Gowan raring to take on the world

DURBAN North resident Gowan Jones is hoping to leave his mark at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (GC2018), which begin in April. Jones, who plays goalkeeper for the South African men’s hockey side said the team was looking forward to showing their worth at the competition. This will be the Northwood School Old Boy’s first appearance at the games.

“I was involved in the set-up of the 18-men team for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games four years ago but we could only take 16 players and I was left out of the squad for that event. So for me this is a really special moment and one I’m looking forward to. Putting on the green and gold is a special moment for any athlete, no matter the sporting code. I still get goosebumps singing the national anthem and getting ready to play,” Jones said.

The 28-year-old said the games would also allow the squad to measure themselves against some of the world’s top teams.

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“We may be a young, inexperienced team, but we are an exciting one and the Commonwealth Games will offer us the ideal preparation for the world cup. Obviously we would love to win a medal at the games but we also have to be realistic in our goals. There’s the FIH World Cup in India coming up later this year and we are going to use this tournament as a marker to see where we are internationally. Most of the teams we play at Commonwealth will be part of the world cup so we will be able to gauge where we are,” he said.

Jones, who is the director of hockey at Reddam House Umhlanga said the team is looking forward to working with their new coach, Mark Hopkins, who was appointed on Friday 2 February.

“Our previous coach, Fabian Gregory resigned in September last year and the South African Hockey Association announced his replacement recently. That hasn’t affected our preparations though, we’ve got a conditioning and training plan we follow. As a team we are focusing on our strengths ahead of the Commonwealth Games and just working towards our team goals,” he said.

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