By Shelby Brooks
Pakenham could produce the next Hockeyroo star now that Cardinia’s first field hockey club has been established.
Cardinia Storm Hockey Club has been founded this year by a passionate group of local hockey players, keen to create an inclusive and fun club.
“We want an inclusive club that welcomes players of all ages, abilities and gender,“ president Lauren Walsh said.
“We want everyone to be able to enjoy hockey, and become part of the wider sporting community in the area.“
Inspired by the many years of success of Australia’s national hockey teams- women’s Hockeyroos and men’s Kookaburras- Lauren said she was excited to introduce the lesser-known sport to the local area.
“It’s a sport that’s not as popular on the local level, so we want to spread that awareness into a new area that’s growing,“ she said.
Cardinia Storm will be using a brand new pitch at Beaconhills College Pakenham as its home ground – understood to be Olympic standard.
Vice president Vanessa Dillon said the club was formed from the desire to home about 20 women players who were looking for a new opportunity, and has now expanded the scope to include men and junior programs.
“We had 18-20 women who were looking for a club to put themselves into that was working towards the goals they were looking at working towards,“ she said.
“This was an opportunity Hockey Victoria presented us with that we could start our own club, and set it up in a way that’s inclusive and conducive to growth.“
The grassroots club will enter a women’s team into the Hockey Victoria winter weekend competition starting in April, but hope to have juniors and men’s teams very soon.
Zena Rhyne and Jacqui Kelly, Cardinia Storm Hockey Club junior representatives, said they were excited to grow the relationship they have with Beaconhills College to develop a youth section of the club.
“Cardinia Storm is excited to welcome youth into our club, with a strong determination to create a family fun culture in a safe, positive and inclusive environment,“ they said.
“We are fortunate to have the support of Hockey Victoria behind us, who have loaned us appropriate equipment for us to commence the roll out of junior development programs.
“Additionally, we are very appreciative of the relationship we have built with Beaconhills College and invite their students, along with the wider youth community within Cardinia Shire to reach out to us via our socials (Facebook/Instagram) or cardiniastormhockey@gmail.com.“
Zena and Jacqui the club was aiming to build a family friendly culture.
“Our aim at Cardinia Storm is to ensure everyone gets a fair go, to provide opportunities for kids to develop new skills, make friends and be active within our community,“ she said.
“We are always looking for volunteers, to ensure we can offer the best experience for our members and build a family club culture.“
Hockey Victoria’s head of competitions and facilities David Bourke said Cardinia Storm was the first hockey club to be established within Cardinia Shire.
“From our perspective we’re really excited to have a club in the area,“ he said.
“It’s something Hockey Victoria has had on our radar for a while to have representation in all the growth corridors.
“To activate the Cardinia shire is huge step in our sport.“
Bourke said the new club also allowed local hockey players an opportunity to play in their home town.
“A big thing for us is that a lot of people travel a long way to play the game,“ he said.
“In this current day and age, people don’t want to travel too far so the ability to play locally is huge.“
