Five players to watch at the Nomads Hockey Festival
The 2025 schoolboy hockey season is heating up, and it will reach boiling point this weekend with three major tournaments bringing together many of the country’s best teams.
Jeppe High School for Boys will host the Nomads Hockey Festival, in Johannesburg, while Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) will welcome top teams to the Founders Festival, in Pretoria.
Durban will be treated to the Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup, and all the action will be live on SuperSport Schools.
The Nomads Festival features some of South Africa’s most well-established hockey-playing schools.
An abundance of talent will be on display at the Boden AstroTurf at Jeppe. We take a look at five players you should keep an eye on.
Reagan Mudau – Hilton College
Reagan Mudau is a rising star within the Hilton College hockey fraternity. He was a strong performer in 2024, but he appears to have taken a further step forward and is coming into his own in 2025.
He is the co-vice-captain of the side with Matt Thomas, while Xavier Enslin leads the team.
Mudau has a sound understanding of the game, with a strong engine that enables him to work up and down the pitch. He is calm and collected with the ball and has the pace to eliminate opposing players.
His excellence was recognised when he represented the SA u17 team at last year’s Dato Miranwan Cup in Malaysia.
Recently, Mudau made a remarkable comeback after being sidelined for six weeks by injury, and he’s eager to make his mark at Nomads.
Gray van Heerden – Selborne College
Gray van Heerden is a prominent figure in Border Schools hockey and will captain Selborne College in 2025.
His leadership on and off the field has been instrumental in guiding the team through a series of successful matches in the early part of the season.
As a captain, he leads with confidence and inspires his teammates.
His skills and dedication earned him a place in the Border Schools Hockey Association‘s squad for last year’s SASHOC National Week, which was hosted in Bloemfontein.
He’ll set the example for a young Selborne outfit that would love to emulate the 2024 squad, which won all five of their matches at the Nomads Festival, in Pietermarizburg.
Ethan Kapanda – Jeppe High School for Boys
Jeppe centre-back, Ethan Kapanda, is an experienced first-team campaigner who will relish running out for his school on its home turf.
Kapanda has been described as a “strong and old, traditional defender”, who is rock-solid at the back, and always willing to go the extra mile for his teammates.
He has good distribution skills and is a regular goal-scoring contributor at penalty corner time with his drag flicks.
In 2024, he represented Southern Gauteng A at the SASHOC National Week. At the end of the tournament, he was named the Most Valuable Defender.
His leadership skills are visible both on and off the field, which is reflected in the respect his teammates have for him.
Zachary “Zach” Gibbon (Wynberg Boys’ High)
Wynberg Boys’ High is the only Western Cape side heading to Nomads this year, and they’ll be led by Zach Gibbon.
He is one of a small number of players to return to the Wynberg first team, which bade farewell to eight players at the end of last season.
Unfortunately, Gibbon was out injured for much of the 2024 season. He missed out on the Nomads Festival but represented Western Province u18A at the SASHOC National Week. He was also included in the SA u17 side.
Gibbon is also an outstanding cricketer and will look to merge his skills and deliver cracking performances for the Cape side.
Matthias Visser – Grey College
Visser is one of the most exciting schoolboy hockey defenders in South Africa.
The youngster, from Bloemfontein, enters another season with Grey College, and this year carries heavy responsibilities on his shoulders.
He is solid at the back, has great distribution skills, and can turn on the afterburners easily.
What makes him dangerous, though, are his drag flicks. He is the go-to man for Grey College at PC time and he rarely misfires.
Defending Visser’s powerful shot will be a challenge for the opposition at Nomads.
