Senior hockey players take a trip to Holland

Year 12 students, Shae Wallis and Phoebe Edmonds have written an account of the recent senior girls hockey trip to Holland that took place in February.

On the 15^th of February a squad of 16 senior players from years 10-13 arrived in Eindhoven, Holland, to kick off the 2019 Hockey Tour. Entering the Hotel, we were delighted to find it had a slide, ball pit, indoor hockey and tennis courts, gym, bowling alley, pool and much more – all of which we enjoyed immensely in our free time.

Over the course of the following 2 days our team was coached by players from the professional Oranje-Rood hockey teams for a total of 6 intense hours, in which all of us improved our techniques, learned new training drills, while our team dynamics improved hugely. At the end of both days we had fixtures against 2 Oranje-Rood club teams, in which both teams were closely matched for ball possession and skill level.

On the final day we went to Efteling, a fantasy-themed amusement park in Kaatsheuvel. It was great fun, and a chance to make friends with new people whilst enjoying the rides (as long as you didn’t go on straight after lunch like someone…). Lunch was a mixture of different foods traditional to Holland, which we loved to try and enjoy. There was also a great pancake restaurant in the heart of the park, which many of us appreciated a visit to. As well as large rides outside, a fond favourite was the boat tour inside a fairy tale world, and the pitch black rollercoaster underground. In addition, there were also some quieter rides, such as the Carousel, for those less fond of the larger ones.

PE teacher, Tara Louise Cheetham was one of the members of staff who accompanied the team to Holland. ‘This was a fantastic opportunity for our pupils, who got to experience being at one of Holland’s top professional hockey clubs. Pupils benefitted from not only training and playing competitive fixture of 1/5 water based astro-turfs, but also got to experience watching Oranje Rood’s elite teams in their down time. I would like to thank Inspiresport who were fantastic in making us a tailor made tour and everything from the sports specific hotel to the coaching hugely benefitted our pupils.’