Seen here is Union’s 1st team hockey girls with their coach, Miss Antonet Louw, and sponsor Mr Shawn Botha of Botha’s Garage.On Friday, 13 March, Union High School’s 1st hockey team travelled to East London to participate in the annual Greg Belling Festival.
The first game was against Kingswood High School, the travel to East London appeared to show that the girls were fatigued and although they tried their best, but they could not convert opportunities. This resulted in them losing their first challenge 3 – 1, with a great goal converted by Chloe Shires.
After a good-nights rest the girls came prepared for an early morning start against Eldoraine High School.
The challenge was set and the girls were caught off guard by finding themselves 1 – 0 down. This was short-lived as Jade Shires equalized to take the girls into half time 1 – 1.
After a brilliant team effort, the girls found themselves 2 – 1 up in the third quarter with a great finished goal from Sonwabisa Mroro. The fourth quarter was a continuous battle which ended with Eldoraine equalizing with a tied final score of 2 – 2.
The afternoon brought the almighty challenge of HoŃ‘rskool Menlopark from Pretoria. Clearly the underdogs, Union took to the field with pride and managed to hold the girls to a 6 – 0 defeat, showing endless grit and heart to keep the tough competition at bay.
Union’s final encounter on Sunday was against local Eastern Cape school, Collegiate Girls High School. A tough final competitor, but the girls were adamant for a good result. The competitive edge clearly showed as the girls held the Collegiate strikers to a 1 – 0 defeat. This after over 20 short corners defended by the team.
Overall the girls showed amazing sportsmanship and comradery, the school community can be very proud of their results as well as their attitude during play.
On Saturday, 14 March, Union High School’s 1st junior hockey team travelled to Lorraine Primary School in Port Elizabeth to participate in their annual sports festival.
The Union girls were fixtured to play against Priory, Sunridge, Westering, and Lorraine, with all the matches being played on grass.
The girls took some time to get going as expected in their first matches of the season. The more hockey they played, however, the better the girls got.
They pulled together nicely as the day went on and played some quality hockey in stages.
The final results saw the Union team draw 0 – 0 against Priory, Sunridge and Lorraine, beating Westering 1 – 0 through a goal scored by Lisakhanya Menos.
UHS produces attractive hockey at EP trials
On Friday, 6 March, Union High School’s 1st hockey team travelled to Port Elizabeth to participate in an Eastern Province trials weekend.
The Union team was drawn against tough opposition, which included the formidable DSG, Woodridge and Westering.Â
The girls, however, rose to the challenge and gave it their all.  They played with good intent and showed some real fight throughout the weekend.
The results are as follows:
Woodridge 0 vs Union 0
Kingswood 0 vs Union 1
Westering 1 vs Union 0
Alex 0 vs Union 0
DSG 2 vs Union 0
Congratulations to Micela Loock and Jenna Mcnaughton on being selected as Nedstar Hockey’s newest brand ambassadors.
These two exceptional girls (who will be matriculating this year) have each appeared in 134 matches for Union’s 1st hockey team, with Jenna serving as the team’s captain this year, assisted by Micela as vice-captain.
In addition to representing the EP u/18A side at an interprovincial hockey tournament this year, they have inspired many young hockey players to follow in their footsteps and prove that passion, combined with hard work and determination make great accomplishments possible.
We can’t think of two girls more worthy of this accolade.
Union extends its thanks to their coach Mr Alvin Denzil August for guiding them this year. We also extend our deepest appreciation to Mrs Ina Conradie Botha of the Karoo Hockey School for her commitment to developing their talent and for introducing them to the Nedstar brand.
Union High School’s hockey coach, Mr Alvin August, recently attended a South African Hockey Association (SAHA) Level 1 coaching course.
The course, hosted by the Western Province Hockey Union, was held in Worcester on Saturday, 5 October, and presented by experienced facilitator and coach, Mr Ian Naudé.
The course consisted of a theory and a practical component designed to assist coaches in the advancement of their players’ knowledge and ability in the 11-a-side game.
Mr August found the course – which provided information on, among other, coaching concepts, training session and programme design, advanced technical skills, technical fault analysis, set pieces and tactical concepts for 11-side hockey – extremely beneficial.
Congratulations to Old Unionite Kelsey Minnaar (Class of 2017) on being selected for the South African Women’s u/21 Hockey Team for the Senior IPT to be played in Bloemfontein between 26 and 31 August.
On Saturday, 10 August, Henzé Jaftha played her 100th game for the Union High School 1st hockey team.
To mark the occasion, Union’s Headmaster Mr. William Pringle presented her with a certificate prior to the start of the game against Volkskool.
The number of games she has played is an incredible achievement, the number of goals scored and saved is remarkable, but the way in which she has played the game is an example of grit and determination along with integrity and great sportsmanship, which is the most impressive of all.
We salute you, Henzé and a big thank you for all that you have contributed to the sport of hockey at Union.
On Friday, 2 August, and Saturday, 3 August, Union’s 1st team hockey girls travelled to Port Elizabeth and Gahamstown, respectively, to complete their round of Top 8 matches.
The girls took to the turf against Alexander Road High School on Friday, after a solid two performances against Framesby and Pearson in previous weeks.
The girls set the pace from the beginning by scoring a quick two goals within the first five minutes. This was a great start and a strong message sent to the opposition that the Union girls had arrived to compete. Goals were scored by Jenna McNaughton and Henzé Jaftha in the first half.
After a re-set at half time, it was Micela Loock’s turn to put two more goals in the Alex box to put the girls 4 – 0 up. A lapse in concentration during the last quarter resulted in Alex putting two goals past Union’s defenders with the final result being 4 – 2 in Union’s favour.
The team then travelled to Grahamstown for the ultimate challenge – DSG on their home turf.
The girls knew they were in for a tough match, but none of them could have anticipated the intense battle they were about to enter into. With an absolute star performance from Sakhe Booi, the team faced countless attacks from the strong DSG forwards. Stirling teamwork and an immense effort from the entire team resulted in the half time score being kept to 0 – 0.
During the second half, the girls were presented with scoring opportunities created by Henzé Jaftha which were unfortunately kept out of the box by the DSG goalkeeper. This game definitely proved to be an equally-matched rivalry and although the end result reflected a 0-all draw, it was an absolute win for the school and the team.
The weekend’s scores resulted in the girls finishing 6th overall in the top 8 challenge in the Eastern Cape, a result they can be very proud of.
DSG went on to play in the final against Woodridge on the Sunday, to which they lost 2 – 0 to finish second.
“This proves that, with confidence, a desire to compete and win as well as a positive attitude, great results can be achieved,” said coach Alvin August. “Let’s carry this momentum through to the season’s final challenge this weekend when we take on Volkskool – nothing short of a victory is anticipated.”
The other matches against DSG saw the third team lose 0 – 5 against DSG’s u/15C team, the u/16B team lose 0 – 5 against their u/14As, the u/16A team draw 0-all against their u/16Bs and the 2nd team lose 1 – 9 against their u/16As
Union’s junior rugby teams played against Herbert Hurd Primary School on home ground today.
This past Saturday, 3 August, Union’s u/13A rugby team played against Port Elizabeth’s Herbert Hurd Primary School, in what proved to be one of the most physical encounters of the season. Both teams took no time to settle in as fantastic conditions allowed for a flowing game of rugby. Union managed to apply early scoreboard pressure with a well executed backline move led by Alutha Wesi. Herbert Hurd did well to slow the game down in the second half, but it was too little to late with Union winning the encounter 22 – 5.
The other matches, saw Union’s u/11B team losing 0 – 44, the u/11A team losing 10 – 15 and the u/13B team losing 7 – 43.
3rds vs 3rds: 1-1 (draw)
2nds vs 2nds: 2 -1 (win)
1sts vs 1sts: 1- 0 (win)Â
First team match report:
After suffering a 6-1 defeat against this school last year, the girls were somewhat nervous when taking to the field this weekend. This time the match was much more evenly contested, with possession changing constantly throughout the game. Although the girls managed to leave the field victorious after a soft goal from Soso Mroro, the match was rather disjointed and disappointing. It was a physical contest with both teams consistently breaking down play, and neither team managing to produce an impressive response. The girls are going to need to work a lot harder in the final game of the season should they wish to be successful against our inter-schools rivals.
Second team match report:
After a disappointing match last weekend the second juniors really stepped up to the plate and gave their best performance to date this year. They played tenacious, entertaining hockey that kept their opponents on their toes. They passed well between each other and worked beautifully together as a team. If they play like this in their inter-schools encounter, they will have every chance of success.
The goal scorers were Aaminah Steele and Tara Fererra.