FAMILY INVOLVEMENT

QHow did you get into the game? I’m guessing it had something to do with your dad Bob?

AIt’s not often you get into it and your parents aren’t involved with it I think but my dad he played and my uncle played all his life. He represented Australia at senior level. Dad didn’t until he played masters and he coached our AHL team the Hotshots and he was on the Hockey Australia board for a bit but now he works on the Oceania board as their treasurer. I guess I got dragged along to watch him play and my brother played and I would just sit there on the sidelines with mum and eventually I got old enough to play. I played in Adelaide and I played for a bit and I thought it was a bit too scary, balls getting hit at you and I went around to all the other sports you could possibly play and I came back when I was about under-13 and I just continued on from there when it was boys and girls playing.

QYour dad must have been devastated when you opted to try something else?

AActually it was funny we went out to a club in Adelaide near our house and we went to trials and I didn’t make their under-13 team so dad was like: “I know of another club, we’ll go there” and they needed players so it’s a running joke in Adelaide where this one club (Adelaide Hockey Club) rejected me and I ended up playing for the other club (Burnside). Adelaide was such a popular club so they didn’t have enough space. It wasn’t like I was a horrible player.