HOCKEY Coffs Coast junior hockey umpires, Bodhi Fabian and Harper Dent, have been given the ultimate chance to showcase their skills after being selected to umpire at the 2024 National Primary School Hockey Championships in Cairns.

Their selection comes off the back of some stellar umpiring performances at the NSW Primary School State Championships earlier in the year.

President of Hockey Coffs Coast, Dean Herbert, was full of praise for the pair.

“Harper and Bodhi are two of only four umpires selected to represent NSW at the National Championships in Cairns,” he said.

“That’s an outstanding result and it reflects the hard work that these two athletes have put in over several seasons.”

Harper started umpiring at the Under 12 York Cup/Kim Small Shield in Tamworth in 2022.

Since that time, she’s umpired at representative tournaments, Junior State Championships and even senior women’s hockey at the association level.

Along the way, she has picked up the development umpire award at the Under 13 State Championships, female umpire of the tournament at the York Cup/Small Shield, and umpired several State Championship finals.

It’s an impressive resume for someone who only started umpiring a couple of years ago.

Harper said she was shocked to learn she would be umpiring at the National Championships.

“I was a little shocked to hear my name called out at the State Championships,” Harper said.

“This will be my first National Championships and I’m really excited.

“I’ve had so much help from my family and our umpire coaches and I’m really grateful for the opportunity.”

Bodhi has followed a similar path rising quickly through the ranks at Hockey Coffs Coast, umpiring senior men’s hockey at a very young age.

He has picked up multiple development umpire awards, including umpire of the tournament at the York Cup and development umpire of the tournament at the Under 18 Girls State Championships.

Bodhi has also umpired semi-finals and finals across multiple age groups at the State Championship level.

He was looking forward to umpiring at such a top tournament.

“This is my first National Championships as well, and Cairns is such a cool place to visit,” Bodhi said.

“I can’t wait to get up there and experience a really high-level tournament.”

Their selection to umpire at the National Championships caps off a fantastic turnaround in junior umpire development on the Coffs Coast.

The drive by Hockey Coffs Coast to recruit, train and retain junior umpires has paid dividends, with over 20 junior umpires registered and actively officiating in local, regional, and state championship events.

“It wasn’t that long ago that our Saturday morning hockey was umpired by our parents or coaches,” Mr Herbert said.

“Now, we’re brimming with talent thanks to some eager kids and a really committed and helpful officiating group.”

Driven by Junior Umpire Coordinator, Emma Brownlee, each junior umpire is assigned a coach or ‘mentor’ who guides them through the umpiring process.

The Umpire Coaches provide feedback on their performance and outline particular areas for improvement or development.

With that kind of support, it was only a matter of time before the talent coming through was recognised.

In further good news for the association, NSW Umpire Manager (and Olympic umpire in waiting) Zeke Newman hosted an online workshop for Hockey Coffs Coast.

In that session Zeke shared his insights on rule interpretations, trends and what it’s like to officiate in international matches.

By Aiden BURGESS