HOCKEY royalty graced Warrnambool yesterday, inspiring grassroots coaches and players to embrace their regional associations and aim high.
Fresh from guiding the Australian men's hockey team to World Cup glory earlier this year, national coach Ric Charlesworth was in the south-west to share his wealth of sporting knowledge.
About 25 hockey coaches from across the region gathered in the Warrnambool District Hockey Association rooms for a 90-minute presentation before the guest of honour enjoyed a dinner at Warrnambool Football Club with 230 people.
Despite his extensive list of sporting accolades, Charlesworth's advice was simple.
"The message is the same whether you're coaching the national team or the under 11s," he said.
"There are the same responsibilities and the same issues.
"You have to make sport fun and interesting."
The 58-year-old coached the Australian women's hockey team from 1993 to 2000, winning Olympic gold at Atlanta and Sydney, four Champions Trophy tournaments and two World Cups.
As well as collecting the World Cup after defeating Germany 2-1 earlier this year, he also coached the men's team to the Champions Trophy in December.
Having witnessed the popularity of hockey across the globe, Charlesworth knows where the future of the sport lies ? and that's not in capital cities.
Instead he said country areas, like Warrnambool produced the majority of top-level talent.
"Most players come from regional areas," he said.
"In our national team there would only be half a dozen from metro areas.
"The kids in (regional) places don't have as many distractions.
"Young ones get to play with senior teams earlier and get the challenges they might not have in the city."
Charlesworth, who also captained Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield and is a high-performance consultant to AFL club Fremantle, conceded hockey is a "second-tier sport" but is confident it can survive alongside football and netball.
He said it was important not to specialise in one activity as a youngster.
"I encourage kids to play as much sport as they can," he said.
"Hockey is about skill and speed, not about beating people up.
"Men and women of all ages can play, it is a family sport and you can go to the Olympics.
"Hockey definitely has its attractions."
With an abundance of experience in an array of pursuits, Charlesworth's main message for sporting success went far beyond the hockey pitch.
Again, it was simple.
"You have to be doing something you really love and you almost have to be obsessive about it," he said.
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