The Illawarra’s 15 year-old hockey players have completed an incredible feat, with both the boys and girls achieving a rare double victory of their field and indoor hockey state championships.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After sweeping to victory in the field championships, the two teams secured the double victory with undefeated NSW indoor tournaments on the Central Coast.
The girls started the celebrations by defeating Metro South West 6-2 in the final before the boys came out a day later to claim a comprehensive 6-1 victory over a previously unbeaten Tamworth side in their final.
David Johnston, coach of the boys side, said it’s an impressive achievement to win gold in two very different disciplines.
“These boys have now won the field and indoor state championships, that is big in hockey,” Johnston said. “They’re both different games and for the Illawarra, it’s a big achievement.
“The team is full of very good players. We have a group of very good under 15s and a few very good under 14s, which makes for a good mix. All the boys get on very well, they spend a lot of time training together and going to carnivals together, and the parents get on really well as well.”
The boys have developed a rivalry with Tamworth in recent years, with the two teams also clashing in this year's field hockey grand final. Fully aware of the calibre of their opponents, Johnston said his players were all focused from the opening whistle.
”To beat Tamworth 6-1 in the final, that shows we were far superior. We played Tamworth in the field hockey final, so the boys know Tamworth very well.
"Over the last few years they've been a bit of a bogey team. We've had some really hard tussles with Tamworth and haven’t always come out on top. For four years we’ve been playing those boys, so we know they're abilities and my boys knew what they needed to do to achieve a win.”
The girls were barely troubled through the pool stages of the competition before claiming a tight semi-final victory and prevailing convincingly in the final.