Nats and Sne walked across the long stretch of the field. They were welcomed with claps and loud cheering! This was a customary welcome for Sne as she came in every morning all the way from the east side of the queen of suburbs...Bandra! Sne plunked down her belongings including her school bag (with her school uniform neatly folded inside it) and her lunch basket! Nats walked over to a bunch of three grinning girls...Ninu, Jac and Glynn standing with hockey sticks in hand. The minute she was approached them they started an animated discussion of whether Boyzone outdid Backstreet Boys! Thats one discussion they could never tire of! Suddenly Sne heard a whistle blow..."Come on girls, enough of this fooling around" It was Saby Sir giving his customary dialogue that indicated that it was time to start practice! Saby was truly passionate about Hockey and even played for the organisation that he was working for. He was extremely dedicated and didn't let the often giggly teenage girls lose track of the goal!

Practice began with all the warm up exercises and then of course the dribbling, hitting and passing! It was interesting to see how Saby changed the structure of the practice sessions to keep the girls on their toes! Ninu was selected today to lead the practice session. Ninu was the oldest team player (not in age but experience!...she was playing since class five! She was good at the game and very often the team captain too! Most of the girls recognised her strengths and looked up to her as a leader..a natural leader she was! "Hey Nats stretch properly or else you will get cramps in the goal and even a "lallu" will score a goal" Ninu said looking at Nats trying to avoid this stretching exercise. Saby looked at Ninu approvingly and was happy that she took the game so seriously! A star performer she was in his eyes!

After all the hitting and running and joking it was time to end practice as the clock struck 8am..it was time for the girls to head back home, freshen up, change into their uniforms and return to school. "I wish I lived close by yaa" Sne told Jac who was in her division too.."I hate not having a bath after practice and changing in the loo here..stupid school can't even give us locker rooms man!" "Yeah man, I don't know how you do it...you can come over to my place sometimes you know?" Jac said kindly and thus began a new bond of friendship...One of many in this wonderful team!

Nats & Sne

It was 5.45 am on a Monday morning , bang in the middle of June when the alarm rang to the tune of "backstreets back alright!" - screaming out loud the 90's pop music boyband mania! Sne streched out with an agitated look on her face and switched off her alarm. Her next wake up call was from her mom who shouted out from the kitchen "Sneeeee....wake up!!! or else you'll be late for hockey practice again!" "Yeah alright Ma...just 2 minutes more" Sne replied groggily. Just then her beloved pet cat jumped on her stomach to find a comfortable snoozing spot and that was enough to wake her up. She sat up in bed almost immediately and ran to get ready. Her dad was already awake sipping coffee and reading the newspaper, waiting to drop her off to school. "Such a dedicated kid" he said to himself "first she goes to hockey practice and then to school the whole day". Sne was indeed what you may call a good kid! - capable in both academics and sports (by which is meant hockey). She was a Left Back in her school hockey team and was very excited by her entry into the coveted team. Today was the beginning of her second week at hockey practice and she was already looking forward to going and meeting her new found friends and team mates. Sne's dad dropped her off to practice by car every morning like a dedicated father. Sne was the only team member who stayed on the east side of the suburb unlike her team mates who stayed in the west where the school was. Sne got into the car and drove off with her dad towards her school. They got there at 6.30 am sharp and luckily she wasn't late. She waved goodbye to her dad and walked towards the hockey field which was quite far from the main gate of the school, an all girls convent. At a distance she could already hear giggling and girly voices! Just as she was trying to figure out who had arrived she felt a pat on her back. It was Nats! Nats the team Goalkeeper or 'Goalie' was already part of the hockey team two years before Sne and according to Sne she was a very warm person - jovial and down to earth. Sne felt very comfortable around her as she could laugh out loud with her (something that she thought she could only do with her cousins or building friends!). "Wow men Sne you came on time n all today" Nats said in her good natured voice. "Ya re..my stupid cat woke me up haha!". "Good! Otherwise Saby Sir would have pakaoed u solid and made u run 5 extra rounds" Nats said. "I know..Thank God! rather Thank Cat" Sne attempted wry humour to which Nats was quick to respond "Shee men Sne don't crack such sad ones haa". Laughter followed this statement and Nats and Sne walked further towards the field, hockey sticks (branded ones!) in hand and a smile upon their lips, ready for a new day of hockey madness!!

A Quick Introduction!

This blog is about a wonderful team I was part of way back in school - My hockey team!
I always wanted to document fun anecdotes, crazy tournaments, teenage crushes, team politics, a plethora of characters and finally the solid friendships that were built across our years together - playing, gallavanting, laughing and even fighting! I will write this as a story...narrating it as if I were an outsider although I was part of these very stories...I dedicate this blog to each team member and our great coach (who will feature quite often through the course of this blog!)
Here goes!! (whistle blown by refree!!...game begins!!)