U-21 Hockey: 18-man squad named for Junior Pan Am Championship

After months of intense training and continuous fitness and skill tests, the Guyana Hockey Board has approved an 18-member Under-21 Men’s team to represent Guyana at the Junior Pan American Championship, scheduled for Barbados from April 10-18, 2023.

The team consists of 14 players who travelled to Barbados in December last year and defeated the host country’s junior team in a four-match series. There are also four newcomers who will be making their international debuts.

Guyana’s first group match will be against the USA on April 10, followed by Barbados on April 11 and concluding with powerhouse Canada on April 13.

Speaking on his expectations of the team, Head Coach of the national Men’s programme, Robert Fernandes said, “All credit to the boys for putting in the work, I think we have a great group of youngsters who are capable of executing at a high level. I’m confident that we will be competitive and hopefully pull off some upsets to advance from the group phase.”

The team has been working on strength and conditioning with former national Rugby Captain, turned physical trainer, Theodore Henry.

Fernandes noted: “We were struggling for a while after our long-time trainer Barrington Browne migrated, but Theodore has had a great impact on the boys’ fitness since he started working with them. Our philosophy is that we cannot control the absence of an artificial turf to train and play and our inexperience, but we can control how fit we are and how hard we work on the field.”

Although fairly well-balanced, the team’s strength comes from their midfield trio Shaquan Favorite, Tahrea Garnett and Shakeem Fausette.

The dramatic improvement of players like Oshazay Savory, Simeon Moore and Vladimir Woodroffe has also contributed to the high expectations surrounding this team.

The players will be accompanied by Manager and former national captain Marisha Fernandes, Coaches John Abrahams and Robert Fernandes, as well as team doctor Charlyn Elliot.

National Junior Men’s Team: Jamal Gaskin, Raoul Whittaker, Baraka Garnett, Daniel Woolford, Jabari Lovell, Javid Hussain, Leroy Geer, Nandalall Persaud, Oshazay Savory, Quinn Tobin, Samuel Woodroffe, Shakeem Fausette, Shaquon Favorite, Simeon Moore, Tahrea Garnett, Vladimir Woodroffe, Warren Williams and Yonnick Norton.

Standby players: Donnel Alleyne and Robert Marcus