I played hockey at high school and for several years afterwards. My first experience in year nine was pretty rough.
By Year 12 though we had become more sophisticated and we had established teams. I played left inner, by memory, and was captain of the school team that defeated Traralgon High and drew with Gippsland Grammar. I scored a couple of goals against the high school.
I joined the Traralgon Hockey Club in 1984 and played goalkeeper in their second side.
It’s interesting to compare that era with today. I recall wearing cricket pads for leg guards and soft-padded kickers which fitted over my football boots as the only other protection. I wore a cricket box to protect my groin. I had wicket keeper-type gloves and that was it; no head protection.
My feet took a real pounding and I often wonder if I will suffer for it in old age. I had heavy balls smashing into my instep at great speed with no protection, apart from my boot. Hopefully I won’t regret it.
I didn’t like playing for the second side and took an opportunity to play for Yallourn when it started a hockey team (1985 by memory).
I had good reflexes and was selected to represent Gippsland at Country Week (seniors) one year and juniors the next year. As time progressed the protective gear got better.
I started studies at RMIT in 1986 and joined St Kilda Hockey Club in Melbourne as their division one goalkeeper (one step down from the Victorian State League). The gear there was foreign to me and I was totally protected (face, feet, chest, etc). I only had a few games though before I moved to Bairnsdale to start a cadetship in journalism.
The above photo shows me in action for Bairnsdale, minus the head gear I would have worn in Melbourne and which every hockey keeper would wear today. I took a lot of risks then.
I tried to play hockey in Kalgoorlie last year, aged 39, in the field. That was 23 years since I had played outside the goals and it was on a synthetic surface I had never played on before. The game was just too fast for me and the skills so much different.
