On the field and off, the junior Australian men’s hockey team are a bunch of fine young men set to be stars of Australian sport in the near future. The team will tomorrow face Pakistan in the gold medal match, having flown through the round matches undefeated.

So what makes them tick?

As one of only two team sports being contested by Australia at the Youth Olympics, teamwork and leadership form an integral part of what makes this bunch of young athletes achieve the results they have.

One of their leaders is assistant coach Andrew Smith who is also an Athlete Role Model for the Games.

“I think I was chosen for the role because I know about perseverance and commitment,” Smith said.

As an elite hockey player, Smith went to two Olympic Games as a reserve and it was not until late in the Beijing Games that he hit the pitch and realised his dream of becoming an Olympian.

“I remember counting down the days until the Games were over,” Smith said. “It’s hard being in that position but it was important to remember that I was there for my team and helping my teammates is what got me through.”

Smith has been able to use the lessons he learned as a player in this position to help the young team in Singapore. Before the Games even started, 18-year-old Jay Randhawa suffered an injury in training. At the outset the prognosis was not good for the young midfielder with Team medical staff thinkin he may need to be replaced without having even started his Youth Olympic campaign.

“I had major setbacks with injury when I was playing,” Smith said. “I also knew what it was like to go to a Games and not play so I sat down with Jay and had a quiet one-on-one chat.”

Fortunately for Randhawa, the medical staff gave him the green light and he has taken to the field for each of the Aussies’ games so far.

When the game is on, it’s all business for the 16 young men, and watching the way they hold themselves, you would be excused for thinking they are much older than their teenage years.

At a training camp back in Australia, all players voted in a secret ballot on who they would like as captain for the Games. From the ballot, five names were chosen with the majority of votes and Daniel Beale, Byron Walton, Jake Farrell, Jeremy Hayward and Luke Noblett have alternated leading the team.

“It is an amazing honour to be captain for my country,” Walton said. “To get the boys together and get them ready for the game, it’s great.”

As captain, responsibilities include the coin toss, some pre-game training leadership and maintaining team morale throughout the match.

“It’s been a great experience for these boys to step up into that role,” Smith said. “It is good for them to take that leadership initiative.”

Whilst the boys are all about hockey on the field, off the field it’s a different matter. With hockey competition running right up until the final day, play-time has been limited but they have made the most of their days off.

“The day we got here the boys found out there was a hairdresser in the Village,” Beale said. “So we all went down and got haircuts together.”

Sporting new dos with even some racing stripes shaved into their sideburns, the hockey team are well-known throughout the Village for their light-hearted larrikin ways.

“They are a bunch of rascals,” one Australian Team official said. “Nice rascals though!”

The gold medal match will take place at 8.00pm (local time) on Wednesday 25 August.

Alice Wheeler
AOC