It has been a very busy few months for young local Crookwell hockey player Jesse Croker.
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He has been lucky enough to gain selection in not one, but two state hockey teams, and will compete at the nationals later on in the year.
Jesse gained selection in the ACT Under 13 Boys National Hockey team. This team will compete at the Australian Nationals Hockey Championships in Perth in October.
To top that off, Jesse was named in the NSW PSSA Primary School Boys NSW State team. This team will compete at the Pacific School Games, to be held in Adelaide in December of this year.
When asked where he’d like to be in 10 years time, he said “playing with the Kookaburras and having started my own hockey stick company.”
“I use a Lycan Zeke stick. Kookaburras player Glenn Turner, from Goulburn, is the founder of the company and he looks after me with my sponsorship.”
Why not have big goals at the young age of 11? Jesse goes to Crookwell Public School and has two siblings, Bella and Ollie.
He said, “I have made a lot of new friends from around our district, as well as NSW.
“Being able to play as part of a team, I am able to visit and see many new places around Australia. I love defending against great strikers.”
He has a busy schedule with Monday nights ACT team training in Canberra, 5-6:30pm. Tuesday nights Taralga club training followed by State training with Aaron Kershaw and Stainsy for 2 hours. Wednesday nights Back to Canberra. Thursdays I do training with my Dad and Fridays he plays U15 club hockey. Saturdays he plays U13 club hockey.
Jesse said, “My Dad was selected in the U18 and U21 Australian men’s hockey squads and i wanted to be like him. In life my idol is Johnathon Thurston. JT was told all through his childhood that he would become nothing and was not good enough because of his size, he must have been small like me, but look at him now. In hockey I have a lot of different idols; Mark Knowles, Glenn Turner, Emily Smith and Kellie White.
Jesse would like to publicly thank the Upper Lachlan Shire Council, Crookwell Public School community.
All of the local business houses, friends and family who helped to sponsor and financially support his trip to Perth these school holidays.
He greatly appreciates the very generous donations and hopes that he can repay his sponsors by playing some amazing hockey.
Jesse now has the hard task of trying to sell 750 tickets to fund his NSW PSSA trip to Adelaide.
Looking through Jesse’s hockey career so far:
2015
- I started playing hockey in Crookwell when I was 9 years old, I also made the U11 Goulburn boys rep side that year.
2016
- I made the U13 boys rep side for Goulburn, we travelled to Grafton for the State Champs and won our division
- I was selected in the PSSA South Coast School boys team.
- Played for ACT in the Canberra June Long Weekend carnival.
2017
- I made the U13 boys rep side for Goulburn, we travelled to Armidale for the State Champs and won our division.
- I was selected in the PSSA South Coast School boys team.
- I was selected in the ACT U13 boys Nationals team to compete at the Australian Hockey Nationals in Perth.
- I was selected in the NSW PSSA School boys team to compete at the Pacific School Games in Adelaide.
