Music was drifting over Cambridge Middle School’s Clare St turf, the barbecue was cranking and sausages were sizzling on the grill as Cambridge High School’s social summer hockey league got underway in brilliant sunshine last Wednesday.
The league was launched for the first time last October.
Coordinator Karen Hills said the competition helped winter players maintain their skills over the summer break.
The competition runs for six weeks and caters to year 8-13 players, who choose their own team names and play two 20-minute games every afternoon.
Eighteen-year-old Thomas Hocking, who plays for the Rooster Riders, is planning to study engineering at either the University of Waikato or the University of Canterbury next year.
He co-captained the school’s XI this winter and said the summer league was a good chance for younger players to pit their skills against senior players.
“It’s also a lot of fun,” he said. “After an intense season you can just chill and have some banter with your mates.”
Blake Urbahn, 14, said it was “really fun playing against the older kids”.
His team, the Little Stinkers – made up mostly of year 9 students – drew with Hocking’s team 3-3.
Thomas Hocking chases down Blake Urbahn at the Cambridge Middle School hockey turf.
