Two of Caroline Springs Hockey Club’s youngest stars are shining with the hockey stick in hand.
Aimee Jungfer recently represented Victoria at the under-15 national championships in Sydney. Next month, she’ll represent the North West Tigers in the Junior State Championships.
Both are massive achievements by the 14-year-old who only took up playing hockey last year.
“Last year was my first full year of hockey,” she said.
“I wanted to play hockey because mum was playing, but I was playing too many other sports.
“Last season a team needed a fill-in and mum let me play and I kept playing. It’s a good team sport and you can learn heaps of new skills.”
Jungfer was a natural at the sport and was quickly playing several times a week. She currently plays with Essendon in juniors and plays seniors at Caroline Springs. Among her teammates at Caroline Springs is her mum Kathy.
Last year she made the under-14 state team, but the team didn’t compete at the national titles.
So this year she was keen to have the chance to represent her state. “It was a really good experience and mostly fun.
“My team came sixth. A lot of the states had two teams and I was in the second Victorian team.” Next month she’ll play for the North West Tigers at the Junior State Championships. With seven state players in the team, she thinks they’ll have a good chance at winning gold.
Long term, Jungfer would love to pull on the green and gold and represent her country.
But Jungfer isn’t the only Caroline Springs player to be selected for the North West Tigers teams, with Nolan Cockburn selected for the first time.
Cockburn moved from New Zealand to Australia earlier this year with his family.
“It’s a great opportunity,” he said.
Having played hockey since primary school, Cockburn was just playing for his high school team in New Zealand. Since making the move across the Tasman he’s been playing more regularly.
He’s goalkeeper for Caroline Springs’ men’s side.
“Hockey is a family sport, my dad used to play when he was younger,” he said.
Cockburn said he’d love to get playing hockey for as long as possible.
“I want to get better at it and play at highest level I can.”
