Jenny King, coach of the SPAR National Women’s Hockey team, has explained the reason behind the decision to appoint Marsha Marescia captain for the World Cup in Spain next month.
During the recent test series win over India, King experimented with the captaincy, but has finally settled with Marescia.
“Marsha has always been a true ambassador for the team and SA Hockey as a whole. She has a quiet leadership style and her playing ability sets her apart from other team members.
The national team gathers at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria next week to prepare for the Hockey World Cup.
King says the team needs more international competition in order to be well prepared for major tournaments like the World Cup.
“We have lacked international games since the Commonwealth Games, having only played 4 tests against India. International competition is vital for major competition preparation. We will, however, be playing three training games against Australia, prior to the World Cup.
“I am hoping to see that players that were at the Commonwealth Games are able to use the experience of a major tournament to their benefit at the WC. We will be aiming to play in the middle section of the play-off’s (pos 5 – 8). In the last two major tournaments Olympics and World Cup we have played out for last position," said King.
Marescia, meanwhile, is still on cloud nine after yesterday’s announcement that she will captain the national team to the World Cup.
“The response has been very positive. I’ve already received quite a few messages of support from the team. And that’s the most important thing, the support of my team mates," said the new national women’s hockey captain.
Marescia says her family is over the moon and “very proud” of her latest achievement.
“Even when I use to dream of making the national team, I never thought I’d be captain. So, I’m really happy and looking forward to leading my country in Spain.”
The South African team will meet at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria from the 3rd to 8th September for a final training camp before their departure on the 14th September for Barcelona, Spain where they will participate in training matches against their Australian counterparts prior to the World Cup.
The hockey showpiece takes place in Madrid from September 27 to October 8, 2006.
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