For the second year in a row Larne Ladies Hockey Club hosted their local Primary School Blitz at Larne High School.
The competition saw a number of local primary schools compete in girls, boys and mixed sections with Olympic gold medalist Jimmy Kirkwood in attendance.
Last year Ulster Hockey started a programme in Larne whereby a state school (Olderfleet PS), an integrated school (Corran IPS), and a maintained school (St MacNissi’s PS) attended for joint hockey coaching.
Larne Ladies HC helped with the coaching and then they organised a 9 primary schools blitz (these 3 teams plus 6 other local schools) for boys, girls, and mixed teams.
Since then, Lyndsey Robinson Chair of Larne Ladies HC has led the growth of hockey and their local blitz event assisted by other members of the club.
In September 2023 Larne Ladies started a boys Under 11 coaching section, after an absence of mens hockey in Larne for approx. 10 years.
This year it was St MacNissi’s PS who won both the mixed and girls section with the girls section going down to goal difference as Moyle and Corran Primary School’s also finished on nine points.
Ulster Hockey is delighted with the success of this programme and will also be looking for other areas to establish similar programmes.
Anyone interested in establishing a similar program in their area can contact Ulster Hockey Talent and Diversity Officer Eamonn McFerran at eamonn@ulsterhockey.com
