Shetland Ladies warm up for Orkney clash with intensive Glasgow camp
THE SHETLAND Ladies hockey squad have completed a four-day intensive training camp in Glasgow ahead of their inter-county clash with Orkney later this month.
The blues warmed up for the Lady Hamilton Cup encounter in Kirkwall on 25 July with a series of tough tests on the mainland at the weekend.
Planned several months in advance, the camp was designed to expose the squad to a higher standard of coaching and opposition than would normally be available in Shetland.
The weekend began at Scottish Premiership runners-up Clydesdale Western, where the players spent the evening with Scotland international Jennifer Eadie.
Fresh from helping Scotland qualify for next month’s women’s Hockey World Cup, Eadie spoke about life as an international player before joining former Scotland international Fi Semple to deliver a coaching session.
This focused on individual technique, decision making and attacking play, with the squad also becoming the first visiting side to train on Clydesdale’s newly laid water-based pitch.
On Friday the players moved to the National Hockey Centre, where they were hosted by Scottish Hockey for the remainder of the camp.
The afternoon session was led by Scottish Hockey performance coach and Strathclyde University director of hockey Luke Stone, who worked with the squad on attacking transitions, movement and decision making.
Stone remained with the team for the evening fixture against a Clydesdale Western select side, giving the players the opportunity to put the afternoon’s coaching into practice.
The players responded with an excellent performance, recording a 6-1 victory.
Rhea Nicolson, Cara Leask and Bethany Orlowski each scored twice, while the coaching staff were particularly encouraged by players immediately putting their training into practice.
Saturday brought a different challenge against the Scotland Women’s over-50 masters side.
Featuring several former Scotland internationals, the experienced side provided exactly the type of physical contest the Shetland coaches had been looking for.
A closely fought match was settled by a single goal from Rhea Nicolson as Shetland claimed a hard-earned 1-0 victory.
The final match of the weekend came against the Scotland Women’s over-35 masters squad.
Containing a number of players still competing in Premier League hockey, Scotland made a blistering start, racing into a 2-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes.
Rather than allowing the game to run away from them, the Shetland players gradually settled and began to compete strongly.
Bethany Orlowski reduced the deficit to 2-1 and the game remained finely balanced with chances at both ends.
It was only during the closing stages that Scotland’s greater experience, fitness and the quality of their penalty corners eventually told.
Three late goals, four in total coming from penalty corners, gave the final 5-1 scoreline a more one-sided appearance than the contest deserved.
Coach Derek Leask felt the performance summed up everything the camp had been designed for.
“The purpose of the weekend wasn’t simply to play matches,” he said. “We wanted to expose the players to hockey that was quicker, more physical and demanded faster decisions than they’re normally used to.
“The camp was deliberately structured so that each day became a little more challenging than the last.
“The Scotland Over-35 game summed the weekend up perfectly. We came under real pressure early on but, instead of letting the game get away from us, the players adapted, grew into the contest and found a way to compete.
“That’s exactly why we came to Glasgow.”
Leask said the biggest success of the weekend was the progress made across the whole squad.
“Every player has come back a better hockey player than when they left, and that’s exactly what we hoped to achieve,” he said.
“The camp has also made selection for the Lady Hamilton Cup much more difficult than I expected.”
The camp was made possible thanks to significant support from the Shetland Community Benefit Fund, whose grant funding underwrote the programme.
Leask believes the investment will continue to benefit Shetland hockey long after the Lady Hamilton Cup has been played.
“This wasn’t just about preparing for one match. It was about investing in the long-term development of our players and bringing new ideas, experiences and standards back to Shetland.
“We’re extremely grateful to the Shetland Community Benefit Fund for believing in what we’re trying to achieve and making the camp possible.”
The association also thanked Scottish Hockey, Jennifer Eadie, Fi Semple and Luke Stone for the time, expertise and encouragement they gave throughout the weekend.
They also thanked sponsors Northwards and NorthLink Ferries, saying their continued support has played an important role in helping develop hockey in Shetland.
The inter-county squad will be named after one final training session, with Leask left with some tough decisions after the quality of the Glasgow trip.
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