Bermuda women’s hockey team players Yvonna Osborne, Georgia Harris and Jennifer Hamilton are playing their part in nurturing the future stars of their sport.

Osborne, Hamilton and Harris are volunteers at the Bermuda Schools Sports Federation’s annual field hockey festival, which started at the National Stadium on Wednesday and runs through to Friday.

It was at Saltus as a teenager that Osborne was exposed to the sport and now at the age of 32 she is pleased to be playing her part in providing guidance to aspiring hockey players.

“When I was in school, I wasn't introduced to hockey until I was in middle school,’’ Osborne said.

“I didn’t have the exposure to field hockey at such a young age at these guys do. All different sports should be introduced at a young age and it’s awesome to see field hockey being one of those sports that is being introduced at primary school level.

“For us at the Bermuda Hockey Federation to be able to contribute to that education, by allowing them to use the pitch and sticks is a great thing. We hope that it grows into something more.

“This is my second time volunteering this way and it’s always encouraging.

“I have three schools that I’m responsible for and I've been coaching and teaching them new skills such as how to hold their stick, how to dribble and how to tackle.

“They have picked it up very quickly, been very receptive and eager to learn. We just finished our stick-work competition and we have a winner who’s just won a field hockey stick.”

Hamilton, a teacher at Mount Saint Agnes Academy, has just embarked on her journey as a coach.

“I started playing field hockey at 12 but I've only recently started coaching,’’ she said.

“This is about my second year giving back to the youth in field hockey and helping give back to our sport because I felt that it’s not the most popular sport but it’s one of my favourites.

“I've just started the field hockey programme at MSA, working with the middle school students, allowing them to practice their skills and then preparing them for events like this.

“It’s my passion. I chose teaching because that’s what I wanted to do and there is not a day that is not interesting. They inspire me as I try to inspire them to be the best they can be.”

Elizabeth Davidson, a Bermuda under-21 player aged 16, feels compelled to give back to the sport and has seen great improvement from the up-and-coming players.

“This kind of tournament is actually how I got into field hockey,’’ Davidson told The Royal Gazette.

“I started coaching these guys maybe four years ago and the coaching has improved my stick work a lot.

“It’s been really fun doing the coaching,\. I actually really enjoy seeing them improve just over the one day. I think a lot of them have really worked on their skills and focused on little things that help them.

“I want to help out more so I've been trying to expand my knowledge on coaching and been doing research at home.”

Megan Troake, the event organiser said the festival is held to ensure that physical education teachers get comfortable enough to coach the sport in their respective schools.

“The objective of this festival is to help make sure the PE teachers across the island feel confident teaching field hockey in their schools,’’ Troake said.

“It also gives them security to have BHF volunteers come down and umpire the games, so that they can just simply focus on coaching and can shadow the umpires when they umpire the games.

“The Bermuda Hockey Federation has sent in ten volunteers to give back to our sport and they are running practice drills in the morning.

“They’re also umpiring games in the afternoon and all the schools that come down are learning the basics of field hockey, being introduced to the sport and learning the skills necessary.

“We have quite a few of our Bermuda women’s team here. We have a male coach here and we have members our BHF board giving back to the sport.

“There are 24 schools and about 175 children here today. We’re very happy to have all the schools that could come and we hope for more in the future.”