17 June 2025
Thirty specialist hockey students from Como Secondary College had an incredible chance to show off their talent and skills on a huge international stage.
Como Hockey Academy’s students in Years 10 to 12 participated in the annual Jeugd International Paas Hockey Toernooi* (JIPHT) Easter Tournament in The Hague, Netherlands, the school’s 11th international hockey tour.
The girls under-16 team got all the way to the Grand Finals!
The JIPHT Tournament is for top-level youth teams and is umpired by league referees.
Shayni Nelson is the teacher in charge of hockey at Como and said the international tour was the culmination of years of hard work for the students.
“I was really proud to show our hockey talent off on an international stage, we held our own against teams from hockey powerhouse countries like Holland, Belgium and Germany,” Ms Nelson said.
Students trained with Dutch coaches and played in several matches before the big tournament from 18 to 20 April.
“The girls under-16 team did extremely well [in the tournament] progressing all the way to the Grand Final,” Ms Nelson said.
The boys under-18s played well in all eight of their matches.
“We lost the Grand Final 2-0 to Dutch home team, HDM but we had our chances to win.
“We had quite a lot of the play, had a goal disallowed and missed a stroke, so it could have gone either way.
“The under-18 boys did a great job too. They were competitive in all eight of their matches in the tournament, only narrowly losing.”
Ava Stagg, Year 12, said she spent three days playing hockey at the highest level that she's ever played at and enjoyed competing against students from around the world.
“My favourite part of the European tour was playing against the Dutch style of hockey and learning how they play and bringing it into my own game,” she said.
“I hope this will improve my hockey skills, by seeing people do skills I don’t see very often has influenced me to give them a go.”
Ava said she learnt a lot about resilience during the tour and to never give up, even when others doubt them.
“My goal is to eventually make my first ever state team and play the top level of hockey in WA (prem 1),” she said.
Ava enjoyed all the sightseeing the team got to do during the trip including visiting the Anne Frank House, the Eiffle Tower and an Anzac dawn service at Villers-Bretonneux.
Ms Nelson said the tournament and trip wasn’t just about the technical skill of hockey.
“They didn’t just improve their hockey through elite training sessions and matches against international teams - they also developed resilience, teamwork, and the ability to connect with people from all over the world.
“They come back more confident, more skilled, and with a deeper understanding of what it means to be part of a global sporting community.”
Learn more about the tournament here.
*Jeugd Internationaal Paas Hockey Toernooi translates from Dutch to Youth International Easter Hockey Tournament.