Astro inauguration
RUIMSIG – Maragon Private School hosts their first Astro turf hockey match.
Maragon Private Schoosl launched their very own Astro hockey field on 21 March. Hockey has always been a sport at Maragon, but this year saw many motivated pupils join the hockey teams. This, according to the master in charge of the boys’ hockey team at school, Hannelie van Biljon.
“The Astro turf makes a huge difference in terms of competing against bigger schools, now our hockey teams can practise and play on the field here. Hockey this year at Maragon has more boys playng than any other sport at the school,” added Van Biljon.
Matches were played between Maragon’s boys’ hockey team and the King’s School West Rand. The girls’ hockey team took on Randfontein.
Maragon’s girls’ first team coach Craig O’Brien described the new Astro turf as taking a positive step forward in terms of taking the sport hockey seriously and taking it to a new competitive sphere.”Hockey is a game of skill and also incorporates different sports. It has a bit of soccer with all the running involved and keeping their eyes on the ball as well as defending. Cricket is also part of it,” said O’Brien. He explained that hockey is a fifty-fifty game win or lose, it all depends on which team is hungry on the match day.
Maravest Chief Operations Officer Jopie Maasdam said sport helps build healthy lifestyles for the pupils, adding sport into the learning environment is a holistic approach to education.”It is a nice social way to get parents and students together to form relationships through sport,” added Maasdam.
“This was a very well put together event. The opening was very good and the sporting spirit good. The facility at Maragon is a top class one,” said parent Andrew Johnson.
Osaka Hockey representative Rickey West expressed his delight at the fact that more and more schools are investing in hockey. “This is a great for the future of the sport and will definitely see Maragon’s hockey go from strength to strength. Maragon demonstrated some beautiful hockey in their matches and won –this is already proving that their new Astro is doing wonders for their hockey.”
