Back from the USA, Victoria Girls’ High School’s “most successful hockey player” visited home recently and returned to her alma mater to give back to the school.
Back from the USA, Victoria Girls’ High School’s “most successful hockey player” visited home recently and returned to her alma mater to give back to the school.
Thando Zono is currently at the University of Massachusetts on a sports bursary, but last week she found the time to run hockey coaching clinics for the VG U16s (Thursday) and the first team (Friday).
The South African Hockey Association flew Zono back to South Africa for the senior women’s hockey side training camp from 10-20 January. Before heading back to university, Zono made the trip to Grahamstown to visit her family and run the coaching clinics for the VG players.
Zono said running the coaching clinic was her way “to give back to the school” because “I was once them”.
While it was great to be part of the national training camp, Zono said it was hard and “overwhelming” at times. She learnt a lot from the coaches, however.
VG U16 coach Jason Still said the school wanted to make full use of Zono while she was in Grahamstown, adding that she is the “most successful hockey player from VG”.
Zono matriculated from VG in 2007, where she played for the school’s first team for four years, the last two of which she was captain.
She is also a former SA Schools Springbok hockey player.
Currently playing for the University of Massachusetts first team, she was on the 2010 side that won the university hockey championships.
It was after this season that Zono was injured and out of action for the year (2011), which also happens to be the year that Massachusetts didn’t win the championships.
Zono recovered well to be part of the university first team again in 2012 and the side once again won the university champs.
After the university champs Zono was selected for the All American (university) hockey side.
