Parel Vallei raring to get season going
Parel Vallei’s first boys’ team is on a mission to build upon a promising 2024 season, reach new heights, and stake a claim to be one of the best teams in the hotbed of Western Cape hockey in 2025.
The boys from Somerset West kick off their season at the Parel Vallei Boys’ Hockey Festival on 14-15 March.
The two-day event will present coach Michael van Rensburg and his troops with a chance to fine-tune their systems and get combinations right before the season gets into full swing.
They’ll play three matches on their home turf against Hoërskool Hermanus, Worcester Gimnasium, and Hoërskool Outeniqua, from George.
Speaking to SuperSport Schools Plus ahead of the festival, coach Van Rensburg said he’s satisfied with the team’s preparation: “We are in a good space and quietly optimistic regarding the season ahead,” he said.
“We have had good preparation, and I am happy with what we, as a coaching staff, have seen. The boys are conditioned, thanks to our biokineticist, Michaela Borodinsky. I think we are technically good and tactically [well] organised.”
In 2024, Parel Vallei certainly punched above their weight. They produced impressive results, among them an excellent 4-0 win over Pearson High School in their final match of the season.
Several players represented Boland at SASHOC national weeks.
Van Rensburg has retained some of his key players and will be working with a familiar squad. “We had a young side last year, with eight u16s, so we have retained a majority of the squad,” he revealed.
“We lost four matrics but we’re glad to have three of our national players, Luka Meets, Luca Jordaan, and Stephan Malan, back.”
Meets and Jordaan were influential for Boland’s u16 side at last year’s SASHOC National Week, while Malan represented South Africa at the u17 Dato Mirnawan Cup in Malaysia.
When asked which areas the team will focus on this season, Van Rensburg said: “Something that we’ve worked hard on is our passing and receiving details. Our deep defensive organisation, as well as our creativity within the circle when it comes to goal scoring, are things we have struggled with in the past.”
JP van der Walt will captain the team, and Liyema Jijana will be the vice-captain. They’ll be eager, with their team-mates, to make a good impression in front of their home supporters this weekend.
Other teams that will take to the field at the Parel Vallei Festival include Paul Roos Gimnasium, Paarl Gimnasium, Somerset College, and Reddam House Constantia.
There will also be u16 teams in attendance, and their matches will take place at the Beaumont AstroTurf.
Parel Vallei 1st XI Boys Team for 2025:
Stephan Malan, Tristan Rautenbach, Nathan Nissen, Julian Thiering, Benjamin Traut, Lukah du Toit, Paul Roux, Michael Holmes, JP van Der Walt (c), Christopher Hughes, Michael Holland-Muter, Liyema Jijana (vc), Luca Jordaan, Rhys Lochner, Luka Meets, Sashin Pillay, Andrew Moreby.
Fixtures
Friday, 14 March
16:40 – Paarl Gimnasium vs Reddam House Constantia; 17:40 – Paul Roos vs Somerset College; 18:50 – Parel Vallei vs Hermanus; 19:50 – Worcester Gimnasium vs Outeniqua.
Saturday, 15 March
10:00 – Paarl Gimnasium vs Hermanus; 11:10 – Parel Vallei vs Worcester Gimnasium; 12:20 – Paul Roos vs Outeniqua; 13:20 – Somerset College vs Reddam House Constantia; 16:40 – Hermanus vs Somerset College; 17:40 – Parel Vallei vs Outeniqua; 18:50 – Reddam House Constantia vs Paul Roos; 19:50 – Paarl Gimnasium vs Worcester Gimnasium.
