Lithgow’s Premier League Hockey side, Zig Zag women, say they are working hard to support future players despite flagging results on the league table.
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“We have two of our girls coaching a Zig Zag junior side and have had multiple girls coach these teams previously,” Zig Zag coach Jana Winnard.
“We have Dannii Lemcke as the assistant coach for our Zig Zag high school side along along with committee member Ngaire Lynch.
“There is more to just playing hockey, you need to give back to our very valued juniors. Without these athletic kids we will eventually have no senior competitions.”
The Zig Zag team has recently donated premier league uniforms to girls playing on their junior sides as a ‘thank you’ for their commitment and hard work.
“Regardless of the Zig Zag results in the 2017 Premier League we have been concentrating on giving back and giving our juniors somewhere to start thinking of working towards, whether it be with Panthers, Zig Zag or any other thing they choose to do in their life,” coach Winnard said.
“Next year we will be doing the same and doing a lot more with these talented, amazing kids. As a club we give juniors an opportunity to play, have a run and test out their ability in a stronger league.”
Junior development has been critical to the Zig Zag Premier League side, who have been going through a growing phase in 2017.
“We had a lot of players pull out at the start of the season so others had to come play,” Zig Zag striker Jess Harris.
“We’ve got a lot of junior players coming through the ranks and this season we’ve given them team experience.”
The side has not managed to win a single game this season and, with one round left before the finals, are sitting at the bottom of the table.
Saturday’s cross-city derby saw Zig Zag score one goal against the high performing Panthers’ six. The Panthers are currently sitting second on the league table and will be coming up against the Confederates this weekend.
Winnard said the Zig Zag team is keeping up enthusiasm by focusing on the future.
“We have a huge range of different players with different skill levels,” she said.
“We might not get the results everyone wants but we make personal gains as a team and we hope that these juniors continue on and grow in confidence and continue to play this great sport. We can work with them to get better each week.”
Zig Zag’s last game for the season will be against Bathurst Souths this Saturday, August 5, 2.40pm at Lithgow.
