We at The Hockey Show don’t mince words when it comes to Andrew Smith. It’d be fair to say, we reckon he’s an alright bloke and a great hockey player to boot.

Since earning slection in the Australian squad in 2002, it’s been an interesting ride for our man – the Smit-Dawg. He’s had plenty of success and his fair share of setbacks along the way, but through it all, he’s kept his integrity and reputation as one of the nicest blokes going ’round.

The 191cm man mountain is an imposing unit in full stride and it’s little wonder he’s bagged himself some 40 odd international goals in his time with the Kookaburras. However, tonight Smitty reaches an even more significant milestone in his hockey career. As he takes the field in Darwin versus China, the 29 year old will be playing in his 100th international game.

A sterling effort and one that we at The Hockey Show, and no doubt all the Victorian hockey community, applaud.

Well done Smit.

Snag a couple for us.

THS

There’s something in our here sport that is decidedly lacking.

It’s the goal celebration.

A few years back on The Hockey Show we covered Goal Celebrations in an attempt to bring them into our game. There were some great ones: the worm, the bowling pins, the grenade, the spiderman etc. But now, in 2008. We’re going after it harder than ever.

That’s why its time for:

“The Campaign For Hockey Goal Celebrations”.

Now. There are some necessary things that have to be considered:

Safety.
At no stage should violence enter the equation in your goal celebration. You have to be careful with poking fingers, errant high-fives etc. Last thing you want to do is injure an excited teammate. A wayward fistpump or piston foream can spell danger in inexperienced hands.

Incorporation of props and/or team-mates.
Strongly encouraged. A blind man’s cane, the gun in the holster, a mobile phone in the pocket to notify family and friends of your goalscoring success or a pair of glasses down the socks to hand to the flailing goalkeeper. These are all useful options in your celebration.

Avoid Imitations.
Been there, done that bought the T-Shirt. Don’t need to see the thumb in the mouth, the boxing of the corner flag or the mid-air chesting of the teammate. Nor do we want to see the hand to the ear encouraging a roar – you’ve clearly been playing too much Fifa on your Playstation – originality is the key. …or alternatively well choreographed hockey specific celebrations are of course encouraged. THS recommends setting aside the necessary practice time at training to perfect your routines.

Game Situation.
It’s no use celebrating a goal if its the leveler at 1-1 with 60 minutes to go in the game. Especially if you’re wearing a headband and your name starts with Lincoln and ends with Stephen and play for MCC in the mens SL1 competition against TEM on the 28th of April 2008 and it’s a tap in when someone else has done all the work. A consolation goal is called a consolation goal for a reason. It does not need to be celebrated and this must be kept firmly in mind at all times. Reserve goal celebrations for scorchers, gamebreakers and last-ditched efforts getting your team over the line.

Crowd Interaction.
Whats the sound of one hand clapping? That’s the bottom line. The goal celebration is no use if there’s no one watching and the crowd loves a good one. High-fives down the sideline or a knowing wink to a “special” spectator these are all good. Tony Lockett goal style run-ons from the crowd are to be encouraged. There’s nothing like sticking it to the opposition crowd too.

You have got to have a celebration that you’ve seen and want free range to comment on? Get commenting!

So there you have it. THS’s very own guide to making your hockey goal celebrations something to remember.

Good Luck.

Beechworth And District Hockey Club have just notified THS that their club has reached the final of the Home Hardware “Sporting Moments” video competition.
They are in the final 3 and it is worth $10,000 to the club if they win and they need your help!

To vote:

Ring: 1902 555 123

or

SMS: “Video A” to 1997 66 99.

Anybody who votes is also eligible to win a $2000 shopping voucher from Home Hardware!

You’re wondering why your club never heard about this? Its only open to regional Australia who receive WIN TV!

Get on board! Its not everyday that a hockey club can go up against the big guns of those rubbish other sports.

This weeks episode of the ball handlers (a somewhat truncated version due to the Anzac Day Long Weekend) was thrown up last night at 9:30pm – use the links on the right side of the page to listen in!

We need your help though folks!!

We need players/coaches/hangers on from the SL1 teams to hit us with an email with their contact phone numbers so that we can have a base of people from each club to call on Sunday nights to get match reports and scorelines.

We desperately need people from all clubs so we can give the most up do date and in depth information during the podcast – so please email us your number today!

Don’t forget if you want to…

> Give your club a pump up
> Dob in someone who did something hilariously stupid
> have the chance to win prizes by predicting your own future
> have a chat to someone on Sunday night cause you’re lonely like us

Then send us an email and keep your phone handy on Sunday nights! Without you the ball handlers would just be two guys sitting in a dark room together chatting to each other which would be terribly uncomfortable and somewhat disturbing – so please for the love of god help us out!!

Cheers,

Bartos & ALF.

Me: Hey you – Yes you! Have you started the 2008 season and thought to yourself…”Hmmm, this old stick really ain’t cutting the mustard?”

*insert lots of nodding heads*

You: Why yes! Yes I have!

Me: WELL – thanks to THS and F-H-E you can say bye bye to that old hunk of you know what and hello to a brand spanking new Gryphon Taboo Amber ’08, for $100 off the RRP! Yes, you read right…$100 off the RRP!

You: It can’t be true…can it?

Me: Hell yeah it can! Thanks to our friends at F-H-E, they’ve announced a monthly for Hockey Show subscribers!

You: …but hang on a minute, I’m not a THS subscriber yet…wow, this is awkward.

Me: WHY NOT? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY DO YOU READ THIS AND NOT SIGN UP TO OUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE? DON’T YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE MISSING OUT ON? ARGGGGHHHH…..

You: Errr…..ummm…..sorry, I guess I’m a little lazy.

Me: Damn straight you are. But just cause I like you a little bit and the way you drag, you can have a brief insight into the crazy mixed up world of a THS subscriber…for a few days.

You: This infomercial has really deteriorated rather quickly.

Me: I know. I get carried away.

CLICK HERE for all the details! and then SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE.

…but hurry – this offer ends April 30. Steak knives not included.

What’s a podcast?

Don’t ask us – we have no idea. But we did manage to throw together a half hour audio show packed with interviews and some other stuff we made up on the spot.

Thats right – the Hockey Show now has its own official podcast, we proudly present to you – The Ball Handlers. A weekly podcast with the latest results, some not so incisive comments and a bunch of interviews for you to tune into every Monday morning to make sure you get all the latest info from across the Victorian Hockey scene.

This week we speak to players from all of the SL1 matches from the weekend, get up close and personal with Jim Irvine and list our top eleven reasons why Greensborough are soooo good – is it really just the mountain air?

You can either click on the link below to listen to the show now, or you can click here to subscribe to the RSS feed (especially handy if you have one of the many free podcast subscription programs) or in a few days time you will be able to grab the show on iTunes in the podcast section.

We are keen to get as much involvement as possible from the THS community so if you would like to feature in any of the segments please drop us an email at ballhandlers@thehockeyshow.org.

Click here to listen through your browser.

(if you want to save the file to your computer simply right click and then left click on ‘save link as’)

As the Kookaburras enter their second month of training over in Perth, in preparation for Olympic glory in China, I sat down with one of the more enigmatic members of the group. Australian Goalkeeper, Olympic Gold Medalist, Order of Australia medalist, Triple State League One premiership player, and all ’round nice guy; the painfully talented Mr Stephen Mowlam:

GUS: Stephen, thank you for joining me…oh that’s weird calling you Stephen.

GIMP: No worries ANGUS!

GUS: HA! Now, the first question I HAVE TO ask, and it’s a question I get asked on a regular basis about you…You’re nick name!? Gimp (or Gimpy), where does it come from? Can you shed some light on the matter?

GIMP: It’s as simple as the black gear I wear. You know; “Where’s the gimp?…Gimp’s sleeping…well you better get him up then” It’s a Pulp Fiction thing.

GUS: Ahh yes, the famous Samurai sword scene! “Zed’s Dead!” Now, one more slightly obscure question. You are, just in case you didn’t know, an Olympic Gold Medalist. Which is ridiculously cool by the way…but my question is this: Do you ever just whack it on and sit around watching telly? You know, go down to the shops wearing it?

GIMP: Mate, I couldn’t even tell you where it is. I’m too busy trying to get another one.

GUS: Fair enough too! Ok, onto more important matters…

You took somewhat of a hiatus from hockey in 2007. Tell me about that period, why did you take the break?

GIMP: To be honest I kind of retired, but was convinced not to be too hasty. During my break I moved down to San Remo, set up my work from there, surfed, wakeboarded, fished and dirt biked to my hearts content with my soul mate Little Maggot and my two best mates Boof (dog) and Jedda (cat).

GUS: Little Maggot!? Wow Gimp, I didn’t realise you were so romantic! Most people call their girlfriends things like “Honey” or “Baby”…Hmmm, they probably don’t have Gold medals though, we’ll move on!

Obviously you’re over in Perth now, in pursuit of Olympic selection, how’s all that going for you? Shock to the system? Or great to be getting stuck in?

Great to be getting into it, so busy that you don’t have a chance to really think too much. Unfortunately I’m struggling a bit body wise with the high intensity training at the moment, but it’s a small sacrifice to pay to have a chance to make this team.

GUS: Do any of the boys work or study during this period? Or is it just hockey 24/7 for you?

GIMP: It’s supposed to be just hockey and, let me tell you, it’s well more than a full time job at the moment, but I’m trying to do few bits and pieces for people at home. So I’ve got some work when I finally get home. Smitty (Andrew Smith) so called “studies a bit”…mind you it’s taken him 9 years or so to almost complete a 3 year degree, hockey will do that to you.

GUS: I’d tease him about it, but, well, Smitty’s kind of massive.

Now Gimp, many people might not know, you don’t drink at all. Right?

GIMP: True.

GUS: Why is this? There’s an obvious drinking culture attached to sport in Australia, why do you not get on the gas?

GIMP: Remember when you were a kiddy and you tried alcohol for the first time? Got a bit pissy and felt like crap, then the next day you wake up and say “I’m never doing that again”. Well, I meant it. I don’t have a problem with people drinking, I mean, I do like you lot, what ever blows your hair back I say.

GUS: You’re also notoriously humble, well, most of the time. I’ve noticed you always deflect praise onto others. Do you think humility is something lacking in elite level sport?

GIMP: Not so sure how humble I am!? And not sure as to whether it’s lacking in sport as such, but I guess you have to believe in yourself to make an elite level in anything. One thing I do know is the blokes I’ve played with that were humble, did the hard yards, and looked for no reward, are people I aspire to be like…and people I like to be around.

GUS: Well said.

In 2004, prior to Athens, you won The Player of the Tournament award at the AHL in Melbourne. Well done on that by the way…

GIMP: Why are you blowing smoke up my bum???

GUS: Humble much?

GIMP: Go on…

GUS: What I was going to say is, I was actually lucky enough to be sitting on the bench as your reserve during that tournament. And you made at the very least 12 saves that were nothing short of extraordinary, and I mean bloody mind blowing stuff. One that you touched onto the post against NSW springs to mind. Do you ever play a game like so many of those and think “Man, I’m honestly not sure it’s going to get any better than this!”

GIMP: Games like that are pretty wicked, but what I find hard is often you have a cracker of a game then people expect that of you all the time (and maybe I drink a bit of my own bath water and expect it of myself). So when you don’t replicate it in a crunch match you feel like you’ve let down the people who count (AHL Semis x 8 and World cup final 06 come to mind).

GUS: Fast forward to August, what is your prediction for the Kookaburras at the Olympics this year? We up for some more golden goodness?

GIMP: Could be, world hockey seems more competitive than ever and any of the top 6 teams could win it, so it will be close and tough to predict. All I know is if I’m there and in one piece I’ll be laying it all on the line - balls and all - to get in the way of that little white thing and get me another one of those little shiny things. An out there prediction though is: golden goal scored by the Gimp on an ingenious corner variation designed just for him. Ha! Fat chance! Fetus (Dwyer) would kill me.

GUS: Gimp on the overlap, I like it!

Ok, If you weren’t “scoring goals” for Australia, what could you rather be doing right now?

GIMP: San Remo, with the Little Maggot, my best mates, just living the life. Only a few more months to go ahhh….

GUS: Finally Gimp, any parting words of wisdom for all those aspiring keepers out there?

GIMP: Get in the way and take pride in denying other peoples goals and dreams. The best feeling in the world is when a forward does a “premature-e-celebration” as he thinks he/she is about to score, and you just steer it around the post.

GUS: Good advice! For the forwards too. Thanks for your time mate.

GIMP: Anytime.

This weekend sees the start of the Men & Women’s 2008 Victorian hockey season.

Can you believe it? It only seems like yesterday that we were all out at the State Netball & Hockey Centre on State-League Grand Final day. Aaah….how time flies.

Anywho no use looking backwards – to everyone whipping on the shinnies this week, The Hockey Show wishes you the best of luck.

For the juniors out there who beat us to the punch and started a week early, the same goes to you! Have a fantastic year.

Make sure you are keeping us posted throughout the year with whats going on in your competition. We want your match reports, funny stories and those sights and sounds from your weekends matches. So get on that email!

Keep Dribblin’

THS

Hey Punters,

With the competition’s start fast approaching and nearly 100 tipsters already signed up I thought I would finally unveil the prizes and post my last sales pitch.

AWESOME PRIZES FOR 2008:

1st Place -Gryphon Diablo Stick, Gryphon Everywhere Bag, Voodoo Big Bean Bag & a copy of the Hockey Pro software.
2nd Place - Voodoo Big Bean Bag & Gryphon Prize Pack
Last Place - Special TBC

These prizes will be given to the respective winners in BOTH the Men’s and Women’s SL1 tipping competition. So if you’re not already unboard sign up now!

Remember to enter your tips before lockout (11PM Friday the 18th) for the first round. PLUS to improve your knowledge of the league don’t forget to read the whispers for the round and the gospel according to seb.

Good Luck!
Seb
THS Tipping Junior Vice President

Did you just get our first ever newsletter? Man, it was awesome. Chockablock full of fully sick stuff – tailor made for our VIPs.

If you are a signed, sealed, delivered subscriber of The Hockey Show then you damn well will have got it and loved it! – right?

And if you didn’t….wow…you feel like a bit of a fool don’t cha?

Fiddle your mouse down to the bottom right and get on that gravy train so you don’t miss out next time!

THS.