SACS out to cause more havoc in 2025
The 2023 and 2024 South African College High School (SACS) first hockey sides will be remembered for years to come after both teams laid claim to number-one status in schoolboy hockey in South Africa.
After a promising season in 2022, SACS was massively dominant the following year under the guidance of former head coach Pierre le Roux.
Le Roux led SACS on an unforgettable campaign in which they won 34 out of 38 matches, drew three times, and lost only once.
After laying a concrete foundation, he stepped aside, and coach Sam Holmes took over the reins for the 2024 season.
Expectations weighed heavily on Holmes, who was eager to build on the momentum created the previous year.
He had an advantage, though; he was familiar with many of the players, having coached them in the u16A side the previous year.
The transition was almost seamless. Holmes didn’t change much. He backed his players and allowed them to express themselves fully.
As a result, SACS, again, racked up outstanding results. They dominated in the Western Cape and around the country.
They breezed through opponents during pre-season and carried that winning momentum into their weekly derby matches, which included beating their southern suburbs rivals, Bishops Diocesan College, Wynberg Boys’ High, and Rondebosch Boys’ High.
SACS also proved a handful in the Western Province Schools Premier League and retained the title they had won the year before.
Their only loss in 2024 was in a penalty shootout against Paul Roos Gimnasium in the Hibbert Shield final in Gqeberha, while an experimental team was narrowly beaten by Paarl Gimnasium in the final of the Cape Town International Tournament.
“It was a fantastic season; we were very happy with it, especially after we put ourselves under a lot of pressure from the 2023 dream team,” coach Holmes told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“I think the boys performed very well. To finish first in the country back-to-back is no easy achievement, and that’s what we’re going for in 2025.”
Holmes was spoilt for choices in almost every position last season after building solid squad depth.
While the forwards fired in the goals, the defence was rock-solid, and the midfield players were always up for a tussle.
The coach credited his team’s success to a collective effort. “I think the nature of the team is that we were star-studded. However, it didn’t feel at any point that the game plan or the focus was around individuals, which was great to see,” the FIH Level 3-accredited coach explained.
“It was good to see a collective performing week in and out. A guy like Reece [Theunis] would have his night and a guy like Litha [Kraai] would have his evening, but we were not overly reliant on them.
“We, also, had great performances from the likes of the criminally underrated Stephen Meyer. It was just an overall buy-in from everyone.”
Holmes and SACS director of hockey, James Peverley, are justifiably proud of the team’s achievements in 2024. However, the slate is clean as they head into the 2025 season.
“We are not focused whatsoever on the past and what happened in 2024,” Holmes insisted. “We started with our lengthy pre-season in late October, and we have our eyes firmly focused on the future.
“When you are number one, everyone wants to come and take your spot, which means you often get a team’s best version, or a spirited version, when they play you. That presents a challenge that I and the boys relish.
SACS will embark on a tour to The Netherlands next month before kicking off their South African season in April, against Parel Vallei.
Coach Holmes insists their goals are simple.
“We are not too results-orientated. We know what’s expected of us, and we know the quality and the effort we demand at training, and that takes care of the results.
“Our main goal is to play an exciting, fast-paced brand of hockey that makes people buzz and gets them out on a Friday night or gets them to travel and watch us, whether we’re in Paarl, Stellenbosch, or Belville,” he ended.
