Some of Cayman’s local school kids recently suited up to play hockey.
Friday saw Cayman International School (CIS) take on Cayman Prep (Prep). Kings Sports Centre was the site of all the action at 1:30pm.
Roughly 100 spectators came out to see the match. Consisting mostly of kids and parents from the schools, the crowd was deafening as they waved signs, chanted and shouted victory for the teams. In many ways, the game took on the atmosphere of a pro hockey game.
In fact, the game even had its own announcer. Local radio station Z99FM announced the starting line-up for the game plus all goals scored. In between the action, a variety of high-adrenaline music was aired from pop to rock.
Kings Sports Centre Athletic Director Ray Singh said the game was put on to highlight the youth roller hockey program.
‘The game was held as a way of promoting roller hockey to kids that would not otherwise be exposed to the league. This was a great way of getting them excited about hockey.
‘We were trying to find innovative and community oriented ways of promoting the league, and this was simply a fun way of doing just that.’
The two schools were approached to play the game by Kings Sports Centre. As most of the WestTel Youth Roller League players are from those schools, both principles agreed to get involved.
The presence of experienced players showed on the court. The action was quick, tough and laden with offense.
Many scoring chances came from turnovers and the defense overall was hardly present. As a result, the squads were able to put their shooting on display and they used their speed for many breakaways.
With both sides dominated by talented youth hockey veterans, it would only be a matter of time before those kids took over.
No one seemed to be more clutch for their team than Prep’s Ben Black. Black had a hat-trick by half-time and was a force sending in a barrage of wrist shots on goals.
Meanwhile, Chris Messer rose to the occasion for CIS. He had many breakaway chances on the day and was all over the net grabbing rebounds, setting up teammates and checking with authority.
With all the scoring chances the teams had, it was no surprise that the game came down to who put away the most goals. Prep was on target throughout the game and simply buried CIS in the second half.
When it was over, the final score resembled a NFL football game rather than a hockey contest. Prep emerged the winners as they posted 9 goals on the board to CIS’ 7 goals.
The game has already paved the way for other local schools getting involved. Kings recently stated that there are plans for more inter-school games from now until June.
For Singh, the game was a stepping stone for youth hockey in Cayman.
‘Our hope is to have this game generate more interested players. We are hoping the game will bring fresh new players to the program.
‘This game was huge for Cayman sports. We’ve managed to create an atmosphere, where these kids can feel like superstars for an hour. At the end of the day, if the kids are happy then we will see bigger growth in our programs.’
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Cayman Prep went back and forth with Cayman International School Photos: Matthew Yates
Both squads were neck and neck most of the game.
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