Several young members of the Benalla Hockey Club played for Goulburn Valley Hockey Association (GVHA) in the Victorian Junior Country Championships this weekend.
Under 15 girls: Alex White, Taree Fletcher (plays for SYC).
Under 18 girls: Georgie White
Under 18 boys: Alex Dowe, Evan Dowe, Thomas Hill, Andy Williams (plays for Mooroopna).
The Under 15s played at Greensborough, while the Under 18s played at the State Hockey Centre in Parkville, on a water pitch.
The Goulburn Valley teams played seven games against up to ten other regional teams, with the winners decided late Sunday afternoon.
All of the juniors played well in multiple positions showing experience, skill, and great mental tenacity - switching, as they did, between defence and attack, sometimes within the same game.
The U15 girls didn’t make the final four, but played great hockey all weekend impressing their coaches.
The U18 girls won their pool and came third overall.
The U18 boys had a nail-biting grand final against Albury-Wodonga, with a nil-all draw going to two penalty shoot-outs where Andy Williams excelled as goalie, and GVHA took the win 5-4.
Benalla’s Alex Dowe also gained his Community Umpiring accreditation last weekend.