Hockey draft camp
While 16-year-old Hayley Tepper hasn’t always played hockey, her sheer determination and hard work make her a tough competitor on the field.
She, along with 12 other young hockey players from West Gippsland, will travel to the Melbourne Sports Centre for a Draft Camp designed to seek out the best players in the state.
They’ll spend two days working through intensive drills and modified matches, where they’ll be judged and potentially gain selection into the Hockey Victoria Academy.
Hayley attended the camp last year, when she vied for a spot on the U16s squad.
“We did a few drills and a lot of gameplay, the standard was probably higher than I thought it was and this year I’m expecting pretty much the same thing,” she said.
All 12 players have been training together at Drouin’s Bellbird Park to prepare.
Hayley missed getting on the ranks last year, but this time around she’ll come back with more experience and determination to make the Academy.
“It would be amazing, I love hockey … I do it all the time so it would mean a lot.
“We’ve been training together and it’s a lot more motivational when you’ve got other people there doing it with you,” Hayley said.
And if the juniors miss out on the Academy, there will still be plenty of hockey to play over summer.
“We had a bit of a mismatched winter season and had to keep stopping and starting a lot.
“It’s good knowing we’ll be able to get a full summer season in without getting stopped halfway through,” she said.
The West Gippsland Hockey Association’s summer competition starts on the 3rd of November for seniors, and the 5th of November for juniors.