Queen’s College leaning on experience for 2025 season
After a topsy-turvy season in 2024, the Queen’s College 1st XI will enter their 2025 hockey campaign with energy and vigour. They kick off their season at the Border Schools Day at Selborne College in East London on Friday.
The side will make a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Komani to face some of the region’s fiercest opposition.
The event is a mini-festival initiated by the Border Schools Hockey Association to assist teams with preparation for the new season.
The format of matches will be two 12-minute chukkas with only a minute’s break between them.
Queen’s has three fixtures, against Hudson Park, Merrifield College, and Cambridge High School.
It will be an ideal pre-season outing for coach Michael Baiden and his players, who, according to him, have prepared diligently for the season.
“Preparations have been as good as can be. Our boys have tried very hard to put their best foot forward to improve the technical and tactical parts of their game,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus.
“This has made working with them easier, as they are a very keen group. We are excited for the upcoming season. I’m keen to learn through the challenges and obstacles it will bring.”
Queen’ endured a tough 2024 campaign, which included defeats against Dale College, Selborne, and Grey High in the Eastern Cape. Coach Baiden is optimistic that the group has taken lessons from last season’s losses.
“Last season was a massive learning curve for both me and the players,” he shared. “Even though many results did not go our way, there were many lessons learnt that I am hoping will propel us in the right direction this year.”
Queen’s has retained most of the players that turned out for the 1st team last year, with only three having moved on. That gives them a strong and experienced base from which to work.
“Our team was filled with 16-year-olds who played at that [first-team] level for the first time,” Baiden said.
“We are hoping that last year’s experiences can help the team this year. All we want to do is try and play good and entertaining hockey.”
With 10 players – Aiden van Jaarsveld, Rowan Miles (GK), Brett Hoffmann, Yibonge Mquqwana, Mafu Mandaba, Morgan Hayes, Liso Mtalaliso, Tofiro Kagoro, Aya Maduma, and Liyema Auwa – who featured for Queen’s last year set to don the first team jersey again, hopes are high for a far better season in 2025.
Their first match on Friday is against Hudson Park at 14:00.
Other teams that will be attending the tournament include Dale College, from Qonce, Stirling High, and the hosts, Selborne.
The action starts at 13:30 with a meeting between Cambridge and Merrifield College.
FIXTURES
Friday, 14 March
13:30 – Merrifield vs Cambridge High; 14:00 – Queen’s vs Hudson; 14:30 – Dale vs Stirling High; 15:00 – Selborne vs Cambridge High; 15:30 – Queen’s vs Merrifield; 16:00 – Dale vs Hudson; 16:30 – Selborne vs Stirling High; 17:00 – Queen’s vs Cambridge High; 17:30 – Dale vs Merrifield; 18:00 – Stirling High vs Cambridge High; 18:30 – Selborne vs Hudson.
