From farm to fame
Ever since she could walk, Olivia Shannon has been chasing sheep over the hills of rural Manawatu¯ .
The 17-year-old’s country upbringing has made her one of the most physical and aggressive strikers in women’s hockey and helped her become the youngest member of the Black Sticks womens’ squad.
Shannon was ‘‘chilling’’ on the couch when an email from coach Mark Hager arrived. The third paragraph was the bit she cared about, saying she had made the team.
It was a dream come true for the Waituna West farm girl, who initially believed national selection wouldn’t be possible until after the Tokyo Olympics.
But she’s made herself hard to ignore.
The national callup came after a stellar season, where she helped Central defend its national under18 title, was the top goal scorer and was named player of the tournament.
She then took the MVP title again, this time for the country’s elite tournament – the National Hockey League – playing for the Central womens’ team against some of New Zealand’s best.
Shannon also led Havelock North’s Iona College to victory in the national secondary school’s tournament, which was no mean feat for a school with only 300 girls and two hockey teams.
Having played rugby until age 12, Shannon was steered towards
‘‘I hit the roof [when selected for the Black Sticks]. It was kind of tears and joy and happiness. I’m going into the unknown now.’’ Olivia Shannon
hockey due to her size, and was soon picked for the Central under18 squad as a 14 year old.
Now, the teenager has set her sights on becoming not only one of the greatest Black Sticks, but one of the greatest goal scorers in the world.
‘‘My friend took me to hockey and I fell in love with it at the first training.
‘‘I hit the roof [when selected for the Black Sticks].
‘‘It was kind of tears and joy and happiness. I’m going into the unknown now.
‘‘I still look up to players in the team and now I’ll be playing alongside them. It’s insane.’’
Growing up on a farm, 40 minutes north of Feilding, Shannon was always a tomboy.
Mustering stock would almost always result in a trek around the countryside to roundup sheep left by the dogs.
‘‘I was never really inside. Motocross and rugby were my two main sports. I think the farm helped to toughen me up and that shows on the turf, being tough and aggressive... It’s something a lot of girls shy away from.’’
The Black Sticks’ first training camp starts next week and Shannon has packed her bags, ready to shift to Auckland.
She will complete her final year of high school by correspondence and admitted balancing school work with training six days each week would be tough.
Although her rise to prominence hasn’t sunk in, her tight-knit community has started showering her with admiration.
‘‘I was driving to town [last week] and [a neighbour] pulled over, came out and said: ‘Can I have your signature’, as a joke. They’re stoked, they’re so happy.’’