Izelle Lategan’s experience on tour as a member of the Investec South Africa women’s hockey team at the Champions Challenge in Dublin last week will provide her with the perfect platform to lead the SA U21 side during the Junior World Cup Africa Qualifier Tournament that takes place at Randburg Hockey Stadium from Saturday to next Saturday.
Lategan scored a hat-trick including the golden goal in extra time in SA’s 3-2 win over India in Dublin.
“The third goal was a moment I cannot describe, but going into extra-time I thought about the strong mental approach which the team had been talking about all week and I knew that if the opportunity came up I had to take it,” said Lategan.
“I learnt so much at Champs Challenge, how to handle pressure, how to function well in tough situations, and I feel I can get better in dealing with pressure in every game I play.”
Lategan started hockey age 10 at Paarl Gimnasium, her hometown, and was there through to grade 12, Earmarked for bigger things from an early age and inspired by mom Zelda’s unfailing support, Lategan played two years for SA 16 and two years for the SA U18 side.
In the last month of school, at the age of 18, Lategan was invited to a national camp and was selected for the Investec South Africa team that played world champions Argentina at University of the Free State Hockey Centre in Bloemfontein.
“I totally never expected it and it was an amazing experience,” she said. Now a second year human movement sciences student at UFS with an eye to going into teaching, the Kovsies girls was full of praise for the senior SA coaching staff.
“They are very supportive and I have learnt a lot from all of them and my role with the SA U21 team this week is to motivate and support my team-mates in the same way. Lindsey Wright, the SA U21 head coach, is my mentor and I think it is important that captain and coach have a close bond.”
The Junior Africa Cup of Nations will be held in Randburg between 13 October and 20 October 2012. Participating teams are South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The tournament will be played on the one-pool basis with the top two clashing for the championship title and the others playing for classification in accordance with the regulations. Defending Champions South Africa will look to dominate when they play their first match against Namibia on Sunday.
Tournament Schedule: Saturday 13 October 2102: 12:00: Kenya v Zimbabwe 14:00: Ghana v Namibia Sunday 14 October 2012: 10:00: Ghana v Zimbabwe 14:00: South Africa v Namibia Monday 15 October 2012: Rest Day Tuesday 16 October 2012: 10:00: Zimbabwe v Namibia 14:00: Kenya v South Africa Wednesday 17 October 2012: 10:00: Namibia v Kenya 14:00: Ghana v South Africa Thursday 18 October 2012: Rest Day Friday 19 October 2012: 10:00: Kenya v Ghana 14:00: South Africa v Zimbabwe Saturday 20 October 2012: 9:00: 3 / 4 – 3rd in Pool v 4th in Pool 14:00: Final – 1st in Pool v 2nd in Pool SA U21 Women’s Team: Demi du Toit (Southern Gauteng) Christine Roos (Southern Gauteng) Nika Nel (Southern Gauteng) Kaila Flemming (Southern Gauteng) Nicole La Fleur (Western Province) Erin Hunter (Western Province) Bronwyn Kretzman (Western Province) Quanita Bobbs (Western Province) Taryn Mallet (Western Province) Phumelela Mbande (Northern Blues) Lillian du Plessis (Northern Blues) Jacinta Jubb (Northern Blues) Nicole Walraven (Free State) Izelle Lategan (capt) (Free State) Tanya Britz (Amathole [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][formerly Border]) Tiffany Jones, Lisa Hawker (Amathole [formerly Border]) Nicole Kemp (Eastern Province)[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]