learn how to manage key moments of the game and it will also help us to work out how to manage ourselves in a long tournament environment.”
The SA team produced one of their stellar performances by finishing fourth in the 2023 Indoor World Cup, which was hosted in Pretoria, and they have continued to underline their growing prowess.
“Maintaining positive results and constant team growth outside of the World Cup tournaments proves the true strength of a team,” Southgate said.
“We competed in several tournaments after the World Cup when the squad contained many debutants and those all produced fruitful results.
“Thus, further improving, preparing and broadening the squad members’ eligibility for World Cup selection has been one way we’ve begun to build.”
The SA team were crowned champions in the Tuanku Zara International Cup in November, when they defeated Switzerland in a dramatic penalty shootout in the final and were runners-up to African rivals Namibia in the inaugural Kathea Energy Nkosi Cup in Cape Town in December.
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