Hockey - The Hidden Gem

I've been around for a long time. My media career started accidentally back in the late 1980's during my period as a professional musician in the boom era of pub bands.

In the 90's and early 2000's it melded with my love of sport. I was lucky enough to work on an Ashes series, Rugby World Cup, broadcast Sheffield Shield, soccer, netball, football, softball, baseball, basketball and more.

For the past few years I've been working in online media, particularly around live streaming and promotion of grass roots sport. It's been fun, rewarding on many levels and allowed me the luxury of working in a space I enjoy.

About two months ago, I accepted a role at Hockey WA. It's an executive role responsible for all things commercial and marketing, allowing me to bring my years of experience in media, marketing and sport together to work in a sport that wants to advance, but has struggled to.

I've never played hockey, never been a fan but know who Ric Charlesworth, Jenn Morris, Rechelle Hawkes and a host of other successful Olympic sportspeople are.

In my first two months I've faced the challenge of understanding a sport that has little profile outside it's Olympic and Commonwealth Games success, but are genuine superstars. Currently ranked number 1 & 2 in the world, and have been at that end of the rankings for a very long time. Australia is a powerhouse, and yet, we don't hear much about it.

Perth is home to the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos - our world ranked teams. Just downstairs from my new office at the Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University. I can wander out of my office into the grandstand and watch the world champions train most days. That is very cool!

I have learned much about the sport and people in hockey in this first two months. There are some amazing takeaways that separate it from pretty much every other sport.

1) Gender Equality - While every other sport scrambles to poach and position itself to create women's competitions to meet our increasingly politically correct society, the national women's competition in hockey started way back in 1910. The men didn't assemble until 1925! Way before equal rights movements, women's liberation or any other external factor. Hockey is a sport that has embraced both genders to play on the same field, with the same gear and rules for around 100 years. That makes it genuine and not a marketing play for audience share or to extend the season by a month or two. There is NO tokenism about it.

2) The Hockey Family - This is a strange phenomena. Partly because of it being played by men and women of the same family (it would appear them playing together is the cause of many families!), the age that you can play the game allows family members of different generations to play together. This creates an unbelievably tight-knit unit that is much more powerful than anything I've seen in sport before. The stories around this are powerful, moving and go way beyond hockey or even sport. They are genuine human interest stories.

3) Hockey for Life - As I write this, outside on the field that plays home to our current Olympic stars, a bunch of old guys are running (using the term very liberally) around playing the game they love. Many are well into their 60's and 70's. Some are retired tradesmen, some are directors of some of our biggest companies. They are still active, engaged and enjoying their later years playing the game they enjoy - a feat that is almost impossible in most other sports. And they are a connected group! Equally, the hockey schools program is growing all the time and introducing the next crop of state, national or future Masters players in decacdes to come.

4) Success - As I mentioned, we are currently ranked number 1 & 2 in the world in this sport, and yet it is largely ignored by the media. I haven't yet worked out why, but I hope to soon. Success is something to embrace and be associated with. It beggars belief that our most successful international sport can be so ignored.

I have made some observations in my short time in this role. Hockey people are quality. Maybe it's the family thing, or that they have chosen a lower profile sport as their choice. Maybe it's because they appear to be well educated and more personable. It could be that because they play in an environment that is inclusive of all ages and genders, they are more socially adept? Again, not sure of the answer yet, but they are certainly amongst the better behaved sports people I've met in my three decade career.

Hockey as a group is complacent - about what they have to offer. They take what they are and what they offer for granted. Given the time frame, they never think about being the leaders in gender diversity, because it's always been that way. They don't consider the time frame that people can play hockey for that is way beyond most other sports. They expect to be amongst the world's best. Their part of the community fabric in regional communities is significant, but again, they just shrug and go 'that's how it's always been'.

Hockey is an amazing sport, full of talented, loyal, engaged, quality people. There are more people than you'd expect involved in hockey, which is masked by the lack of profile.

I'm looking forward to the challenge of promoting the game, the clubs, the people and the future to the broader sporting community.

Businesses can get some great benefits from being in a sport that lives and breathes inclusion and diversity - not one that sees a market opportunity.

I'm hoping you hear and see a lot more about hockey in the coming period. We launched a new national competition - Hockey One, just last weekend with broadcast on Kayo Sports and the finals being shown on Fox Sports.

The West Australian, Sunday Times and Community News have run articles in the past week or two. 6PR have run a number of interviews.

Keep your eye on hockey. It's a hidden gem. Come along to a game and find out for yourself.