Wairarapa three earn spots in Capital squads

Three Wairarapa players have been confirmed in the Capital under-21 hockey squads for the 2010 season.
Dane Lett and Ben Van Woerkom are in the men's line-up and Felicity Reidy in the women's team with the selection of Van Woerkom and Reidy being particularly notable because they will be among very few players attending the national under-21 tournaments who are still at college.
Capital are the defending national champions in the men's division and they will again be expected to make a big impact when this year's tourney is staged at Palmerston North from May 1 to 8. Their side includes a member of the current Black Sticks line-up plus several Junior Black Sticks.
The Capital under-21 women's team also promises to be a powerful unit. Their coach is Sean Dancer, who is also assistant coach of the Black Sticks men's side and who has been coaching professionally in Europe for several years.
It is interesting to note that several former Wairarapa players who have moved on to other regions, mostly for tertiary study, will also be playing at the national under-21 tourneys. They include Trent Lett, Daniel Van Woerkom, Tobyn Yeo, Sara Crofoot, Richard French, Tara Hall, Amanda Pottinger, Charlotte Meo, Carla Burt, Kelly Browne and Thomas Annear.
Wairarapa Hockey Association regional development officer Jesse Workman is delighted at so many current or ex-Wairarapa players making an impact at the higher level.
''To have so many people who learnt the game in this region in these franchise-type teams is a great achievement and shows we are producing and developing a large number of top-quality players,'' he said.
Moreover six Wairarapa hockey players _ Nick Finlayson, Hugh Taylor, Matt Tennant, Ashleigh Marfell, Felicity Reidy and Megan Hull _ have been invited to attend the regional development clinics to be held in Palmerston North in the second week of the school holidays.
These clinics are for the best players aged under 17 who are resident in Wellington, Manawatu, Hawke's Bay, Poverty Bay, Taranaki, Wanganui and Wairarapa and with the highest-ranked going through to either the New Zealand under-18 sides or the national development squads in the same age group.
Workman is confident the Wairarapa players will acquit themselves well, noting that the extra sessions they have had through the Wairarapa academy should be hugely beneficial as they push for higher honours.