History repeats itself with second provincial win for Curro Nelspruit’s girls hockey team

Curro Nelspruit’s U16 girls hockey team travelled to Hoërskool Middelburg to play against Hoërskool Ermelo in the finals of the Mpumalanga Big Schools’ Hockey Championships over the weekend of July 21.

The team was well prepared and dominated the match from the start, leading 2-0 after the first 15 minutes. They outplayed the Ermelo outfit and managed a convincing 4-1 victory, which earned them the trophy.

In 2022, when this group were still the U15s, they made history by winning the overall Mpumalanga finals despite being part of the medium school’s league. In addition, they won the Noordvaal Medium School’s Championships as well.

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Last year’s success motivated the school’s hockey programme to compete in the big school’s leagues this year, although they are a medium school in size.

The team and their coach had a challenging year. Although they were playing a league up, they made the most of the opportunity to improve their skills and tactics. The team qualified for the Mpumalanga play-offs on July 16 and 17 and managed to secure a spot in the finals for position 1 and 2 for a second consecutive year. Their play-off results included:
• Pool matches: Draw 1-1 to Hoërskool Nelspruit and win 3-2 over Hoërskool Hoogenhout
• Quarter-finals: 3-1 win over Hoër Tegniese Skool Witbank
• Semi-finals: 2-0 win over Hoërskool Secunda in an eight-second shoot-out.

“I have never seen or worked with a team who loved and respected one another as much as these girls do. Their individual skills, hard work and determination are what set them apart from other teams. Their play is energic and unselfish. They consistently make one another look good. The girls have an incredible drive and determination to fight to the dying minutes of a match, never giving up. It is an absolute privilege to be their coach and to work with them,” Linda Janse van Rensburg said.

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“I named them the Dream Team when I stared coaching them in 2021. They have truly lived up to the nickname. I have been challenged by them to mirror their attitude and so I have to be reflective, have to constantly come up with new ideas and improve my own coaching style and technique. A highlight of my 18-year coaching career was winning both the Mpumalanga and Noordvaal championships. Winning the Mpumalanga championships for a second year has been an extremely gratifying experience. We acknowledge God’s grace and blessing in our success. Thank you to the parents, school management team and school community for their support and love, too. We look forward to playing in the A division of big and macro schools at the upcoming Noordvaal tournament in Tzaneen from August 9 to 12.”