Guy Morgan of Tuks does not know the meaning of giving up that is why he has been selected as the captain of the South African under-21 hockey team ahead of the 2021 Junior Africa Cup tournament in Accra, Ghana.

There is a story been told of when a youngster was playing cricket. He and his teammates did not have the best of days. They were bowled out for 96 runs during a one-day game. Apparently, at one stage the opposition team was 83/3. Everyone, but Morgan, thought it was game over. He confidently predicted that they were going to win. They did. 

Morgan got the same attitude every time he steps onto the turf. So it is no surprise that he has been captaining most of the teams he has played for over the last four years. He was the "leading man" while playing at Kearsney College in Durban. He has also helped the South African under-18 team win gold during the African Youth Games in Algeria in 2018.

On another positive note, he is a captain of Tuks for this season.

The one common denominator in Morgan's role as a leader over the last three years has been Sihle Ntuli (Tuks men's head coach). It was Ntuli who guided the South African under-18 team to victory in Algeria. It is the same Ntuli who is now coaching the national under-21 side.

According to Morgan, a good understanding is what makes it work for them as captain and coach.

"I know what Sihle Ntuli's goals as a coach are and what he expects from us players. My role as captain is to ensure it gets done on the Astroturf. I guess in the end it all boils down to trust and understanding." 

Come March, the coach and captain's goal is to restore South Africa's hockey pride during the African Junior World Cup Qualifiers in Ghana.

Morgan plays as a centre back. He is, however, being overmodest. Those who had seen him play describe him as "general" on defence. 

"Centre back is exciting. You got to always be on the ball and continually thinking. You can hardly afford to make mistakes because you are the near last line of defence. Behind you is only the goalkeeper." 

It is a fact that when on the attack, the ball often gets hit with force. When it happens, there is always the risk of injury. Morgan has his own survival strategy. 

"The trick is to stay as close as possible to the opposition players because then they can't hit that hard. Or you can mark your man so he can't get the ball."

The Tuks captain is also rated as a drag-flick specialist.

"Drag-flicking boils down to practise and more practise. It is all about technique. You got to find out what works for you. Pretty much the more you put into it, the better you become. I practise drag-flicking twice a week often hitting up to 150 balls." 

The other Tuks players selected for the SA under-21 team are Jared Campbell (vice-captain), Samkelo Mvimbi, Bradley Sherwood, Matt Dewar, Trevor De Lora, Grant Pio, and Suubi Mugerwa-Sekawabe.