Northern Gauteng’s senior women hockey team has a secret weapon — the youngest provincial hockey player to date.
Sixteen-year-old Griselda Andries says she is not intimidated by the fact that she is the youngest player on the provincial circuit. ‘If anything, I think it has given me an edge over the older players. The other teams’ players seem to think that because I’m so young I don’t have enough experience,” she says.
In her first provincial game last year, Andries scored a goal against KwaZulu-Natal.
‘I think that caught them off guard, because they treated me with more respect after that,” she says.
Northerns coach Aryna Edwards thinks Andries’s speed makes her a formidable player.
‘Playing left link requires lots of speed and Andries has plenty of it,” she says.
Andries feels her boldness on the field may be a reason why she should be taken seriously by the other players.
‘I don’t fear the older players and I definitely don’t fear being hit by a hard ball or a stick,” she says.
She started playing hockey at the tender age of eight, when she was a learner at Norridge Primary in Eersterust, and liked it immediately. According to her parents, Pieter and Cheryl, she was a natural. Andries, a Grade nine learner at Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool in Pretoria, also plays for the school’s first team.
‘Maybe it’s because I love the sport so much that I play with such gusto,” she says. ‘When I’m on the field, my intuition seems to take over. I have this gut feeling that tells me in which direction to run, which shots to play and where to defend.”
Andries’ s game has earned her a whole bunch of accolades. Last year, she was crowned her school’s best hockey player. This year, she was selected as player of the tournament in the Super 16 schools’ series. She has also received honorary colours in sport.
She says success doesn’t come easy.
‘I practise a lot. Each afternoon I’m down on the hockey field. I’m also on the school’s athletics team, which doesn’t give me too much time for schoolwork.”
Playing hockey on a senior level also has its distinct advantages.
‘It enables me to see more of the country than might have been possible otherwise. Earlier this year, we played in the North West province, later this year we’re travelling to Cape Town and early next year to Port Elizabeth. Most of the tournaments take place during school hours. I just love that.”
Hockey is definitely part of her plans for the future, Andries says.
‘My main aim is to play for the South African women’s team. In 2008, I want to be part of the SA team for the Olympic Games in Beijing. And that team must win a gold medal for the first time in South African hockey history.”