Inline hockey to sweat it out ahead of world championships

THE Namibia national Ice & Inline Hockey team is hard at work to prepare for the World Championships next year, despite the end of the domestic season with the Coastal Pirates tournament in August earlier this year.

However, many under-18 and open team players have remained active, as they have begun the challenging process of competing for a position on the 2007 Namibia national team. During 2006 Namibia Ice and Inline Hockey Association (NIIHA) had close to 500 registered players, and a few more than 60 players in the under-18 and open teams are eligible to compete for a position on the national team.”The Namibian player pool does not compare with nations like the United States, Russia, Finland, and Sweden from the top division or the other European teams our squad will be lined up against in Division One,” said Gudrun Denker, the spokesperson of NIIHA.”Still, our players have shown remarkable resilience and determination.They have put Namibia on the map amongst the international inline hockey fraternity.Ideally Namibia should nominate 18 players, four lines with four players each and two goalkeepers to represent Team Namibia,” she added.Denker said with the excellent groundwork laid in 2005 and 2006 (by Philippe Boudreault as head coach and Roman Marx and Mario Troha as assistant coaches for 2005 and 2006, respectively) Mario Troha has taken up the position as coach for the 2007 trials.A total of 23 players submitted their national team application for 2007.The first-round selection was held in Windhoek on the Cazadores field during the last weekend of October and saw determined contenders start their grinding journey to Passau, Germany, under Namibia’s scorching sun.Seven more training camps are scheduled to prepare the players for a successful Inline Hockey World Championship, which is to be held in Passau between May 26 and June 3 next year.During 2006 Namibia Ice and Inline Hockey Association (NIIHA) had close to 500 registered players, and a few more than 60 players in the under-18 and open teams are eligible to compete for a position on the national team.”The Namibian player pool does not compare with nations like the United States, Russia, Finland, and Sweden from the top division or the other European teams our squad will be lined up against in Division One,” said Gudrun Denker, the spokesperson of NIIHA.”Still, our players have shown remarkable resilience and determination.They have put Namibia on the map amongst the international inline hockey fraternity.Ideally Namibia should nominate 18 players, four lines with four players each and two goalkeepers to represent Team Namibia,” she added.Denker said with the excellent groundwork laid in 2005 and 2006 (by Philippe Boudreault as head coach and Roman Marx and Mario Troha as assistant coaches for 2005 and 2006, respectively) Mario Troha has taken up the position as coach for the 2007 trials.A total of 23 players submitted their national team application for 2007.The first-round selection was held in Windhoek on the Cazadores field during the last weekend of October and saw determined contenders start their grinding journey to Passau, Germany, under Namibia’s scorching sun.Seven more training camps are scheduled to prepare the players for a successful Inline Hockey World Championship, which is to be held in Passau between May 26 and June 3 next year.