New league a hit with players

Anglo-Chinese Junior College hockey player Tanya Lee was mentally prepared for another quiet season this year after her sport was left out of the National School Games (NSG) calendar.

The pandemic had already led to the cancellation of the NSG last year and Lee was looking at a second straight missed opportunity to compete in the Schools National A Division Championship.

But she and her fellow student athletes have earned a reprieve, thanks to the newly launched Under-19 3v3 league organised by the Singapore Hockey Federation (SHF). It began yesterday with 28 teams (16 girls' and 12 boys').

Lee's Oldham B beat Oldham D 9-6, with the 18-year-old scoring seven goals, at the Sengkang Hockey Stadium.

While pleased to be back on the pitch with a win, she said the muted sense of camaraderie was unusual.

"Usually, we get to train together as a whole team and we prepare for matches together and go for team dinners together. These are the things that create good memories you can look back on next time," said Lee, who has been playing hockey since 2016.

"Now I only see fewer than 10 of them during a match and it's just different."

Hockey and other team sports were not included in this year's NSG, though the Ministry of Education had said last month it is "working on how these sports can resume safely" this year.

The NSG were later postponed from their original February start after a rise in the number of community cases.

SHF started the 3v3 competition, held behind closed doors, to provide playing opportunities after safe-distancing guidelines were relaxed to allow eight people in a group to gather.

Matches are played in an area one-eighth of a regular hockey pitch. They consist of three 10-minute periods with two five-minute breaks in between.

Players can shoot at two goals and each team have one substitute player.

In another match yesterday, Jolene Lim scored six goals to lead Crescent Hockey B to a 10-5 win over Oldham A.

Jolene's feat came as a pleasant surprise for the defender, who rarely scores in the traditional 11-a-side version.

The 17-year-old praised the new format and said it presented different challenges and allowed her to work on other aspects of her game.

"In the 11-a-side game, you get to catch your breath more and it's a much slower pace. This format is very intense and you really need to practise your individual ball skills a lot because there are lots of 1v1 or 2v1 scenarios," said the Victoria Junior College student.

"You also have to work on your mental strength and learn to pace yourself. It also teaches you to be a more all-rounded player since there are no positions, so everyone has to do everything."

The 3v3 league resumes tomorrow.

The girls and boys' divisions are split into two groups. The top two sides in each group advance to the semi-finals, with the finals held next month.