This country's first batch of athletes for the Commonwealth Games to be staged from July 24 to August 4 in Glasgow, Scotland, will depart today. The women's and men's hockey teams are on their way.
The women's squad, co-captained by Alanna Lewis and Patricia Wright-Alexis, will be coached by former national player Anthony Marcano and comprises a host of youth players in Lewis and Wright-Alexis, long serving custodian Petal Derry, Avion Candice Ashton, Kwylan Jaggessar and Brittney Hingh among the few with more than 25 caps under their belt.
However, missing out were experienced forwards Blair Wynne and Kristin Thompson as well as defender Teresa Lezama, Tamara De Nobriga and goalkeeper Jenielle Carrington, all of whom were part of the team at last September's Pan American Cup in Mendoza, Argentina, where the team ended seventh.
Despite the absence of the key quintet coach Marcano was still positive about the make-up of the squad and noted that where they fall short in experience they make up for it with speed and energy.
"We have a lot of players coming through from the Under-21 team and going forward we are looking towards the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and World League competitions, so this will be about gaining international experience for the younger players, " added Marcano.
In Glasgow, T&T, ranked 31st in the world, will face rivals Canada (#22nd), India (13th), New Zealand (4th) and South Africa (11th) in Pool A while Pool B consists of defending champions and world third ranked Australia, England (6th), Scotland (16th), Wales (32nd) and Malaysia (21st). Australian women have also dominated the gold medal spot at previous Commonwealth Games, however, they still find themselves below New Zealand and England in the current world rankings.
Women's hockey team
Patricia Wright-Alexis (captain), Petal Derry, Alanna Lewis (captain), Kwylan Jaggassar, Amie Olton, Savannah De Freitas, Amanda George, Avion Ashton, Elise Olton, Kayla Brathwaite, Fiona O'Brien, Dana-Lee De Gannes, Brianna Govia, Tamia Roach, Zene Henry, Brittney Hingh.
Technical staff: Anthony Marcano (coach), Stacey Siu Butt (assistant coach), Sharon De Freitas (manager), Natalie Nieves (videographer), Ayanna Mc Clean (umpire).
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T&T's senior men's hockey team, coming off of an historic bronze medal triumph at the 2013 Pan American Cup, this country's first in 46 years, will be led once again by skipper Darren Cowie under the supervision of coach, Glen "Fido" Francis.
Francis noted it was a relatively young team which was hit hard by the withdrawal of six members of the historic Pan American Cup team due to work commitments. They are experienced vice captain Dwain Quan Chan, Christopher Scipio, Wayne Legerton, Kiel Murray, Cogie Butler and reserve goalkeeper Kwasi Emmanuel.
Francis said: "Overall, I think we still have a good balance in the team with about five players making their first Commonwealth Games team and experineced players in England-based Kwandwane Browne, Marcus James, Shaquille Daniel, Aidan De Gannes, Solomon Eccles, Dillet Gilkes and Akim Toussaint. The the team is about 90 per cent ready and raring to go. This level is a step up for us and we are hoping to push all the teams as much as we can."
The local men's hockey squad, ranked 29th in the world, will compete in Pool B with England (5th), New Zealand (6th), Malaysia (13th) and Canada (16th) while Pool A consists of defending champions and world top ranked Australia, India (9th), South Africa (12th), Scotland (25th) and Wales (31st).
Prior to the start of the tournament, Francis, a former T&T goalkeeper said the local men will be involved in a two-week training camp in Glasgow, during which time they are expected to lay seven warm-up matches.
In the history of the hockey competition Australia has been the dominant force, securing every title since its introduction in 1998, while its biggest challenge will come from other medal-winning nations including England, India, New Zealand and Malaysia.
T&T men's hockey team: Darren Cowie (captain), Mickel Pierre, Andrey Rocke, Marcus James, Shaquille Daniel, Tariq Marcano, Stefan Mouttet, Kwandwane Browne, Ishmael Campbell, Aidan De Gannes, Solomon Eccles, Dillet Gilkes, Nicholas Grant, Michael Otis O'Connor II, Jordon Reynos, Akim Toussaint, Carlos Stephens.
Technical staff: Glen "Fido" Francis (coach), Andrew Wilson (assistant coach), Kirth Davis (manager), Nicholas Baldeosingh (videographer).