One of the stars of the Spanish women’s national team, Lola Riera, has given her full endorsement to a hockey-focussed project that is currently inspiring the next generation of youngsters in the Spanish city of Valencia.
The project, called ‘Palo y Bola’ which translates to ‘Stick and Ball’, has seen more than 1,000 children across a range of age groups and abilities benefit from the scheme that aims to raise awareness of hockey in schools and colleges across the city and surrounding area.
Palo y Bola is a joint initiative between the Hockey Federation of Valencia (FHCV) and the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation, which is a non-profit-making charity that promotes cultural and community activities in Spain’s third largest city.
The two partners are doing all that they can to promote hockey in the city. Through talks given by players and coaches, video footage and of course, training and playing opportunities, the project’s aim is to raise awareness of hockey amongst the city’s youth. The coaching is organised and carried out by qualified coaching staff from the FHVC.
Speaking of the project, Spain’s Lola Riera, who helped her team to a sixth place finish at the Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Final in Valencia, said: “I think it is important to give all children the opportunity to enjoy all sports, not just the majority sports that get all the attention in the media. This is a great initiative.”
Palo y Bola was set up once Valencia learnt it had been chosen as a site for the 2015 HWL Semi-Finals. With such an important hockey tournament coming to the city, it was important that a legacy of the event was passed on.
Through this initiative, which will continue on a regular basis, the FHVC hopes to inspire a new generation of hockey players.
As an added incentive to attract youngsters to the sport, local schools and colleges were invited to watch the HWL League Semi-Finals, where some of the best players in the world were competing for a place in the HWL Final and a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
The youngsters will have seen their national heroes come close to securing both, but Spain were eventually beaten in the quarter-finals by Germany, only after the match went to penalty shoot-out.
Riera, who comes from Valencia, is one of a number of hockey players featured in a promotional video released by the partnership as an introduction to the game. The two-minute long video showcases hockey at its best – fast, fun and action-packed. The video shows the national team and some of the best players from the FHVC in action, the fast-paced footage providing inspiration to the youngsters attending the training sessions.
The Spanish women are busy preparing for the Unibet EuroHockey Championships 2015 taking place in London, England later in August, knowing that is their last chance to secure Olympic qualification.
It is a fair bet that many young Valencian’s will be following their new sporting hero’s progress and cheering the Red Sticks to victory.
