When Our Lady of Fatima arrives in Bloemfontein for the Fairtree Super 12 Tournament, which runs from 6 to 9 August, they will be determined to improve on their only previous appearance.
Last year, the ladies from Durban North didn’t have the greatest of campaigns in their maiden appearance, finishing 12th. However, instead of being dispirited by that outcome, coach Matthew Smith and his charges have used that experience to identify areas that need improvement.
Their first assignments will be Pool D matches against Collegiate Girls’ High and their KwaZulu-Natal neighbours, St Mary’s DSG Kloof.
“We are excited to have another opportunity to compete against the best school hockey teams in the country,” Smith told SuperSport Schools News.
His players have invested countless hours preparing for the showpiece, and they hope that commitment translates into results on the field.
“With all three of our age groups qualifying for their respective Super 12 tournaments, we have had to balance our squads carefully to ensure each team remains competitive, limiting the number of younger players we can move up,” Smith revealed.
That said, he has faith in the senior team’s abilities to stand up against the best sides in the nation. His unit includes some players who featured in the KZN Coastal teams that performed strongly at the SASHOC Inter-Provincial Tournaments.
One of them, Charlie-Rose Boyall, shot the lights out and cracked the nod for the SA u16A team. The forward’s success is indicative of the strides the school’s hockey programme has made. Our Lady of Fatima is no longer one of the teams that makes life difficult for the top schools in the province. They are now one of the top schools in the country.
Nothing attests to that more than their performances at tournaments this year. This past weekend, Our Lady of Fatima was crowned the winner of the SPAR KZN Tournament, where they beat St John’s DSG in the final.
Earlier in the year, they put on a good show at the St Anne’s Cup, where they finished as the runner-up for a second successive year. They suffered only a single defeat at the Coastal Hockey Festival and placed sixth at the St Mary’s Waverley Festival for a second time in succession.
Our Lady of Fatima will be buoyed by their recent successes, and the lessons they took from their few losses will make them a tougher out at the Fairtree Super 12.
“Our goal is to improve on last year’s performance, compete with confidence, and continue showcasing the growth of hockey at Our Lady of Fatima,” Smith stated.
