Coronavirus can’t stop Cairns hockey players’ development

Tutorial videos shot and edited at home and released via YouTube and Facebook are hoped to be the cure for competition-starved hockey players during the coronavirus crisis.

• McAvoy training at home with college return the goal
• Saints’ founding father left a legacy
• Cricket boss reveals future in the role
• Coronavirus claims yet another FNQ sports event

Tutorial videos shot and edited at home and released via YouTube and Facebook are hoped to be the cure for competition-starved hockey players during the coronavirus crisis.

Cairns Hockey managed two rounds of the 2020 season before they were forced to leave the field.

In the month since, they’ve postponed the season for the foreseeable future, lost national championships from the calendar year and have been forced to cut back on staff to remain viable.

Mili Arrotea is one of the lucky few to remain on the books, and the Argentinian development officer is putting her talents to use.

She’s coached goalkeepers for the past six years, and with the hockey world on pause has developed and released several training videos to keep players’ development on track.

“I’m trying a lot of things to keep people active and engaged,” Arrotea said.

Matt Cook, an FIH Level 3 high performance hockey coach, contributed to several “Hockey @ Home” videos before Cairns Hockey’s reduction in operation.

Hockey players need only a few pieces of equipment to create effective training programs at home, with reflex training one of the keys.

While fitness may also be enhanced, Arrotea said there were a number of areas, including teamwork, that coaches would have to focus on when hockey resumed.

Originally published as Coronavirus can’t stop Cairns hockey players’ development