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SCHOOLBOY George Axtell has been snapped up by the UK Lions hockey team to play in tournaments and it’s hoped that the field sport’s other young stars playing in Bahrain will one day take on the might of the British in a series of friendly fixtures.
The sport is currently enjoying a renaissance in the kingdom despite there not being a purpose-made pitch and the Bahrain Hockey Association has ambitious plans to grow the sport and appoint a full-time professional coach.
One of the founders of the UK Lions, Francis Treadgold, who now resides in Bahrain, recommended Axtell, 13, for a trial last year, which he passed with flying colours.
This summer he joined the squad in Belfast for training sessions and a weekend of fixtures against teams from Ireland and Wales.
Axtell said: “Joining a team I have never played or trained with was definitely scary, as the level of hockey in England is exceptional. But the main thing that I came away with was experience, with being able to learn from some of the best U16 hockey players in the UK, and now being a part of that team is amazing.
“I love playing hockey because you can use tactics and styles from other sports – the field positions are very similar to football, as are the movements on and off the ball. But hockey involves many other skills – there are so many ways to pass and receive the ball with the stick and it is played at such an incredible speed – it’s never boring!”
The youngster comes from hockey-playing stock. Dad, David, a business consultant, once played club hockey for Beeston, which recently won the National Premier League for the third time in a row, and also represented Nottinghamshire. He won the national title with Notts U21s, qualified as a national league umpire at the age of 17 – at the time, the youngest to do so. He has coached various sides in the UK and has carried on coaching keen young players at St Christopher’s School.
Mum, Sara, an office administrator and gymnastics coach, played for Sherwood Ladies and her county side too.
Axtell Snr said: “There is talk within the Bahrain Hockey Association of having a full-time coach to help develop the sport while also creating a regional side that could play against visiting teams, possibly from India and Pakistan, but also further afield.
“In order to maximise the opportunities available, George has started playing in the local competitive adult matches but will need more specialised coaching, ideally.”
In the meantime, young Axtell is grabbing every opportunity to develop his skills with the UK’s most promising players. At the last Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, they had 22 former Lions representing the different Home Nations countries.
There is some initial discussion about trying to get the UK Lions to come and tour Bahrain and if the sport’s administrators manage to get a junior team playing here regularly the players could also be lined up for a return fixture.
Business development manager Treadgold managed the side from 2003 up until 2012 when he left the UK for Bahrain and now holds the position of chairman. He said: “I had a look at George and soon realised that he had plenty to offer the game in terms of his skills, vision and general playmaking abilities.
“I spoke to the head coach and manager of the UK Lions in the UK, and said I had a young guy here in Bahrain who was worth a look. So, whilst David and the family were in the UK, they took him to Manchester to give him some pitch-time and, as they say, the rest is history. He has just completed his second trip with the UK Lions to Belfast and he did very well blending into the team structure.”
The Bahrain Hockey Association is aiming to revive the sport’s popularity in the kingdom and recently organised a six-a-side regional contest in the kingdom featuring teams representing Bahrain, Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and India and players regularly train in Saar and recently played a friendly fixture against a Bahrain Defence Force team.
Assistant general secretary of the association, Jude D’Souza, said George was now a well-known face on the local hockey scene and everyone was ‘delighted and proud’ by his call-up for the UK Lions.
