Toowoomba hockey teams work on Club Glenvale Challenge plans

Hockey teams prepare for player draft night

IN CHARGE: Amanda Ross (left) will captain one of the four teams in the Club Glenvale Challenge women’s division. Picture: Kevin Farmer

HOCKEY: The first stage of the 2021 Club Glenvale Challenge gets under way tonight with coaches and captains on the clock during the player draft.

A women’s division has been added for the first time in the competition’s four-year history and numbers across drafts are good.

“The numbers for both drafts are really good,” draft commissioner Brett Rollason said.

“More than 70 men and over 60 women have nominated.

“The interest (for a women’s competition) has always been there, and I think it will help that side of the game grow like it has helped the men’s competition grow and develop over the past few years.”

Captain and coach pairings from each of the four teams in the two divisions will be given one minute to make their selection from the available player pool.

“We’ve taken a slightly different approach in the men’s competition this year,” Rollason said.

“We’ve picked younger captains to mix things up a little and to give those players an opportunity to experience a leadership role so they can develop those skills as well.”

When it comes to squad selection, there are no major restrictions on player selection aside from a desire to “mix things up”.

“It’s entirely up to the captains and coaches as to who they pick,” Rollason said.

“And it’s quite interesting watching them work through their plans during the draft.

“The only thing we encourage teams to do is to mix it up.

“The idea of the competition is to help players grow and develop by playing alongside other players and working with coaches they normally wouldn’t work with.

“We see it (the competition) as a bit of a stepping stone between local competition and representative level competition.

“If you look at the past few years, I think the Toowoomba competition has strengthened because it’s given players an opportunity to see if they are at that A-grade level and then if they can’t get the game time at their regular club they can try their hand at another.”