Juniors excel at Wellingborough Hockey 7 aside Tournament
"I have been nutmegged by a 10-year-old and I couldn't catch them. The following match an 80-year-old stopped the ball dead and passed it by the time I arrived."
The seven-a-side hockey tournament was held at the Wrenn School in Wellingborough on Saturday April 11 and Sunday April 12, and proved to be just as thrilling and enjoyable as in previous years.
The inaugural tournament was in 2016 and was originally an over 75 regional tournament held at the Wrenn School, who have supported the development of Grandmasters hockey and hockey in this region ever since.
With the formation of the LX Ladies Hockey Club ( Over 60s ) in 2016 they were invited to the Wellingborough Tournament to make up the numbers and enlarge the Tournament. This has continued to grow, drawing teams from Scotland, Wales and Alliance. Three years ago, LX Ladies took over the tournament and now it is a friendly 7-aside tournament of men and ladies grandmasters ( over 60s ) and this year included an U12 junior team from Kettering Hockey Club.
Last year this tournament celebrated its 10th anniversary, but this year proved to be just as remarkable as the founder, Bill Greenwood, will be celebrating his 90th birthday in June and he was playing in the tournament, showing that age is no barrier to participating in sport. Bill is currently the oldest hockey player in the UK playing on a regular basis! Alongside him on the LX Men's team ( a team of O70 Men ) were Brian Walcott who is 79 and Brian Merrill who is 86 – making for a high average age !! The atmosphere was electric when this team of experience and skill played the U12 Junior team who used their speed and agility to great advantage to beat the LX Men 1 – 0 !!
As Bill Greenwood said: "The youngsters were quite impressive, and I hope their results encourage them towards great success and I look forward to seeing their progress next year “.
The junior U12 team won all 4 games on the Sunday winning the final game of the tournament against LX Ladies B team 4 – 0. This demonstrates how a mix of ages as above can create a tournament of fun, skill and most importantly allow the youngsters to see and replicate the skills of International Grandmasters, with great determination. As one player said: "Today I have been nutmegged by a 10-year-old and I couldn't catch them. The following match an 80-year-old stopped the ball dead and passed it by the time I arrived."
This is what makes the Wellingborough tournament so unique and we hope shows other sports what can be achieved.