ABC Hockey Club - Rosedale

Joined at the beginning of 2020 after hearing great things about the culture, now as a manager I get to see the great culture filtering down from the top leading to a brilliant atmosphere

When up at the hockey fields over the weekend, it is a rare time when there isn’t a team in yellow on one of the fields . . . so what is it about ABC which makes it so popular? Well, for the Holt family, the choice was Yellow. Other ABC members have been fully involved with our school’s hockey over the years, making it an easy decision. The bonus is we already had yellow socks from the school uniform, so we (had) part of the ABC uniform already. For us, this is our 5th year of being involved with ABC, I think? Benjamin and Dominic continue to grow in their ability in goal, moving to D1 this year. I just pretend that I still have some ability (in D2) and it is a good excuse to keep the fitness going doing something more exciting than a gym. Working as a team, each week having the opportunity of measuring yourselves against worthy competitors, the sweet feeling of success, the valuable lessons of defeat. One of the really special things about hockey with the specialised turfs is that all the clubs need to gather at the one venue, so there is a real community of us getting together each week. It’s not ABC and NSU and Taka and ECB and . . . it’s a whole bunch of great individuals and families, lots of new friends from all sorts of backgrounds, which wouldn’t happen in other ways normally. The mutual support and encouragement from everyone is great, especially over a beer after the game. Not that I can talk with regards other clubs, except to say they are probably equally as friendly, but with ABC having a number of teams, there is opportunity to fit in at an appropriate level, whether that be social grade through to high performance, with plenty of movement in between to grow (or ebb) as the years progress. With the dedicated volunteers keeping ABC running smoothly, it is a great club to be a part of and for the younger players it is the pathway to enhancing their hockey in the ABC youth programmes and continuing their hockey after their school years. Eventually, they will also be able to say “I remember when . . .” although the conversation won’t include the words “grass”, “offside”, “short corners”, “wooden sticks”, “sprigs” and “mud” . . . ahhhhhh, those were the days! Perhaps that’s another conversation to be shared by us old folk, but we’ll leave that to later . . .

I came over from the UK looking for a good Club where I could play Masters hockey and my daughters could play in the winter leagues. ABC is that Club! Welcoming and friendly as their website says, with great teams and off-turf organisation... definitely the best Club in the Harbour Hockey area!

Awesome. I have been proud to be a part of the ABC Hockey Club for many years. From youth leagues to adult leagues, I have always felt supported in my growth as a hockey player and cherish the social aspect within the club. Very grateful to have played alongside many respectable gentlemen throughout my time and look forward to getting back out on the field!

Some years back my oldest son was wanting to play club hockey while still playing for school. We asked about and were recommended ABC as they had a good youth program. My son joined up and I decided to give Masters Hockey a go over summer a couple of years latter. Here they had some teams also.. Now we have 3 members playing for the club and each family member enjoys the on and off field fun that hockey brings. The ABC club makes it easy to be involved at all levels of the game.

ABC has been my home for many years now. I am proud to have been part of its beginnings and to still be part of the club today. We're competitive on the field, successful on the points table and always there to share a laugh, a story and a drink after the game. It's the club members that create the fantastic culture that sets ABC apart from other clubs. From youth grade, to senior hockey to masters. I am fortunate to be able to call so many ABC members great friends.