From our last news update Want Question would you ask Black Sticks player Kirsten Pearce?

Kirsten has taken, time out of her busy training day to answer some question from you the Hockey fans. The answers are helpful & fun so enjoy the read. At the bottom is a small bio on Kirsten.

Amauri Amat Which shoe do you always put on first and do you have any other pre-match rituals?


Before every match I always put everything on my right side before my left and alternate (i.e. right inner, left inner, right sock, left sock etc..). I have a couple of pre-match rituals I guess you could say, those being listening to some tunes whilst I walk onto the pitch and a couple of other little things that when you watch me play I do every time before a match.. one has something to do with my hair and the other is something I do before I head out for anthems on the field.

Louise Guest What moment are you most proud of in your hockey career?


There are definitely a few that come to mind but I would have to say every chance I get to step out onto the pitch and represent New Zealand as well as knowing that perseverance and hard work got me to where I am today.

Mollie Kavanagh What’s your favourite drill when training?


Anything that involves shooting at the goal!

Jeni Gale Do you miss living in Australia?

There are definitely some aspects of living in Australia that I miss with the most prominent being my family and friends, however, I have been extremely lucky with the amount of support I have received from my family friends over here, the staff at Hockey NZ as well as the Black Sticks girls, all of which has made my transition over to New Zealand a lot easier!

Recruitment 4 Hockey What @edgehockeysticks do you use & why?  

My hockey stick of choice is the Pink Diamond (just in case it isn’t obvious enough already) and I switch up from time to time by using both the light and medium weighted 36.5”. For me, it really just comes down to the feel of it when I’m playing and I guess using a hockey stick that is my favourite colour is an added bonus.

tristankearns16 In your opinion, what’s the best place in the world to play a hockey match? Are there any specific fans you remember and why?

Such a great question and I think after I get a bit more experience with playing at different venues around the world then I will be able to answer it. However,  I have to say that when we have headed to smaller towns in New Zealand we have some amazing fans who are always happy to have a bit of a chat, grab some signatures and a picture with us.

edgehockeysticks How is the Olympic preparation going? What’s in store for the Black Stick’s in the road to Rio?

Olympic preparations are going great! We have been back into Full-Time training for the past few weeks and are about to go on our first tour of the year to Argentina from the 21^st February – 4 March. Although our Olympic squad hasn’t been announced just yet we are continuing to build on from our performances last year with some hard training sessions including pitch, gym, conditioning along with some yoga and a bunch of team building activities on our road to Rio. We also have a number of tournaments before Rio so if you’re keen on where we will be playing check out www.hockeynz.co.nz for more details and follow us on instagram @nzblacksticks and on Facebook.

sophiejayne200 Which sports person did you look up to when you were little @kirst_pearce18

My idol has always been Mandy Smith who is an ex NZ Black Stick striker.

kara.irwin What advice would you give to young hockey players and aspiring black sticks? @kirst_pearce18 Good luck for Rio

Trust in the belief that you have in yourself, don’t be afraid to ask for help, surround yourself with people who can make a positive influence on you, control the controllables and do more than the bare minimum because if it was easy then everyone would be doing it.

Morganblamey What’s the single most important attribute you feel allows you to be a goal scorer

I think it definitely comes down to a few things but mainly not overthinking things and using your instinct.

Kirsten Pearce, New Zealand Black Sticks #18

Kirsten was born in South Africa, and, with her family then lived in both New Zealand & Australia. She started playing hockey at the age of 7 in New Zealand, representing North Harbour prior to moving to Australia with her family. In Australia, Kirsten began playing in the Junior competition and progressed her way through the ranks at Club, State and National level. She has been a part of State and National squads  including being a NSWIS scholarship holder and NSW AHL (Australian Hockey League) Arrows team member.  Kirsten was selected into the Australian under 21’s hockey squad. In addition to outdoor hockey, Kirsten was also chosen as an Australian Indoor Women’s World Cup squad member. In January 2015 she was given the opportunity to attend a Super Camp in Auckland with the NZ National Team and was selected into the NZ Black Sticks 2015 squad. Kirsten debuted for the Black Sticks in February 2015 against Canada. She has now accumulated 33 caps for the Black Sticks and we envisage many more to come.

A big Thank You to Kirsten for your help, to follow her on the road to RIO Follow @kirstenpearce18 on Twitter and on Instagram KIRST_PEARCE18 and at Edge Hockey

With coaching there are many things to be aware of, we are looking at 3 areas.

How Can We Keep Kids From Quitting Sports? , Keeping it fun, Keeping Kids Safe in Sports

We found some great links to use and update your skills and knowledge. All the best when you are out coaching. If you have any tips and ideas please feel free to share on our social media pages.

How Can We Keep Kids From Quitting Sports?

http://www.momsteam.com/sports/survey-says-keep-kids-in-game-having-fun-seen-as-keys-improving-youth-basketball-experience

http://blog.sportssignup.com/blog/bid/169519/How-Can-We-Keep-Kids-From-Quitting-Sports

Keeping it fun

https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/558615/Keep_it_fun_-_supporting_youth_sport.pdf

http://www.parenthood.com/article/keeping_sports_fun_for_kids.html#.VrKMRbJ97IU

http://www.texasarchery.org/Documents/Writeups/TB/KeepItFun.htm

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/keeping-kids-safe-in-sports
http://sport.gameday.com.au/index.php?id=327&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=299&cHash=d8d0ff3130

Kirsten Pearce one of the new exciting players of the New Zealand Black Sticks Women’s Hockey Team and is up for answering 10 questions from our #Hockey fans 

If you could ask Kirsten Pearce 1 question what would it be?

To get the ball rolling, I would ask: What Edge Hockey stick do you use & why?

To leave your question go to our Facebook page  Recruitment 4 Hockey & post by 31/1/2016

 Follow @kirstenpearce18 on Twitter and on Instagram KIRST_PEARCE18

Stay tuned for the answers in February

It is with great joy that we announce that FIH International Hockey Federation are joining our team here at Recruitment 4 Hockey.

Matt Bartell from the Recruitment 4 Hockey team said

“It’s an honour to be able to team up with FIH in promoting hockey opportunities around the world in both on field and off field roles via their new Work in Hockey page.  We look forward to being able to support and showcase the many paid and volunteer jobs in Hockey that need help to be filled. I have been part of hockey for a long time playing and coaching in many different locations, so I really enjoy helping people fulfill their hockey dreams and being involved at all levels of the game.”

The page has five featured hockey jobs live at any one time and links to many others on the Recruitment 4 Hockey website.

For more details on having your Hockey ad on the FIH Work in Hockey page and the Recruitment 4 Hockey website please contact info@recruitment4hockey.com.