The Namibia Hockey Union over the weekend held trials to select a training squad for this year’s Outdoor Hockey Africa Cup, which will take place in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Namibia is preparing to compete in the upcoming men’s and women’s competition, starting on 27 August until 5 September. The likes of Zambia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland and host Zimbabwe will also be competing.

Speaking to this publication yesterday, Namibia’s men’s head coach Trevor Cormack said over 80 players were part of the trials, and he is happy with the commitment shown by the players.

He explained that the clubs themselves nominated players who formed part of the trials that were held at the Windhoek High School. The number was then trimmed down to 40 players, who will now form part of the training squad which will be announced in the coming days.

“The team will continue with training for the whole month, before the final squad for the Outdoor Hockey Africa Cup is selected at the end of July,” he said.

In terms of players’ overall performance, Cormack said he is satisfied with the talent that was on display during the trials, saying the team has great potential and the future looks bright. 

“I am happy with the quality that we have in the team, we have a lot of talented youngsters and a few experienced players. I think for now, it’s just a matter of working together to get the combinations and tactics right. We also have our foreign-based players who are part of the training squad, and it’s just impressive at this point,” he added.

- mkambukwe@nepc.com.na