Australian Hockey Coach Adam Commens names Women’s Squad for 2011 Champions Trophy: Hockey News
Adam Commens, the Chief Hockey Coach of the Australian Women’s hockey team, reselected the national squad while finalising the names for the upcoming Champions Trophy scheduled to commence from June 25.
Following an extensive six-month experience as in-charge of the women’s hockey, Commens organised a large number of training camps and revealed numerous players' asperities of international standard hockey. The Champions Trophy will be the first task for Adam Commens, since he took the reins of the Australian Women’s hockey.
The new-look Hockeyroos will be fixing their eyes at the triumph in the Champions Trophy in order to upgrade their status ahead of the 2012 London Olympics. It is pertinent to mention here that the Hockeyroos lost the finals of the 2009 Champion Trophy in the hands of Argentina. However, the coach, in an experimental way, announced comparatively un-tested nineteen names for the forthcoming event. Some six players out of total nineteen have played less than thirteen games in their international careers. Georgie Parker is holding bottom position, among the six most inexperienced players.
In an unprecedented move, Nicole Arrold, one of the most experienced players in the national squad, has been dropped for the upcoming Champions Trophy, as she did not take part in the just-concluded Australian Hockey League (AHL). She was at her best during the last edition of the Commonwealth Games where the Hockeyroos clinched the gold medal. She recently came back from Holland, after donning the colour for her respective club.
Commens picked up the squad based on the players’ performance in the league. The league ended on June 04, where OAMPS Southern Suns clinched the first ever overall title of the AHL. Speaking to the media, the coach said, “It is important to note that international performances both in 2010 and 2011 were considered strongly as well as their most recent AHL performances.”
In his views, the players from the Southern Australia displayed impressive performances and got selected in the national team.
He further stated, “It has been an enormous challenge to find what we believe is the ideal balance for our benchmark tournament of 2011 and there are numerous players that could consider themselves very unlucky.”
The name of the skipper though has not been announced so far, however, seasoned player, Madonna Blyth, will be selected for this post. It is worth mentioning here that one out of total nineteen players will be omitted for the forthcoming event. Hockeyroos, the team currently holding the sixth place in the world ranks, are eying to improve their status in the international standings.
The announced hockey team include Kellie White, Jade Warrender, Renee Trost, Ashleigh Nelson, Georgie Parker, Kobie McGurk, Jacklyn McRae, Jayde Taylor, Marnie Hudson, Kate Jenner, Rachael Lynch, Madonna Blyth, Jade Close, Toni Cronk, Casey Eastham, Anna Flanagan, Emily Hurtz, Megan Rivers and Jodie Schulz.
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