THE inaugural kaji clinic organised by the Western Hockey Association at the Nadovu grounds in Lautoka yesterday received overwhelming response.
A total of 52 primary school students participated in the event.
The clinic was conducted by hockey enthusiasts Fergus Underwood, Taka Newton and Andrea Manueli Lal.
Underwood said the school holidays was an opportune time to start the kaji clinics.
“We had initially registered 63 students for the program but 52 turned up which is a good number,” he said.
“It was through our initiatives that we got an overwhelming response. We are desperate to build a good platform for hockey in the West and are targeting the grassroots level.”
The participants were taught basics of the sport like stick handling, passing and body positioning.
Fergus said the Fiji Hockey Federation had supplied them with playing and training equipment last year.
“On the grass turf the ball control is a bit difficult but this is a learning curve for them. We are teaching them the various skills of ball control, body positioning, passing. As we go on we anticipate more support from the national body.
“This is only the start and we hope to stage it weekly. We are gearing up for the inaugural primary schools competition in Suva next year. So expect strong performances from our schools in the West.”
Students from Saint Thomas Primary, Jasper Williams Primary, Lautoka Arya Samaj Primary, Lautoka Muslim Primary, Lautoka Primary and Lautoka Mission participated.
