Brent’s babies make a mark
Daughters of hockey great start to carve out their own career
KYRA Livermore tasted Olympic gold at eight months old.
Zoe Livermore arrived when the heat was on in the middle of the Commonwealth Games.
It’s fair to say these young Gold Coast hockey prospects, daughters of Kookaburras legend Brent Livermore, were always destined for success in the sport.
Now 14 and 12 respectively, Kyra and Zoe are blazing their own hockey journeys.
Kyra, who last week won the Gold Coast Academy of Sport award for junior female athlete of the year, plays in the open women’s division for Labrador as well as various state and national representative teams.
That ascent in sport was seemingly inevitable given baby Kyra travelled to Athens in 2004 to watch Brent and the Kookaburras claim Olympic gold.
Zoe, meanwhile, was born on the eve of the 2006 Commonwealth Games semi-final – prompting an inspired Brent to then score twice against Malaysia.
“They grew up with little hockey sticks in their hands,” recalled Brent, now coach of the NSW side for the Australian Hockey League finals on the Gold Coast.
“They were always playing and around that environment.
“They played a bit of every sport and I was happy for them to play anything but they loved hockey.”
Brent, 42 and living with wife Belinda at Upper Coomera, still plays on the Gold Coast while offering coaching for various teams – of course helping out his daughters with tips when needed.
“We have an astro turf field and some goals in the backyard so they go out and play all the time,” he said.
“Kyra has always been so driven to do well and happily gets up early to train.
“She definitely wants to go higher and see how far she can go with hockey.
“I try to help if needed but she has great technique and can see things off the ball for someone so young and I don’t know if it’s because she grew up in that environment but that’s a great quality.”
As for backyard matches between father and daughters, the margin is closing.
“Kyra is getting faster all the time so she will beat me soon,” Brent laughed.
“Hopefully that day isn’t too soon because I may not (hear the end of it).”
There’s no prize for guessing who is Kyra’s favourite sportsperson. “Dad is my hero,” the Upper Coomera State College student told the Bulletin last year.
“I’m fortunate to have him as one of my coaches, he has given me so much guidance and handed on so much knowledge.”
Kyra will this weekend compete in the under-18 Queensland Indoor Hockey Championships.
“The depth of girls hockey isn’t there in terms of numbers,” Brent said.
“But it’s great for Kyra to get the chance to compete against girls older than her – it can only help her game.”