Justin Murray has been selected as part of an elite squad being prepped for the Brisbane Olympics. Photo: Click InFocus.
An Illawarra teen has been selected in an elite national squad for the next generation of Australian hockey representatives, with the young star being prepped to take the pitch at the Brisbane Olympics.
Justin Murray’s Olympics dreams are one step closer with the 16-year-old one of just five male hockey players from NSW picked in the Under 18s Australian ‘Futures’ Squad.
“I was pretty excited,” Justin said. “It’s a great achievement and all the training and work is starting to pay off.
“The next level is starting to come from now and my hockey is starting to progress and become bigger and better.”
The achievement has come from more than a decade of hard work and dedication, with Justin having played hockey since he was four and his whole family strongly involved in the sport.
“Mum and Dad both played so it’s just in the blood,” Justin said.
“Both my sisters played so I just kind of got brought up into it and always loved it.”
The teen competes in the Illawarra and Sydney competitions, with multiple training sessions and two games each week.
“Probably five times a week I’ve got a hockey stick in my hand,” he said. “Then the gym and that sort of stuff on the other nights that aren’t hockey.”
As part of the first grade men’s team for Albion Park Hockey Club, Justin has already been receiving advice on ways to improve his game and get to the top level from former Kookaburra and Olympian Kieran Govers, who leads the side.
“He’s helped me a lot through the last two years,” Justin said.
“He’s experienced everything that I haven’t yet so he has more of an idea of what I need to work on, so listening to what he says, taking it on board and asking questions because he’s obviously got great knowledge about the game.”
Justin’s skills and training are set to ramp up further as he joins the best up-and-coming talent in the high performance pathway throughout the next year.
“We have training camps across Australia over the next 12 months, and then all the people from NSW who made it train two nights a week for this in Sydney to progress and get better,” he said.
“It’s pretty much designed for the Brisbane Olympics, so trying to get everyone up to speed and progressing their play to be the best of their ability by Brisbane.”
Justin is keen to dive further into all aspects of being an elite athlete, not just his performance with the ball.
“Just learning about the game more and off the field about nutrition, my body, injury and fitness, both on and off the field will be a real key point for me,” he said.
Twenty-seven boys and 28 girls from across the country were selected for this year’s Future’s Squad, with 11 from NSW making the cut.
At 16, Justin is already showing exciting potential, with his sights set on climbing further in the years to come.
“Brisbane would be the big goal; I’ll be around 24 then, so that’s my aim,” he said. “But making the Under 21s Australian team in the next two years, that’s my next goal after this.”
