Chronicle Editor
Ellina Mhlanga, Harare Bureau
UNDER-21 men’s hockey team coach Prince Mwale believes this weekend’s camp to build towards preparing for the next Junior Africa Cup (JAC) will go a long way in coming up with a formidable team in the future.
Mwale, who is organising the camp in conjunction with the Hockey Association of Zimbabwe, is going to lead the camp that will also see other coaches assisting with the practice sessions.
Depending on the numbers, the camp is expected to run from tomorrow up to Sunday at St John’s Astro Turf.
Mwale said they came up with the initiative after the Under-21 struggled at the previous Junior Africa Cup held in Egypt last March and would want to start planning for the next edition early.
“So we just want to start the year early and get our Under-21s prepared. We struggled in Egypt because we were not as adequately prepared as we thought we were.
“This camp is just basically open to all the players that are eligible to play for Under-21s. This one is not going to be a selection camp but will involve some of the top coaches in the country,” said Mwale.
He said they will run practice sessions and games as well as explain to the players what is expected of them if they want to make the Under-21 side.
“They should know what skills they need to be working on, what sort of fitness they need to be working on. That’s basically what the whole camp is about,” said Mwale.
He said the next camp will be more of a selection camp
“I think the next Junior Africa Cup (JAC )is going to be either late 2024 or early 2025, so we are just trying to get ahead and plan accordingly. That’s the main concept,” said Mwale.
The Under-21 men’s coach believes the initiative will have a positive impact on how they prepare for major competitions and change their fortunes.
“I think it will massively impact how we prepare for our major tournaments, that’s without a doubt and I think that’s why we are putting it into place. We have realised that that’s one of our weak points.
“So we do have good sides but we are under-preparing them, so I think this will definitely impact our preparations and our results at Junior Africa Cups.”
Online Reporter