Forward 2016 | Page 26

SPORT

Skyler Luo – ice hockey champion

Year 7 student Skyler Luo is making a name for himself in the tough game of ice hockey , being selected for the State Ice Hockey Team and being named Vice- Captain of the team .
Skyler ’ s interest in ice hockey started as an 8-year-old when he started skating with his dad . One year later he was playing ice hockey as a member of the Northern Ice Hockey Association , based at Xtreme Ice in Mirrabooka .
Now playing in two age groups , the Under 13 and Under 15 teams , Skyler trains on the ice twice a week with his team as well as dryland fitness training every second day . The team play their match games on the weekends at Cockburn , Malaga and Mirrabooka .
Taking his skills to the next level , Skyler signed up for the ten week try-outs for the State Team . Upon selection to the team , he started another ten weeks of intensive training every Saturday morning from 6.00am .
Skyler ’ s hard work and commitment has certainly paid off . He has been part of the WA State Under 13 team since 2014 and was this year named Vice-Captain of the
The WA State Under 13 Ice-Hockey Team .
team . This year the team won the gold medal at the National Championships in Melbourne . This was no mean feat , as it was the first time since 1983 that WA had won gold . To round off a great year , Skyler was named the top scorer for WA !
Skyler really enjoyed being part of the WA State Team . “ I have learned that lots
of hard work combined with teamwork and dedication are the keys to success . I have met lots of new friends during my ice hockey journey , from different states and countries , and importantly I have learned to balance my ice hockey commitment with my studies .”

Phil Marshall Hockey Turf Facility Manager

With the opening of the new Guildford Grammar Foundation Hockey Turf , the School has appointed Mr Phil Marshall as the Facility Manager , to manage the bookings and ensure everything runs smoothly for the many hockey clubs who are now accessing the turf .
Phil Marshall seems to have his ideal job . With his love of hockey and his background in property management , he is the ideal person to manage our new state-of-the-art facility .
Phil stated playing hockey in Grade 1 when his brother ’ s team at Burnie Primary School needed an extra player for one of the games . From there he went on to play junior hockey with the Burnie Baptist Hockey Club before moving to Hobart when he was 18 . He played for the under 15 , 17 , 18 and 21s for Tasmania and 100 games for the Tassie Tigers in AHL . He was lucky enough to be selected in the 2001 Junior World Cup team , alongside former staff member Nathan Eglington . He also played semi-professionally in England , Ireland , Switzerland , Belgium , Italy and New Zealand . He currently plays for the Fremantle Hockey Club and was player / coach of the men ’ s MT League side from 2011-2015 .
Phil is enjoying his new role at the school and is hoping to help with coaching to build the hockey program .
“ The pitch is fantastic ; we haven ’ t heard a bad word spoken about it . Ideally I would like to see the facility used for 12 months of the year . We are starting up a summer hockey competition and the skills academy with some Australian players attending as guest coaches . Being our first year , this will start on a small scale but I am certain numbers will improve for next summer . Our summer skills series will be great for young players and we have some quality coaches for them to learn from . “
“ We recently held one day of the U13 Girls National Championships on the pitch , which was very successful for everyone involved . I have my fingers crossed that this will lead to us hosting more days of the tournament next year . In 2017 we are hosting a newly created World Schools Hockey Tournament , the details of such we will release soon ”.
Anyone wishing to book the pitch can contact Phil via email : phil . marshall @ ggs . wa . edu . au
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