Born and bred Primrose boy Gareth Heyns (24) was only 12 years old when he first started playing hockey, and he\u2019s never looked back.<\/p>\n
This year Gareth received his Springbok colours for men\u2019s senior hockey for the second year.<\/p>
The GCN sat down with Gareth, who is currently finishing off his masters degree in marketing at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) to find out why he loves hockey.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really didn\u2019t know much about the sport when I started playing as it was only starting to be introduced into our school,\u201d he explained.<\/p>
Gareth compares hockey to football and enjoys the fast-paced action the game offers.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be fit and strong, overall it\u2019s a nice physical sport which I enjoy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hockey is a huge part of Gareth\u2019s life, in addition to the Springbok side Gareth plays for UJ\u2019s senior side and coaches the first side at Jeppe High School for Boys.<\/p>\n
\u201cMonday and Wednesday nights I train for provincial and Tuesday and Thursday I train for UJ and on the weekend play games,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really busy but I enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Springbok team recently played against Germany in Cape Town, Gareth described the match as tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was tougher than anything I\u2019ve ever done.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was such a big step-up, as Germany are the reigning Olympic champions, to play against them was unbelievable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are so skilful and though their style is very basic it\u2019s flawless, they exposed any weaknesses we had.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to play at that level a lot more and playing in this series is one of my best memories of being in the team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gareth feels that SA\u2019s hockey players are not far behind their European counterparts and feels with more investment in the sport the team could be a top contender in the world of hockey.<\/p>\n
In the future Gareth plans to head overseas but would love to continue to play hockey.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is difficult because we aren\u2019t paid to play as it is seen as a semi-professional sport, and there is not a lot of investment into the sport and we struggle to find sponsors.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut as long as I can play hockey I will,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n
Other articles you may be interested in:<\/strong><\/p>\n National Championships coming up\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Championships a success<\/a><\/p>\n Kyla looks ahead to championships<\/a><\/p>\n Local racer takes top spot<\/a><\/p>\n Germiston Callies athletes shine at CGA event<\/a><\/p>\n