Even as the Indian men’s team were celebrating their third-place victory over Germany in the finals of the Hockey World League in Odisha, a few hundred kilometres away a few Indian hockey greats were celebrating a victory of another kind – the dawn of a new standard in the school sporting circle – at St. Stanislaus High School in Bandra. The suburb, and especially St. Stanislaus School, which has for many years now served as a hotbed for producing exceptional talent at the national and international level saw the inauguration of the brand new ‘Father Donnely Astro Park” at the St. Stanislaus Sports Complex. What is striking about the Astro Park is its FIH approved Edelgrass turf, which is among the finest field hockey surfaces in the world.
Emphasizing the need for this surface, principal, Ms Anna Correa said, “Our school has in the past produced the country’s finest players in the likes of Joaquim Carvalho, Marcellus Gomes, Viren Rasquinha, Olympians, and so many more but we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. There’s a huge difference between playing on grass and playing on astroturf and we have been hoping for this for a long time. Having to practise on grass and then play their games on astroturf, our children have always been at a disadvantage. The only way we can move forward is by taking the next step. Our school has an entire bank of talent and we are trying to give the children the best to discover, nurture and produce the best.”
The school, along with the expertise of Marcellus Gomes, Joaquim Carvalho and Viren Rasquinha, brainstormed over the master plan, and the end result was an internationally approved Astro Park, more thoughtfully known as the ‘Father Donnely Astro Park.’ The full-sized hockey field also doubles up as an arena for other sports including football and cricket. While the school uses the field for their various sports practices during the day, the field is open for public use in the evenings by booking in advance.
The inauguration of the St Stanislaus Sports Complex, which hosts the Father Donnely Astro Park was attended by the who’s who of hockey including Viren Rasquinha, Dhanraj Pillai, Marcellus Gomes, Adrian D’Souza, Rahul Singh, Devindar Walmiki, Edgar Mascarenhas and Rajat Sharma, who later played an exhibition match. Synthetic grass (Edelgrass Turf) also enables players to practice in the four months of the monsoon and reduces the chances of injury. Indian hockey wizard, Dhanraj Pillai felt that ‘a great beginning has been made with the laying of this FIH approved turf’. Also in presence at the opening were hockey bigwigs Mervyn Fernandes, Gurbax Singh Grewal and Dr. Vece Paes who egged on the participants in a round of friendly games played between top hockey schools from around the city.
Principal Ms Anna Correa seemed pleased with it all, “I’m really happy that we were finally able to have our very own sports field. Soon, we will also be laying a multi-sports turf surface so that we can have the children practising their games come rain or shine. With these developments, I’m sure we will discover a whole lot of new talent who will be groomed to take the legacy of our school ahead in producing more famous sports and reach greater heights.”
“The thickness of the turf at MHA is 12 mm whereas the turf at St. Stanislaus High school is 20mm thick plus it has a 15mm shock pad under it,” said representatives from Astro Sports Pvt. Ltd. who helped the school set up the Sports Complex. According to them, the turf at St. Stanislaus School was laid keeping in mind that the turf can also be used for other sports like football, cricket etc. which would be a good option for the entire community to come and play together resulting in enhancing their skills in various sports.
For a school that has been renowned for producing top quality hockey players, the wait won’t be long before St. Stanislaus sees a few more of its players going on to represent the country. Well, we can certainly hope, but for now, it’s time to practise!
