Future Black Sticks will be in Ōamaru next month, offering tips to the next generation of potential Black Sticks.

The Dunedin-based group are stopping off at the Ōamaru Hockey Turf near Centennial Park as part of a lower South Island tour, offering coaching workshops to young players in the region.

The Future Black Sticks programme is a Hockey New Zealand initiative dedicated to the nurturing, education and development of players from age 16 onwards.

A good number of the players have come through the regional associations and there are 24 athletes in the Future/Junior Black Sticks programme. 

The Coaching Roadshow is an awesome opportunity for these young athletes to give back and inspire young hockey players in this part of New Zealand and show players from the south can be recognised and rewarded for all the hard work they put in, an Otago Hockey Association spokesperson said.

The road show will start in Cromwell on Monday, January 22 and end in Ōamaru on Friday, January 26.

There will be three, two-hour sessions a day, beginning at 10am, 1pm and 3.30pm. Sessions are for under-13s, under-15s, and under-18s.

Skills sessions are aimed to help players refine skills they already have and show new skills/techniques they may not have seen before. 

There will be game elements to these sessions, with fun and enjoyment key to a quality hockey session, the spokesperson said.

Otago Hockey staff Hymie Gill and Jolene Casey will be supporting these coaching sessions.

The cost for the 2-hour coaching session is $60 per child. The money raised will help fund next year’s hockey costs.

Register here.